My finished productions do not look “slick” or “polished” to me…or am I just sick of them when completed?

[David Rowan]

David,

I know what you mean, whenever I put a demo reel together I can’t help but think “Wow, everything I’ve ever done sucks.” No matter how much I liked it at the time. Your just in a rut.

If your a one-man band part of the problem is cross-polination. When you can bounce ideas off other people, see their work and have them critique yours then your work won’t seem so stale. Local users groups can provide this, plus you could try freelancing at a local TV station, or on someother project where you are part of a team. Teaching can also do this, even if its the local boyscouts or highschool. The idea is that your communicating with other people in new ways. Just explaining your own techniques to someone will help you discover your own identity. Judging contests also exposes you to a lot of new material in a critical environment.

Experiment. I just had a co-worker tell me that he had never seen someone in the TV business work so hard on their home movies. I’m not much of a “film-maker” in terms of coming up with my own movies. I like helping other people realize their visions. But I make some pretty good home movies, and I experiment with storytelling, pohotography and editing techniques there. I see lots of ads for would be movie makers looking for camera men and editors (and others), and in the end its all on spec…no pay. Pro Bono work may not be a waste of time if it is different enough from your regular stuff to inspire, challenge at teach you.

Do domething different. Learn to Scuba dive. Research your genealogy. Shake up your life. If you have a dedicated hobby outside of work, try a new hobby. If you don’t have a dedicated hobby outside of work…get one! For your own sake.

Summary: Meet new people, try new projects, learn new things.

DWR

[Mark]

First off, sorry for not being around lately….I seem to say that a lot lately…..

I know the feeling of not aprreciating one’s work and one’s talent. For years I was telling myself that I was just lucky that my projects worked out. The heavy composited piece that I did, well that came out well because I was lucky. It has only been the last few years that I have actually been confident in my work. The 2 Promax gold awards from this years competition helped me to confirm this confidence. Also the fact that I am booked solid, and the other editors are not…..the fact that when I take vacation the other editors do nothing, and then when I come back I am swamped, these are all things that tell me that I am doing something right.

I still look at other people’s work, people who post demos, and sure there are some that look kind of amateurish, but there are other’s that blow me away. I ask myself, am I a hack, my work doesn’t even come close to that…..but then I take a step back and try to evaluate the situation. I work for a sports broadcaster here in Montreal. We are very limited on time, and have a very heavy work load. I can put out a very tight, composited 30 second spot in anywhere from 2-4 hours. That is from start to finish. You see, what I am trying to say, is that comparing one’s work to someone’s else is not always a good idea. Now, I try to look at my work on it’s own merit. Could I have done better within the timeframe alloted. What could I have done to make the project better….Did I learn anything ???

I can honestly say that I am now very happy with my work. I am not a long form editor, although I do the occasional show. My strength is short pieces, pieces that involve music, beat, feeling…especially excitement (Sports). I like to make the hair on people’s arm stand on end, I like to evoke excitement, I want people to feel the message that I am trying to convey.

So you say your projects are not slick or polished. Ask yourself, what is missing. Pick up a design magazine, look for color schemes to treat the images. Buy magic bullet and film look a spot or two. Add a little blur to a super. Try soft cuts intead of cuts or dissolves…if you must dissolve, try directional dissolves(really really soft wipes that follow the action). For me, the most finished projects are usually cuts, heavy, heavy super text treatments, color effected shots and intense music mixes. I love letting music drive my edits. I love say cutting to beat, but then unexpectedly going to the off-beat……man is this job great or what.

Mark

[Walter Biscardi]

[mark harvey] “man is this job great or what.”

And ultimately that’s the key to our work. At the end of the day I always remind myself that I’m getting paid to have fun.

Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Creative Genius, Biscardi Creative Media
https://www.biscardicreative.com

Now in Production, “The Rough Cut,” https://www.theroughcutmovie.com

Now editing “Good Eats” in HD for the Food Network

“I reject your reality and substitute my own!” – Adam Savage, Mythbusters

[Alan E. bell]

This is a great job!

Here are some tricks I use to keep a fresh perspective on my sequences, especially when I’ve been working on them for awhile and putting them through different versions.

btw I mainly cut feature films.

1) I always take a deep breath before I sit back and look at something.
2) I remind myself not to aticipate the cuts I’ve made.
3) I when I feel something isn’t right but I’m not sure what it is. I pay deep attention to the feeling. For me it’s often the cut before I noticed.
4) I pay attention to where my eye tracks from cut to cut. (this is something I usually think about while I’m choosing my cuts.

5) Take a rest from it.

We have jobs that are 100% objective. It’s all a matter of taste when you think about it. What was slick 10 years ago may look old today. I my opnion if your piece reaches the audience on an emontional level then it has a better chance of standing the test of time.

Just my two cents.

Alan Edward Bell
Editor