Education and audiovisual assembly: Learn from children?

Javier Almela-Baeza, partner of Amae and Doctor in Audiovisual Communication in University of Murcia, transversely addresses the work of education of audiovisual assembly professionals betting on a teaching of the subject at all educational levels.

The audiovisual assembly is the Cinematographic Language Base. This trade, consolidated in the audiovisual industry, has democratized and its use has transcended becoming a Communication tool That any user can use. In these lines we will describe how the Training of audiovisual assembly professionals And how the technological advances in training centers.

A little history

To better understand how you learn to mount or edit any audiovisual content we must know the evolution that the profession has experienced since the beginning of the last century. Technical equipment has conditioned assembly learning Since its inception. The training of professionals was carried out in the own assembly rooms, as in any other trade. From the camera assembly, going through the Celluloid cut and glue, La Moviola, the edition with Magnetoscopes to the Cut and A/B Roll, until the Non -linear edition, which marketed the company Avid In the early 90s. The high cost of equipment has significantly influenced the Creation of educational environments Where to learn to ride, especially from a practical point of view.

In the early 90s, the audiovisual production sector in Spain experiences a important boom, mainly stimulated by the creation of autonomic and private television channels. This increase in audiovisual production activity caused a demand for professionals and facilitated the creation of professional training schools, the technical equipment of some communication faculties, as well as the creation of new film schools. The high cost of acquiring equipment for assembly has been the main limitation When it comes to imparting the subject of audiovisual assembly, both in degree studies and in higher degree training cycles and film schools.

At the beginning, most centers They did not have assembly rooms To develop practical work. Generally, the centers that had spaces for assembly could not cover the demand of students, since the practice of assembly precise of many hours to acquire the necessary skills and each room could be used by a single student.

Software democratization

The main responsible for the democratization of assembly is the significant price drop that have experienced assembly programs and personal computers. Professional editing programs, such as Avid Media Composer or DaVinci Resolve, They have versions free or with use limitations, but with total functionality for use in educational environments. On the other hand, Adobe Premiere or Final Cut Pro They do not have free version, but their acquisition is affordable For any training center and offer special prices for students. This software can be installed on any personal computer with any operating system, which makes it even more accessible to users.

The Audiovisual literacy It is a learning process that enables us to read, write, produce and critically interpret the audiovisual contents that we find on social networks, media and platforms. Knowing how to edit a video is part of this learning process, this has made assembly a routine for many users in your way of communicating. Non -professional assembly programs have a Very low learning curve, in addition to being able to be used on any mobile device.

The teaching of audiovisual assembly

In secondary education it is already beginning to be used assembly as another tool for communication and learning. Students learn how to use editing software in subjects such as Technology, o A Create an audiovisual message In subjects like Audiovisual culture or Visual and audiovisual plastic. The educational group has countless resources on the network to learn to handle the assembly software and be able to start in the creation of audiovisual content.

For those who want to make audiovisual assembly their profession have different options. Audiovisual assembly is one of the fundamental subjects in the studies of Degree of audiovisual communication, journalism, advertising or beautiful arts. In Spain there are 54 universities, 31 public and 23 private, that offer these studies. The teaching guides of these degrees offer the subject of audiovisual assembly integrated into subjects such as Audiovisual postproduction or Audiovisual technology. There are few curricula that plan the subject as a unique subject, which would allow the student to better deepen this discipline. On the other hand, there are the Vocational Training Centers, which offer a more practical and concrete training in middle and upper degree. Other centers that offer high -level studies are Film schools. In these centers teaching class and professionals of film production. Film schools usually dedicate more school hours to assembly learning, in addition to having more advanced facilities and equipment.

Dispose of better and more numerous assembly stations They allow teachers to focus on the practical process of assembly and design exercises or audiovisual projects that the student can develop in class and even at home with their own devices.

Online formation

The reality created by pandemic He has favored online training in all areas in general and in the particular audiovisual assembly. This new scenario has allowed the educational centers expand your training offer, facilitating the training to students of other latitudes. On the other hand, the own Assembly software signatures, as is the case of Blackmagic or AvidThey offer the possibility of forming through the so -called master trainers, professionals accredited by the brand that teach specialized training. This learning methodology, which ends the limitations of the schedule, has facilitated the recycling and specialization of many professionals and teachers for those who "to date" was inaccessible. In addition to the adaptation made by their studies, traditional centers to online modality, there are other training options such as the Mentor, in which we can find training in the field of Mounting.

The Association of Audiovisual Montators of Spain (AMAE) is in contact with schools and educational centers to offer their partners the possibility of expanding knowledge, in addition to organizing days or meeting forums between assembly professionals and educational environments. In addition, the Online modality It allows these professionals to train in other countries.

The trade and art of assembly has adapted to the new times and its importance in film production and audiovisual content has more weight than ever, promoted above all by the boom of the production of platforms of Digital contents. New professional figures have been created, beyond the assembler and the assembly assistant, such as the postproduction supervisor, VFX editor or postproduction coordinator. In addition, the assembly has transcended the professional and is already part of the way in which society is communicated. The Audiovisual literacy It is a need in the educational field and assembly is the basis of audiovisual language, so its learning must have a greater presence in the different educational stages.

Javier Almela-Baeza (@javieralmelabae)

Partner of the Association of Audiovisual Montators of Spain (AMAE)

Doctor in Audiovisual Communication, Faculty of Communication and Documentation - University of Murcia