MediaArtTutorials

MEDIAART 2B06

W9 - Rough Cut

Assemble your footage and sound materials into a complete sequence that reflects your pre-production plan while allowing room for revision.

⚠️ Reminder: During the last hour of tutorial, the Instructor/TAs will begin the in-person grading check.

❗ Attendance and engagement are part of the rubric.
You are expected to work actively during class time and participate in all in-class activities.

Activities

Complete the following in order. Ask the professor or TAs for support or feedback.

Activity 1: Build Rough Assembly [50m]

In this activity, you will build your first DRAFT Assembly of the film.

Step 1 — Create the Project

  1. Open Adobe Premiere Pro.
  2. Create a new project using the correct naming protocol: ProjectName.prproj.
  3. Save the project inside: 📁 00_ProjectFiles.
  4. Import all files from: 📁 01_RawFootage.

‼️ Save your project regularly before starting work and throughout the editing process.

Step 2 — Import, Review, and Select Footage

➡️ Follow the tutorial on how to review and mark footage in Premiere Pro and see tips for Reviewing Footage

Review your footage in the Source Monitor.

As you review, identify usable takes.
Do not delete any footage, but avoid using clips with:

Choose the best takes that correspond to your storyboard shots. Focus on:

You may have multiple takes per shot — select the strongest one.

Step 3 — Build the Draft Assembly

➡️ Follow the tutorial on how to create your sequence in Premiere Pro and review tips for Building the Draft Assembly

First, create a sequence with the following settings:

These dimensions maintain the correct proportions while working with footage recorded at 1920 × 1080.

Then, begin placing your selected clips in order. For this stage:

Your goal is simply to see the entire film in sequence.
This first assembly should be no longer than 2 minutes.

Step 4 — Watch + Notes

➡️ Follow the tutorial on Exporting Temporary Sequences

Export a temporary version of your sequence.

Watch the video from beginning to end without stopping.

Write down three issues you notice in your edit that you will address in the next activity.

Examples of issues:

⚠️ Do not begin editing yet.
First identify the problems. In the next activity, you will address those issues.

Activity 2: Rhythm Refinement [40m]

➡️ Review the tips and examples on Pacing & Rhythm to help guide how you structure and time your shots.

In this activity, you will refine your Draft Assembly, focusing on rhythm and clarity by trimming shots, removing unnecessary moments, and adjusting the sequence order.

At the end of this step, your sequence should be approximately 1 minute long.

A small margin is acceptable at this stage (no more than 1:10).

Step 1 — Address Identified Issues

Correct the problems you noted during previous the Watch + Notes step.

This may involve:

You may also begin adding basic transitions if necessary.

Avoid overusing transitions. In most cases, straight cuts work best.

Step 2 — Refine Rhythm

Focus on the temporal rhythm of the sequence.

Ask yourself:

Your sequence should now feel clearer and more intentional than the draft assembly.

Step 3 — Watch + Notes + Adjustments

➡️ Follow the tutorial on Exporting Temporary Sequences

Export a temporary version of your sequence.

Watch the video from beginning to end without stopping.

Identify three rhythm issues that still need improvement. Examples may include:

After identifying these issues, return to your sequence and make quick adjustments to improve the rhythm.

⚠️ Do NOT over-edit. Focus only on small timing corrections.

Activity 3: Basic Colour Correction [30m]

➡️ Review the tips and examples on Basic Colour Correction to help guide how you balance colour, exposure, and contrast across your sequence.

In this activity, you will correct basic exposure and colour consistency issues in your sequence.

Focus only on technical corrections, not artistic colour grading.

Step 1 — Watch + Notes

Re-watch your file ProjectName_RhythmPass.mp4. This time, focus specifically on colour and exposure.

Write down 2–3 issues you notice that affect visual consistency.

Examples may include:

Step 2 — Apply Basic Corrections

Apply simple corrections using the Lumetri Color panel.

Focus only on:

Your goal is to make the sequence feel visually consistent.

⚠️ Do NOT apply stylized looks, heavy colour grading, LUTs, dramatic contrast or colour effects.
The full colour grading will be developed in a later stage.

Activity 4: Basic Sound Integration [30m]

➡️ Review the tips and examples on Basic Sound Integration to help guide how you balance production sound and maintain consistent audio levels across your sequence.

At this stage, your visual edit and colour corrections should already be stable.
Now you will integrate the basic production sound into your sequence.

The goal is not full sound design, but creating a clean audio foundation.

Step 1 — Send the Sequence to Adobe Audition

Follow the tutorial on Premiere Pro → Adobe Audition Workflow: Basic Audio Editing

This workflow allows you to edit audio using a proper Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) while keeping the sequence linked to Premiere.

Step 2 — Add Room Tone

Place room tone underneath the entire sequence to create a consistent background sound.

Room tone helps:

Step 3 — Integrate On-Scene Sounds

Add production sounds recorded during filming.

Examples may include:

Align sounds carefully with the visual action.

⚠️ Do NOT add music, sound effects, or foley yet.
These elements will be developed in the Sound Design stage of the project.

Step 4 — Apply Match Clip Loudness to All Sound Clips

  1. Select all of your audio clips
  2. Right click to open the menu
  3. Click Match Clip Loudness

This tool automatically normalizes the loudness of multiple audio clips so they play at a more consistent level. It analyzes the clips and adjusts their gain to match a target loudness value.

Step 5 — Export Back to Premiere

Once you finish editing and balancing your audio, export the session back to Premiere Pro.

Follow the tutorial for Premiere Pro → Adobe Audition Workflow: Basic Audio Editing

Step 6 — Export

➡️ Follow the tutorial on Exporting Temporary Sequences

Export a temporary version of your sequence.
Save it as ProjectName_RoughPreview.mp4 inside folder: 📁 03_Renders.

Final Changes and Rough Cut Export

Review your ProjectName_RoughPreview.mp4 and make final notes before exporting.

While watching, check for:

Make any final adjustments in your sequence.

Your Rough Cut should present a clear and complete version of the film, including the final shot order, basic rhythm, and integrated on-scene sound.
The story and visual flow should be understandable, even though fine sound design, detailed colour grading, and final polishing will be completed in a later.

Export Rough Cut

➡️ Follow the tutorial on Exporting A Submission Sequence

Export your final rough cut as: ProjectName_RoughCut.mp4.

Save the file inside: 📁 04_Exports

Format: MP4 (H.264)
Frame Rate: 24 fps

Resolution must match your sequence aspect ratio:

📤 Submission

Item Required Filename
Rough Cut Export (MP4) Lastname_Firstname_RoughCut.mp4
Rough Cut Information Sheet (PDF) Lastname_Firstname_RoughCut.pdf
Organization In-Person Grading

⚠️ Follow the submission protocols carefully.
⚠️⚠️ Incorrect submissions will result in a 2-point deduction over final grade ❗❗

Deliverables — 📦 Rough Cut Package

1. Rough Cut Export (MP4)

Export settings:
MP4 (H.264); 24 fps

Resolution must match your chosen aspect ratio:

File name:
Lastname_Firstname_RoughCut.mp4

2. Rough Cut Information Sheet (PDF)

Include the following information:

File name:
Lastname_Firstname_RoughCut.pdf

In-Person Grading

Thursday Production - End-Of-The-Day Check-In

Students must have their project folder and be ready to show the following:

📁 00_ProjectFiles

📁 03_Renders

📁 04_Exports

Credits: Jessica A. Rodríguez

AI Disclosure:
AI Disclosure: ChatGPT was used for editing and clarity only. No original course content was generated using AI.