[Rocco Rocco]

Thanks for the reply. That’s what I thought, but for what ever reason my set up isn’t working. Not sure if its the Digital recorder, the Micon or the lavs.

[Rocco Rocco]

Check out:

– Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
– Riding Giants (2004)
– Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)

Same editor, great energy and style. They’re not hero’s journeys, but there is a little character development and personal growth in these.

[Rocco Rocco]

Thanks for all the fascinating research ;o)

[Rocco Rocco]

What exactly is copyright infringement? It’s my understanding that these days its the act of uploading content (distributing)without the owners consent, and not necessarily the act of sampling and remixing for personal use. So it would be the uploader (“distributer”) who’d face any legal challenges from the copyright owner, surely?

In other words, if it gets online – and you didn’t upload it – how is that your problem? What specific law have you broken? Furthermore is the editor more responsible because he spliced it in? What about the colorist? Or sound mixer? Could they be held liable too?

Question: Has there ever been an instance of copyright infringement where the staff for hire (freelance or otherwise) was held liable instead of – or as well as – the owner, producer or distributor of the new media? (not seeking metaphorical answers such as hit men and nazis)

[Rocco Rocco]

I’m still on 6.0. Is it likely to be a $500 upgrade like 6.5? Or are full upgrades usually more?

[Rocco Rocco]

Thanks for the reply.

So, if I’m guessing correctly, the workaround would be to first transfer into my specific folder and then LINK TO AMA FILES – would that basically give me the same thing?

[Rocco Rocco]

Editing reels are unique in that – unlike acting / cinematography / colorist reels – they can’t truthfully represent how good of an editor you are. For example, a director watches two scenes cut by different editors. He has NO possible way of knowing what footage each editor had to work with and how challenging the scenes were to cut. The editor with the best looking footage / more coverage / better sound mix / better gfx is at a distinct advantage when showing thier work, EVEN THOUGH they might be a lesser editor.

So what a director is looking for isn’t the “quality” of editing. He’s looking to see how high end your work is and if it matches stylistically with his needs. THEN, he wants to know if he can bare sitting with you in a room for 10 hours and if your ideologies gel.

So how does that affect you? Well the most important thing is to get in the room, but that’s not the question so make sure to bring the quality up to the highest standards possible and taylor links personally to match the sensibilities of the person hiring. The most valuable thing you can have is to be “the editor of suchandsuch” namely the guy who cut the thing that everyone knows, so they can say “we got the editor of Entourage coming in” or “the guy who cut those Pepsi commercials” – that’s always they guy who gets the gig.

[Rocco Rocco]

1. Know editing. This means, learn the software and be good at making cuts. Have a great reel, be fast, creative, know sound, music, timecode, formats, codecs etc.

2. Know post production. This means, learn about large scale workflow involving audio shops, effects guys, video duplication and so on. The best way to learn this is get a low-end job in a post house.

3. Know people. This means, learn to meet people with whom you can develop mutually beneficial relationship with, specifically: you’re their bad-ass editor; they like to pay you generously.

The “better” you are at all those three elements combined, the better editor you will be. Let one slip and you weaken the overall organism. #2 is probably the easiest followed by #3 then #1, I’d say.

Best of luck.

[Rocco Rocco]

Sounds like you should study screenwriting.

McKee, Truby, Horton, Field, Campbell etc. – they’re all full of that stuff: metaphor, theme, subtext. There’s no doubt that a good story oozes with thematic undertones; that a good story-teller is confident that his unspoken words are felt. It is possible that Inception is a metaphor for film making and Nolan was fully aware of this the whole time. This kind of thing is very common. More often a story is a metaphor for how and why we undergo change (that’s a Robert McKee quote). What is the resurrection of Jesus if not a metaphor for changing your life? The same goes for the rising of the Phoenix. The snake that sheds is skin. Almost every third act climax in almost any movie is a metaphor for how you want to undergo change in your life.

These things aren’t there by accident. BUT if they’re overdone you end up with a studenty cringe fest of arsty nonsense and no balls. So you gotta find a balance.

Watch Natural Born Killers with Oliver Stone’s commentary and you’ll discover a world of symbolism and metaphor you never knew existed. It’s all very carefully mapped out and thought deeply.

Now, will all of this help you become a better editor? Possibly. But it will definitely help you become a better story teller if you grasp it fully.

[Rocco Rocco]

I think the moral of the thread is learn all the artsy stuff you want, draw on it and use it, BUT: keep it to yourself!