Since I was a child, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I loved to make up stories and imagine new worlds. Sometime in high school, I decided that I wanted to write movies. I went to The Master’s College in 1998 with just that intention. Only along the way I discovered another form of storytelling within the film medium—editing.
While it’s nearly impossible to have a great film with a mediocre script (it’s been done, but not often), it’s the editor who gets to “tell” the story. The pacing, the rhythms, and even the performances of a film are crafted or sculpted in the edit room. Editing can make a dull scene come alive, or a great performance seem like bad community theater. It’s where the director gets to see if his or her months or years of hard work have paid off.
There’s so much I love about this craft, but I won’t go into detail here. Let me just tell you a little bit about my career.
I first learned to edit video the old-fashioned way—deck-to-deck. Linear editing. In some ways, I wish every editor got to learn that way. It taught me to come prepared. To think about my decisions before I laid them down. It also gave me an in-depth knowledge of tape formats, professional VTRs, and mastering. What it also gave me was a genuine appreciation for non-linear editing. Only those of us who had to edit on tape (or film), can truly savor the luxury of being able to change your mind or apply a note in mere minutes.
I eventually, of course, moved on to non-linear editing. I learned Media 100, back when you either had to memorize keyboard shortcuts or look on the cheat sheet. The mouse didn’t get much use. So I developed a non-linear “style” of editing. I relied heavily on keyboard shortcuts (a practice I still maintain). That particular style brings great speed to any edit session.
I also learned an awful editing program called “Adobe Premiere” (late-90s), which was nowhere near as good as their Photoshop and After Effects programs. Eventually, I moved to a program I wasn’t very happy with (I thought Media 100 was much better at the time): Final Cut Pro. Version 1.
I stuck with it through every version, all the way through 7. I was at an expert level when they decided to switch things up. No, I still haven’t used “X”, though I’ve been hearing more positive chatter about it lately.
After a couple years, I finally made the switch to Avid Media Composer. This is probably my favorite NLE for long projects. I was able to speed up my editing times by using the customizable keyboard layout. I also added the newer version of Adobe Premiere to my toolbox, when a project called for it. Wow! What a difference a decade makes. For pure editorial needs, I wouldn’t quite put it on the same level as Avid, but for most purposes, it actually proves to be the more useful of the two.
Most of my work has been in documentaries. These have been mostly promotional documentaries to supplement home entertainment releases. You can see some of these in my Credits. But I’ve had a variety of work as well. From promotional sizzles and DVD menu montages, to long-form documentaries and educational films, I’ve had quite a range. Some projects have been nightmares, and some have been dreams, but they were all exciting.
Because I love what I do. Even the dullest of corporate videos presents it’s own challenges and opportunities to shine. They say a great comedian can read the phone book and make it funny. Well, I’d like to think that a great editor can take any raw footage, and turn it into something interesting. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but I’ll keep trying.