Drill Library
The 12 Core Drills form the backbone of your daily practice throughout the year. Each drill isolates and develops a specific editing instinct. Practice them repeatedly — not just once, but dozens of times. As you advance, your approach to each drill will evolve.
The 12 Core Drills
These are the foundational exercises every editor must master. Practice these throughout all four phases.
Take a neutral, expressionless close-up of a person's face. Juxtapose it with three different images: a bowl of food, a child playing, and a coffin. Edit three versions of this sequence and observe how the audience's interpretation of the person's expression changes based on what follows their face. This drill teaches the foundational principle of cinematic meaning-making: meaning is created in the space between shots, not within them.
Monthly throughout the year. Each time, use a different neutral face and different juxtaposed images.
In Phase 1, focus on Drills 1–4. In Phase 2, add Drills 5–8. In Phases 3 and 4, practice all twelve. The goal is not to complete each drill once — it is to practice each drill until the underlying instinct becomes automatic.