Lesson 1: Final Cut Checklist — Polish, Audio, Titles & Credits
Week 8 Goal
This week you will finish your “Video for Purpose” and prepare it for an online showcase. A final cut is not about perfection—it’s about clarity, care, and completeness.
Learning goals
By the end of this lesson, you can:
- Use a professional final-cut checklist
- Improve pacing, sound, and titles
- Export a clean final version for sharing/screening
- A) Final Cut Checklist (use this before exporting)
Story & pacing
- Clear beginning, middle, end
- The main point is understandable in the first 15–20 seconds
- No repeated shots that don’t add meaning
- Each scene has a purpose (move story forward / show evidence / show emotion)
Audio (most important!)
- Dialogue is clear and loud enough
- Music does not cover voices
- No sudden volume jumps between clips
- Wind/noise reduced as much as possible
- Ambient sound supports the scene (not distracting)
Visuals
- Shots are stable enough (or intentionally handheld)
- Exposure is reasonable (not too dark/too bright)
- No accidental blurry shots unless used intentionally
- Clean framing (no distracting objects behind heads)
Titles & text
- Title appears early (within first 10–20 seconds)
- Names/locations spelled correctly (if used)
- Text is readable on a phone (large enough)
- Text stays on screen long enough to read
Credits & permissions
- Credits included at the end (who did what)
- Music credited (or royalty-free)
- People filmed gave consent (especially sensitive content)
- No unsafe personal information revealed
- B) Export settings (simple and safe)
- Format: MP4
- Resolution: 1080p (or 720p if phone storage is limited)
- Orientation: Horizontal (16:9) unless your story is designed for vertical
- File name: YourName_Issue_FinalCut.mp4
Mini-task (15 minutes)
Watch your video from start to end and write down 3 fixes using the checklist. Then implement them.