I teach part time at the Vancouver Film School,
a great class called Shoot/Edit.

In the class we first shoot a two minute scene with the acting students, using other students as crew. We have three hours to shoot the scene, with master shots, medium shots and closeups.

The following week the actors from the scene will meet with the editing instructor (myself or a colleague) and we will take them, in three hours, through the entire process of editing the scene. We watch all the dailies, work together to create the edit, and add titles, sound design and music.

It's a great chance for the actors to see the subtleties involved in editing and acting for the camera.

And for me, it continually improves my editing skills. One because we have to edit quickly, but mainly because in the process of explaining editing to the students, I constantly have to re-evaluate and think about the art of editing. Plus I get the opportunity to safely experiment with a variety of editing approaches.

It's a very fun class both for the students and teachers.