film or video editor???

[Chris Bové]

I’ve been re-reading select chapters from Behind the Seen this week. No question in those pages about what the workload is associated with film cutting vs the nonlinear realm. It refers to film as destructive editing (splicing and losing trims in the bin), and nonlinear as nondestructive. Man, I need to break out my old Rivas and go to town!

(Highly HIGHLY recommend if you haven’t yet, to read it – https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0735714266/002-0996252-5927228?v=glance&n=283155)

______
/-o-o-\
\`(=)`/…Pixel Monkey
`(___)

[Chip Johns]

“…if i’m a lead guitar player in a band, does the title shift when i change over from an electric to an acoustic?…”

I’m not sure I agree with this analogy. Your still playing the same instrument. It would be more like comparing using a drum machine to actually playing the drums. It takes real talent to program a drum machine to make it sound real. And, just because you may do it well will not make you a good drummer, and vice-versa, I do my share of editing but if you asked me to touch film, well, I think that you would be very disappointed.

—
Personally my take is that you are an editor. What kind isn’t less important, but secondary to the title. What are most job postings or RFP’s asking for? A film editor or a spot editor? Or do they ask for an editor for (whatever.) I’m not saying definitively here because I haven’t seen an RFP lately. What do they say?

Really its all semantics though isn’t it? Your reel and knowing what you can do is what its all about. The personal title you give yourself is just that. What would Walter Murch say if you asked him his occupation?

[John Davidson]

UM. Maybe it’s just me but, I’m not interested in interviewing a film editor who wants to debate the semantics of his self-proclaimed title when I realize he doesn’t know the first thing about working with film. It’s misleading and will do more damage to your goal of getting hired than good.

Sounds high maintinance and most editors aren’t hired for their debate skills. Film editors work with elements those of us in video don’t. Dailies, 24p, Film-to-tape transfer, 2kfiles, working in tandem with lead compositors, fx designers, maya teams, outputting and reference film reels for a final print – anyone hiring a film editor is looking for an expert with serious experience in dealing with these topics.

If you put film editor down, somebody looking to make a video film (which you say you’re experienced at) might think you’re a film editor with the experience above, and assume you’re too expensive. My advice, be honest about who you are and let your reel speak for itself. Sure, you might get an interview at a film house, but it’ll be painfully obvious that you don’t understand film concepts fairly quickly and the interviewer could actually blackball you for wasting their time.

Producers aren’t looking for a master debator. The only people impressed with that title will be people that don’t know anything about it.

[Chip Johns]

[person]… many films are cut on NLE by many great film editors. if i’m a photographer, and start using a digital camera, does this mean i am no longer a photographer?

I do see what you are saying here person, but if we take this scenario all the way it sheds a bit of light on this too.
Is the subject of an editor here compared to the photographer or is the editor more compared to a darkroom technician. I have spent many hours in the darkroom, but when I use digital i may be able to use the theory behind darkroom development but I need to learn Photoshop. On the flip side, I know plenty of photographers who shoot competely digital and couldn’t even roll film onto a canister reel to develop it.

An editor using NLE that is going to be outpout to film has to understand film. He needs to know what type of film he is coming from and what type of film will be output to as well. Attention to focus is highly critical when editing for film output, getting NTSC color is nothing like getting the color correct for output to film, on and on and on.. The talent of laying out a scene is only part of the equation. A film editor has many, many more things to consider…

Of course, I have never edited for film, all of my information is only coming from what I have read. So what I say is only second hand, I realize this..! But, in the past I have spent enough time in the darkroom to understand that digital output is nothing like negative or print film.

[Person Lastly]

use the titles you wish. it really doesn’t matter in the end. i was just trying to make the point that a ‘film editor’ should not have to physically cut the film to have this title. in my opinion the ‘film’ in film editor means ‘movie or feature’. that’s it.

[Chip Johns]

[person] use the titles you wish. it really doesn’t matter in the end. i was just trying to make the point that a ‘film editor’ should not have to physically cut the film to have this title. in my opinion the ‘film’ in film editor means ‘movie or feature’. that’s it.

Good Point person. Do “film” editors even touch film anymore? Except for maybe in a small production that doesn’t have the resources, the editor may take care of this, but as things have changed I would venture to say that at this point he is really wearing another hat.. Even in the feature film market, isn’t the Director of Photography taking care of most of the DI?

[Person Lastly]

not sure what DI means? is it Digital Interface? the DP title is another subject by the way. is a digital video camera person a DP in you opinion?

[Chip Johns]

DI = Digital Intermediate.

Many Cinematographers are using the digital process to manipulate the color space of the film. For instance by using a certain film stock and development process you can create a desired look by using color in different ways, i.e. high contrast vs low contrast, vibrant colors, or even vibrance on specific channels, etc.

For instance if you wanted to have the three-srip Technicolor high saturated look, instead of using film and development to achieve this, you can get more control (kind of) by using a Digital Intermediate (DI).

In this way, a cinematographer may choose to use differnt stock for different situations, for intance, to give more control and then create the look with the DI.

A good article on this is from American Cinematographer January 2005 Issue on Color Space. Great Article.

[Person Lastly]

ahh yes. i’ve been in a lustre session before. pretty powerful stuff. basically it all has to do with the LUT’s. being able to translate the digital color correction into film. basically it’s a telecine for film.

[Rocco Rocco]

Just say “editor” sheesh.