Context
For this week we began and finished another Staines Rugby highlights package building on the foundations feom last time, the aim was to condense the full match into a shorter package, thatc learly showed the story of the game. This included kickiff, tries, conversions, half time and full tume whistles. The target audience remained generally male viewers aged around 11–35 who are interested in rugby and particularly supporters who want to catch up on their local team’s games without watching the entire match.
Research
Technical
We did this piece on Adobe Priemere Pro as it is generally the industry standard to edit highlights packages on, we also researched different editing applications such as final cut pro which we could not use due to its exclusivity to apple branded products, and divinci resolve. One area I focused on more during this edit was the audio. When cutting a long match down into a much shorter package, the audio can suddenly jump between completely different sections of the game. To prevent this, I used separate audio tracks and layered sections of the crowd sound underneath certain cuts. I then crossfaded between them so the background atmosphere continued naturally rather than suddenly changing.
Story
I had a better understanding of what needed to be included to tell the story of the match. Instead of treating every moment equally, I focused on selecting the events that actually progressed the game, such as kick-off, tries, conversions and the half-time and full-time whistles.
I also considered how long I stayed on each moment. For example, after a try I allowed enough time for the audience to understand what had happened before transitioning into the replay. This prevented the package from feeling rushed while still maintaining the fast pace expected from sports highlights.
Stylistic
For the style of the package I continued taking inspiration from professional rugby and sports highlights, where the edit moves quickly between the important moments but still allows the atmosphere of the match to come through.
One technique I carried over from the previous edit was using a 12-frame cross dissolve when transitioning from a try into its replay. Rather than placing dissolves between every clip, I specifically used the transition to visually communicate to the audience that they were moving from the live sequence into a replay.
Problem Solving
Problem: Cutting between different parts of the match caused noticeable changes in the crowd audio.
Solution: I layered sections of crowd audio onto separate tracks and crossfaded them so that the atmosphere continued naturally across the cuts.
Problem: Moving directly from a try into its replay felt too sudden.
Solution: I used the 12-frame cross dissolve from the style guide specifically between the original highlight and its replay, creating a clearer visual transition for the audience.
Problem: Some replay sections sounded disconnected from the original highlight because both the video and audio changed at the same time.
Solution: I allowed the crowd and clapping audio to continue across the transition and crossfaded it into the replay audio, making the edit sound smoother.
Evaluation and Reflection
What Went Well (WWW)
- I improved the audio continuity of this highlights package by layering and crossfading crowd audio, which made cuts between different sections of the match sound much more natural.
- I became more confident with the structure of a rugby highlights package. As this was my second time completing this type of edit, I was able to identify important moments and organise the footage more efficiently.
- I used transitions more intentionally. Rather than placing cross dissolves throughout the video, I limited the 12-frame cross dissolve to transitions between the main highlight and its replay.
Even Better If (EBI)
- I could improve my workflow further by watching through the original match and placing markers for every try, conversion, kick-off and whistle before beginning any cutting, rather than identifying some moments while already editing.
- I could experiment with additional graphics, such as the current score, team names or try scorers, which would give the audience more information and make the package feel closer to professional sports coverage.
- I could spend more time mixing the different crowd audio sections, adjusting their levels as well as crossfading them so there is an even more consistent atmosphere throughout the entire package.
