[Linda Naks]

Thanks so very much, Andrew– your post inspired me to dig out an old painting of mine this very morning, which I had left abandoned earlier this year when work had hit the fan.

[Linda Naks]

This thread is the best I’ve trailed in all of 2014.
Seems we ALL have something important to say.

Keep it coming, folks– this is the best show I’ve seen in town for a very, very long time.

[Linda Naks]

Hallo David,

With only 17 years of LA under my editing belt, I’m only just getting started now. The following is the best I can give you:

It’s stupid, it’s cliche, but it’s so very true: do what you love, and love what you do. Whether in production or in post, this is not a 9 –>5 industry, any way you dice it. When your day has reached hour 14, or hour 26 (no, not a typo, that was my world record to get a show to air,) you need to love your craft or else you’ll do a Walter White. I recently had the privilege to work with one of LA’s finest companies, and in my first of a 2-week gig, I put in 80 hours. It was (cough) challenging to say the least. I missed sleeping and eating. Often I was in quite a lot of pain. But I wanted my new boss/client to trust me, and trust me he did. The experience was invaluable, and loving my job made the hours so much easier.

TV/Film is not the easiest road to take. A mere 5 years into the game, I cracked under the pressure and quit, stating I’d never touch a computer again. Rigged parachutes for two years. Re-screwed my head back on, and now, I love editing so much, that my DVR is perpetually max’ed at 99%. I watch anything and everything. I watch stoopid diaper commercials in slow motion and sketch out the designs of how a seemingly-mundane spot actually solves fitting a lot of attractive graphics into one screen. Learn from everything and everyone.

Learn the legalities of the business. Keep everything legit to a T, and always keep your deals in writing. I truly think that our particular industry tends to bring out the worst in many people, more so than do other industries. BUT, I have also met so many of the finest, kindest, most genuine folks as well– folks who have become the best of the best, simply because they love what they do. When you find a great individual, or a super company/client, work hard to keep them tight.

Everybody knows EVERYBODY. This is sometimes good, other times very bad. In a random elevator at a random network building, in stepped a former colleague from an ugly gig many years ago. You will cross paths again which you wouldn’t even believe, so always remain polite and remain professional. The past tends to resurface around town, and you want your interactions to have concluded nicely. EVERYBODY talks, and it’s easier to live up to a good reputation than it is to live a bad one down.

All of the above replies are excellent and a joy to read. I hope you can find some nuggets in my ramblings here as well. Stay strong, be good, remain honest, in whichever road you take. I’m sure things will work out just fine, even when you hit some inevitable (but temporary!) potholes, sinkholes, tornadoes, and collapsed black holes along the way. It’s a fun ride, so enjoy 🙂

[Linda Naks]

Thank you very much, Mark. That Grinders article is a timeless and fascinating read. I no longer even deign to “have heard it all,” as seems there will always be some new Grinder infesting my Inbox with a sob story that’s out of this universe. Don’t worry– caving in is not an option for me, and I will quit eating and sell my TV before I ever again take on a cheap rate. Glad my “poor communication skills” pushed this nutjob away today before I even touched their media.

Further on the topic of Grinders: the good news is that a past Grinder (who took my sizzle onto an editing rollercoaster from hell) recently sold our “ultra-low-budget indie” sizzle reel (which I personally created from scratch utilizing blood, sweat, and tears) …to none other than one of the Big3 music networks. “Uh-oh,” for all involved! When said Grinder recently refused to honor my humble request for him to now pay me that which he had promised in the event of it actually selling, this stupid little girl simply contacted the purchasing Network’s Legal Department directly– who has become keenly interested in what a lowly sizzle editor has to say.

The really funny bit: my former Grinder may well have gone berserker on me in an obviously drunken, knee-jerk-reaction email rant denying my request for outstanding compensation; but, conversely, the Network’s responses to me are EXTREMELY polite and cautious 😉 Since I made the Network aware that they bought from the Grinder what is, for all intents and purposes, goods (partially) stolen from me, now I merely and patiently await this new series to go to air. The moment that my sizzle’s series airs: sweet mercy, “Lawyer-up, everybody!” My Grinder, the Network, and I will all be going to court together, to hash out what my slave-labor was actually worth to a billion-dollar franchise. Me, well, I simply cannot wait for the first episode to air. The ride will be the most interesting show I’ve seen all year.

