From time to time, this blog will look at the editor’s role on a project, how editors get their jobs, and at what you can do to get a job and maintain an editing career.

Why?

Because all too often editors are seen as technicians -- oompa loompas slaving in a dark room somewhere -- whose primate, er, primary task is to pluck out the bad takes and string together the good ones. Our cut -- the so called “rough cut,” -- is dissed, as if it’s a rock that requires director, producer, and other postproduction personnel in order to smooth it into a prized diamond before anyone will line up to see it.

Rodney Dangerfield had nothing on us. Even a chimp can do our job (you can skip the first 20 seconds):

This crappy video reminds me of the time I had to take a bio-break and the director wanted to watch a scene again while I was out of the room. I showed her how to start & stop the Avid and when I came back, the entire cut was out of sync. But I don’t want to be cynical about directors -- they have talents that I don’t, usually!

admin Editor’s role, Humor