Chapter 27 — Quiz

Twenty-six questions to check your command of the edit-prep workflow. Mix of multiple choice, true/false (always justify), short answer, and a few "what's wrong with this workflow?" diagnostics. Answer from memory first; the key and a topics-to-review map are at the end.

Multiple choice

1. Ingest is best defined as: - A) The moment you press record on the camera - B) Getting your footage and audio off the cards and into your project — copied, verified, and imported — so it's ready to cut - C) Exporting the finished film to a delivery codec - D) Applying a color grade to raw footage

2. The two halves of ingest are the offload and the import. Which comes first, and why? - A) Import first — you need the project open before anything else - B) They're the same thing, so order doesn't matter - C) Offload first — it protects the footage; the import only makes it editable - D) Import first — it automatically backs up the card

3. A verified (checksum) copy protects you from: - A) Running out of card space - B) A silent copy error — a file that looks present and the right size but is actually corrupt - C) Slow playback on the timeline - D) Out-of-sync audio

4. A proxy is: - A) A backup of your project file - B) A lightweight stand-in copy of a heavy clip that you edit on and swap back to the original at export - C) The high-resolution master you deliver - D) A type of transition

5. At final export, your project should be relinked to: - A) The proxies, because they're smaller and faster - B) Whichever is currently loaded — it doesn't matter - C) The full-resolution originals, so the audience sees the real image - D) A fresh re-import from the camera card

6. Which set of factors most determines whether a clip is "heavy" (hard to play back)? - A) Its file name, its folder, and its bin - B) Its resolution, its bitrate, and its codec (especially Long-GOP) - C) The color grade, the transitions, and the music - D) The camera's brand and price

7. Bins are: - A) Folders on your hard drive where the media physically lives - B) The folders inside your editing project that organize clips - C) The trash where deleted clips go - D) A type of proxy

8. The fastest, most reliable way to sync double-system audio on a well-equipped shoot is: - A) Guessing by ear - B) Matching the color of the clips - C) Shared timecode between camera and recorder - D) Re-recording the audio in post

9. A string-out is: - A) A finished, polished, locked edit - B) Selects laid end to end on the timeline in rough order - C) A single long take with no cuts - D) The list of exports for a client

10. In the editorial ladder, the rough cut / first cut sits: - A) Before the string-out - B) After the fine cut - C) After the string-out and before the fine cut - D) After picture lock

11. You keep the camera's scratch track on a double-system shoot mainly because: - A) It's the audio you'll use in the final mix - B) It carries the clap spike and is the reference that waveform auto-sync matches against - C) It improves the picture quality - D) It's required to export

12. The single most important media-safety rule in this chapter is: - A) Always shoot in 4K - B) Never wipe or reuse a card until two verified copies exist elsewhere - C) Always add a dissolve between clips - D) Delete originals once proxies exist

True / False (justify every answer in one sentence)

13. Editing directly off the camera card to "save time" is fine as long as you don't format the card.

14. Proxies are the master copy of your footage, so you can safely delete the originals once proxies are made.

15. On disk you have folders; inside the project you have bins; a good setup makes them mirror each other.

16. A clip synced perfectly at the clap can never go out of sync later in a long take.

17. You should perfect (trim to the frame, add music) the first scene before assembling the rest of the film.

18. The full 3-2-1 backup rule and a durable file-naming scheme are covered in this chapter.

19. A phone's HEVC/H.265 footage is highly compressed and can actually stutter more on a laptop than footage from a pro camera in an easier codec.

Short answer

20. In one sentence each, define media management and explain why the folders on disk and the bins in the project should mirror each other.

21. Name the three methods of syncing double-system audio, ordered from most manual to most automatic, and give one sentence on when you'd use each.

22. Explain the difference between a select, a string-out, and a rough cut.

23. Give the edit-prep pipeline in order (all eight steps), and state one reason organize must come before sync.

What's wrong with this workflow? (diagnose and fix)

24. An editor delivers a 4K documentary; the client says it looks "soft and blocky," almost low-resolution. The editor insists everything was shot and cut in 4K. What is the single most likely cause, and the fix?

25. Three weeks into an edit, the editor "tidied up" their drives by renaming the footage folders. They reopen the project and half the clips read "media offline." Explain what happened and give the two-part fix (now, and forever).

26. A one-person crew shot a double-system interview but switched the camera's own microphone off to "keep it clean," and never clapped. In post, syncing is a nightmare of guesswork. Name the two on-set mistakes and the habit that prevents each.

Rapid-fire short answers

Warm-up recall — one line each.

27. True or false, and justify: proxies improve the final quality of your delivered video.

28. Why does the camera's scratch track never appear in the final mix, even though it's essential to the edit?

29. You have one external drive and no cloud. Give one honest way to still get "two copies" of a shoot before wiping the card.

30. In one phrase each, why must offload come before import, and organize before sync?

Answer Key

Topics to review by question