RANT! Editors who don’t know how to ‘drive’

[Christian Glawe]

”In today’s environment, it’s impossible to separate them, but that’s what colleges and universities are trying to do.” That’s right… you can’t separate them! And, I would argue, learning institutions are doing a huge disservice by trying to separate them – are you going to issue a “video/film degree” to somebody without teaching them about alpha channels, color channels, bit rates, etc.? If you are going to embrace the new technology as empowering for the Little Guy, then it’s up to the Little Guy to learn the tech stuff! The “I’m an artist, man” card is not going to play… unless you’re willing to hire a tech consultant (“paging Bob Zelin… paging Bob Zelin…”) to handle all that for you. If anything, our jobs are more difficult than ever… we’re expected to be creative storytellers, but, at the same time, we’re expected to be systems admins, tech trouble-shooters, workflow specialists, etc… simply keeping up with all the new tech developments is a full-time job!

[Bob Zelin]

Fr. Frank write –
The instructors and professors that I’ve run into have no clue how to edit on NLE systems (much less trouble shoot). They live in a theory based world and generally don’t want to be distracted with “technology!”

REPLY – my parents, who had no money, spent their money sending me to Polytechnic Institute of NY, to become an Electrical Engineer. I learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about electronics at this university, and I am convinced that not one of the professors at this college could design their way out of a paper bag, least not get an entry level job with a company that had to do with circuit design. Anything I ever learned, I learned on my own, or from friends and associates at work. What a shame – nothing has changed. Everyone said to me “one day you will appreciate this theory”. It’s now been 30 years since I graduated, and I still have no idea of what those math courses were about. For years after graduating, I always wanted to go back to Mr. Lupo, who “advised me” that “maybe I wasn’t cut out to be an engineer”, and slap him in the face. (never had the guts to do this).

Bob Zelin

[Mike Laur]

Go slap him, Bob. And ask him if he still remembers Ohm’s Law.

And while you’re at it, slap all the poor fools who think computers do all the technical stuff for them. Slap those nincompoops who don’t know an Edison plug from an RCA, too – but I’d suggest using insulated gloves. Maybe hand them a soldering iron, stand back and watch the fun.

While you’re at it, slap yourself, too – on the back.

So much of this stuff is insanely complicated. It’s a lot more straightforward to pilot a 777 from Chicago to London than it is to edit your typical video project. It’s miracle enough to fly above the clouds. There, you’ve got lots of smart people watching you, guiding you and telling you what to do.

Go ahead – master a finished program for HDTV and SD broadcast, DVD, multiple web flavors, with closed captioning and 4:3 crops from the 16:9 original, in stereo and 5.1 (don’t forget the PAL master) – with all the crappy work out there, it gives a new dimension to a job well done. That assumes it gets done, makes air, and you get paid.

Ohhhh – you want it on You-Tube?

Mike L.

[Jeremy Garchow]

[Bob Zelin] “(never had the guts to do this). “

Give him a creative cow account and let him have it.

[Aaron Neitz]

Wow, great thread…. I don’t even want to talk about it.

There’s a feature film getting cut upstairs which they had to hire a “union” assistant editor for

He’s making TWICE what I do… and asked one day, while pointing to the VCR in the edit bay, “Is that the Digibeta? How do I connect it to the Avid?” It’s frustrating as hell. Yeah, i make salary and don’t need to worry about not being booked for a couple weeks at a time, but this kid barely know his ass from a G5 in the ground.

it blows my mind how nontechnical people are in this business… and how they manage to still make money

[Mark Maness]

Ok… I have to jump in here…

I’m in the car with all of you!

I’ve been in the business for about 20 years now. I started working for a local PBS station with absolutely no budgets and very basic well-used equipment. I learned an incredible wealth of experience. I did everything production. I was an engineer, set designer, audio engineer, camera operator, director, producer, editor, DP, production vehicle driver, and so forth…. I think you get the idea.

You can learn alot from college or a film school, BUT, you can’t replace actual experience with school knowledge.

All of these people who think they are editors have really hurt my end of the industry, making it very difficult to make the money that we should. BUT, when it comes down to it, people will notice your work, good and bad.

Just because you decided that your current job isn’t working out and you’ve always wanted to be an editor so you went out and bought all of this equipment, it doesn’t mean that you are an editor. If you like medicine, that doesn’t make you a doctor.

_______________________________

Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com
https://blogs.creativecow.net/waynecarey

[Christopher S. johnson]

Hi, I’m one of those editors who can both troubleshoot the NLE, capture card, deck, and story-tell. Sometimes when not editing documentaries, I even gig as just a FCP Techie. So there are no sour grapes when I say this:

I dont know about the kinds of projects you guys are working on, but in documentary and doc series, story-telling is king. I have seen my share of technically knowledgeable editors who couldn’t come up with appropriate emotional cues or empathize with the client’s talking points and they were let go. out-the-door-goodbye. Nobody would have fired them for not knowing how to look at a deck menu!

I can do some audio sweetening, because I forced myself to learn on low budget jobs. And I can do some graphics, because I was the only one with an inkling to learn on a project. But people who are dedicated to these professions can KICK MY ASS at these! There is no way to become the best at everything and if you do, you will most certainly only be mediocre at most of them. There arent enough hours in a day.

For documentaries, if you find a good storyteller, keep them. A techie can be hired on an “as needed” basis. You can hire a graphics and sound mixer later.

I think some of us are just “lucky” to be both story and tech proficient. Expecting this as a standard may produce many plain-janes who really dont have a lot of talent in either but “just pass” in both areas.

A good storyteller is worth their weight in gold.

-Christopher

[Mark Richford]

What’s an Edison plug? I’ve been making video since it was called radio and I don’t think I know that one.

Mark @ Tropical Visions Video, Inc.
Hilo, Hawaii
808.989.0324