Oh– and to contractors out there: as important as Deal Memos is keeping all sent and received emails!! My Grinder recently dug his own grave by blathering too much for his own good in his e-rant refusing my request for proper payment. I had made the mistake of not having a simple Deal Memo when I began that sizzle… but his recent hatemail clearly exposed that we had an agreement indeed. I shall delight when that stellar piece comes out in court. As my brother (an electrician, who’s also heard just about every Grinder story in the book) likes to say, “No, it’s not ‘ruthless.’ It’s just business.”

[Linda Naks]

Mark, only a few days ago did I come across your thoughts here r.e. deal memos, and I wanted to thank you, 2.5 years later, for just now having saved me from a certain, massive mess.

All last week I had been trying to sanely negotiate with a “client” whose sizzle smelled bad to me from the start; so, in order to protect myself from past (costly) mistakes, I finally presented them with a very simple yet very clean and legal deal memo, as per your opinions above.

Funny thing– said Client flipped out on me this morning, emailing how “I have poor communication skills” and (despite several of my sizzles having sold to Network, lol) how I “don’t know what I’m doing” blah blah blah… Apparently, somebody didn’t like the concept of discussed rates and expectations put into a written contract 😉

It cannot be stressed enough how important written contracts are for safeguarding us digital mercenaries who edit outside the protection of post houses’ established legal teams. May editors continue to find this thread and heed your wise words as well. Thank you, Mark!!

And, as always, love you Creative Cow! for your archived threads and tech support that continue to bail me out, sometimes years after the fact.

Best– L

[Linda Naks]

Still saving lives at 3am, three years later. I love this site. Thank you very much, gentlemen!

[Linda Naks]

Deleting the Batch Monitor’s and ALL Compressor prefs, emptying trash, shutting down, unhooking all drives, restarting w/zapping PRAM a few times, and then re-mounting all drives worked for me. Thanks to all at Creative Cow for YET AGAIN saving my life and keeping one more editor off the streets of LA!

[Linda Naks]

That’s an interesting idea, Ross, thanks! I’m definitely saving this thread for future reference as there’s so much to learn from you folks. Your suggestion would be a great workaround if, say, someone were dealing with a short spot or segment; but the key word would be certainly “limping” if not “downright physically impossible” with a 20-minute show such as mine at hand.

Yes, sirs, my MacBook Pro arrived two days ago. Took I think 90 minutes to load the entire FCP7 box set on, but oh boy was it worth it! I plugged in the worrisome project about which I had started this whole topic, and it immediately played like the sweetest dream. No relinking, no fuss, no settings changes, no NUTHIN!!! And the speed at which this processor is handling life, the universe, and everything… I think I’m in love 😉 LN

[Linda Naks]

Thank you for the suggestion, David 🙂 I decided to go straight to the mothership for this: there’s a brand-new MacBook Pro and the FCP7 box set on their merry way. Oh, and my client is happy to wait a few extra days! So all’s well that ends well, and I couldn’t be more excited over finally investing in the upgrade. Thanks again to all for your time and kindness– LN

[Linda Naks]

Hallo David, Shane, and Rafael–

I’ve been following all three of yours’ posts for a long time, and I am both very honoured and grateful for your prompt responses. Thank you so very much!!!

The bad news is…
I think I’m going to stand outside for a moment and have a cry over what’s about to happen to my Visa card. A newer version of FCP means a brand new processor– I’ve known this for a long time, and today must be piper-paying time 🙁 Ugh.

The good news is…
I UNDERSTAND what you all are saying, so at least I’m stepping in the right direction 🙂

I’ll be giving my client a call first thing in his time zone’s morning, and honesty will be the best policy– it’s high time I bought a new system (Intel w/FCP7,) and I hope he’ll be able to hang on for a few days while it ships here.

Again, I thank you gentlemen for your time and expertise! I’ve bookmarked many of your threads for emergency purposes 🙂 LN