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Editing School
I am in the process of switching careers from production to post as an editor. I have a basic working knowledge of final cut and have taken an avid101 class at video symphony in burbank but feel i need more technical mastery before I try to take assistant editing jobs, which i understand are largely diging and media management- maybe some stringouts. Anyway, I feel that my sensibility with story lends itself to editing but in thinking about the next step to that end, i am considering schools and a curiculum that would be most beneficial(pricewise and timewise). Any suggestions from working professionals? video symphony has what seems like a great and thorough professional training program that takes about 14 months. moviola in hollywood has bundles of specialized classes and places like manhattan edit workshop have 6 week immersion programs that claim to teach both avid and final cut… thoroughly enough to find work… some say get a job and learn while doing. I see myself doing a lot of documentary and reality tv work at least at first(i have experience in the field) and one day moving to features. Any advice?
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3 Replies
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For goodness sake! Please write something I can read. You had me at,
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Whether you take classes or not, you should consider gaining experience as an assistant. It could take you years to get enough jobs through the door to gain the kind of practical experience you would get working on bigger jobs in the real world with an experienced expert. And, keep in mind, expert editors are always looking for motivated assistants to take a lot of the work off their hands. The big schools, like Video Symphony, encourage assistant work and even help to find employment for their asssitant trainees. Your resume will look a whole lot better a whole lot faster if you take that approach.
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I would not be where I am today if I didn’t assist for 3 years. Yes…3 years. Especially if you are in LA. You not only need to learn the system, but the various show formats, edit room politics, learn how to cut by watching the editors, getting yourself known by people. One company I assisted for hired me as the editor, based on the fact that I edited scenes from shows (a grace my editors allowed me to have…all on my own time, of course) and the Gag Reel I did. I showed them that I had talent, and more importantly they knew who I was.
One thing that you will learn fast is that you need to be known by a lot of people. When people look for editors and assistants, they don’t just send out a call or post on Craigslist…first they ask other people, “hey, do you know any good editors and assistants?’ People recommend you and you get jobs that way. Only when they can’t find anyone that way do they look for outside options.
Watching an editor cut, and getting to cut scenes and have people critique them is a GREAT way to learn And being an assistant and in the background you can see how the edit room politics work so that when you occupy that chair, you know what to do.
Shane
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net
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