FCP 7 Editors…need not apply!

[Aindreas Gallagher]

the fact that this thread has gone bonkers on a single job posting found in the wild answers the question in a way?

https://vimeo.com/user1590967/videos http://www.ogallchoir.net promo producer/editor.grading/motion graphics

[Mick Mccleery]

You could not be more right Ryan. If I count ‘cutting and pasting’ super-8 film back in the early 80’s, I am now on my 8th editing system in my career (just made the jump from FCP7 to PProCC). Does it take some time to find one’s way around the new interface? Of course. But I would certainly come down on the side of “short sighted’ for the company that placed that original ad.

In my teaching I address this very same thing in this way:

Take any writer. Stephen King for example. Whether you think he is any good or not he is surely an accomplished writer. By virtue of all that he has written, he is also an accomplished typist. If someone (somehow) was able to come in overnight and change all the keys on his keyboard so that all of the letters were in different places. Stephen would no longer be that accomplished typist. He would struggle for a while to learn the new keyboard and his production would slow. But before too long he would be right back up to speed.
The keyboard is just a tool of course. Just like an editing program… or for that matter, someone who believes that the editing program makes the editor. ;-D (just kidding… mostly)

Mick McCleery
Film Teacher, Indie Film Maker.

[Kevin Monahan]

[Andy Field] “(FCP7 or Premier exclusive editors need not apply)”

Bad spellers and those with little attention to detail, please apply!

Kevin Monahan
Support Product Manager—DVA
Adobe After Effects
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe
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[Jeff Kay]

I’ve noticed a developing trend (its been developing for quite a while) that many are not looking for editors they are looking for software technicians. While modern software has created a lot of conveniences, because of those conveniences there is a lot more second guessing what the editor does.

For instance the multi-take feature where you can quickly swap between takes that have different i/o points. During a review someone will ask to see the other takes. They don’t say what exactly bothers them about the current sequence (shot composition seems out of place, dialogue is too slow/rushed, etc), they just ask to see the others. The editor is stuck constantly reworking the timeline while the director/producer/whoever is effectively the editor while they are simply the person working the software. (Though even without that feature, there has still been a move to this)

I’m in agreement that I would want someone that has the skillset to be an editor (which doesn’t change if you are on FCP, MC, or a Moviola), but we’re seeing a lot more of the higher ups not understanding this and feel that editing is simply a mechanical process.