Video & Content Creation

Documentary Editing

Cut a documentary that audiences actually finish

12 lessons4 modules9h 35m durationbeginner level

Instructor: StretchLearn Faculty

About this course

Documentary editing is screenwriting after the shoot: the story is discovered, not handed to you. This course teaches the professional workflow used on festival and streaming docs, from ingesting and logging footage through paper-cut, radio edit, assembly, and fine cut. You finish with a polished, sound-aware non-fiction edit and the judgment to know when a scene works.

Curriculum

Module 1: From Hard Drive to Story Map3 lessons

Ingest, Organize, and Back Up FootagePreview45m
Transcribe and Log Interview Footage🔒50m
Find the Story: Theme, Spine, and Stakes🔒45m

Module 2: Paper-Cut and the Radio Edit3 lessons

The Paper-Cut Workflow🔒50m
Building the Radio Edit and String-Out🔒50m
Handling Interviews Without On-Camera Questions🔒45m

Module 3: Pacing, Rhythm, and the Cut3 lessons

Pacing and Emotional Rhythm🔒50m
J-Cuts, L-Cuts, and Sound-Led Transitions🔒45m
Cutting Scenes That Hold Tension🔒45m

Module 4: Sound, Polish, and Delivery3 lessons

B-Roll, Archival, and Visual Coverage🔒50m
Music, Sound Design, and the Mix🔒50m
Fine Cut, Feedback, and Delivery🔒50m