21/02/2021
Some great advise for editors, note to self :take the advise.
Video Editing Lessons They Don’t Teach You In Film School
(1) People say "Sleep is for the weak" ... but if you forgo it too long your editing will not become bad but it will become cookie cutter. Sleep is your friend.
(2) Assign 1 Coffee/Tea Mug & 1 Water Cup / Bottle for the day and fill them at predetermined times. If you don’t, without realising it you’ll either dehydrate or need to do loads of washing up.
(3) Watch your colour management. It’s amazing how easily something can stuff it up. Make sure your Gamma is constant. If you're viewing rec709 on Quicktime on an sRGB monitor... well... *sigh*
(4) Rendering sucks. It doesn’t matter if you are on a top-end dedicated editing machine or an entry level notebook it will chew up time and disrupt your creativity. So learn to edit in passes and nail the story before you add any effects.
(5) Proxies are your best mate. I know it seems time consuming to create proxies, but in the end you will save time.
(6) A good monitor is worth its weight in gold. Don’t Skimp.
(7) A tool like a Shuttle, Loupedeck, Speed Editor or Monogram will save you SO MUCH TIME. Personally I use a Contour Shuttle Pro and a bunch of Monogram Stuff and it’s amazing.
(8) Some must-have plugins include Pluraleyes 3,
BeatEdit 2 for Premiere Pro, Magic Bullet Looks, FilmConvert, Colorista 2, Denoiser II or De: Noise, Mercalli Pro, Knoll Light Factory 3, Red Giant Universe in Resolve, Sapphire for Resolve, and some form of audio editing software (never underestimate sound).
(9) If ever you get the chance, learn to edit old-school on a Steenbeck editing table. The workflow lessons you will learn are freak’n’ invaluable. Not to mention fun.
(10) Learn from the greats by rewatching your favourite films over and over. Watch them for fun, watch them with an analytical eye, and watch them with the sound off. For me, some of my best teachers were Lawrence of Arabia, Heat, V For Vendetta, The Godfather Pt II, Citizen Kane, Hugo, Good Will Hunting, The Big Lebowski (ok film, but fantastic editing), City of God, Bladerunner, Jaws, A Clockwork Orange, Schindler’s List, Inception, Seven Samurai, Fight Club, Requiem For A Dream (on what not to do (good movie, bad editing)), Breathless, Goodfellas, Memento, and Raging Bull. Make your own list. Watch and watch and watch.
(11) Don’t underestimate sound. Everyone does. Even if you plan to send it off for sound design, get a good pair of headphones. Audio is more than half your story. People will often forgive ok image but they will rarely forgive anything less than great sound.
(12) Learn to be comfortable talking about money. If you are working on a feature / short / tv series, learn to be ok asking about the post-ptoduction budget and how it is being spent. If you are working in content creation, learn to be ok asking what the client wants to spend on post. Society teaches us that because what we do is art (albeit technical art) that we shouldn't talk about money, but that we do it for love. Which is true. No one who survives editing for awhile doesn't LOVE editing. But two things; we need to be able to support ourselves (eat, sleep, buy and maintain gear) and we need to know what tools we can use for an edit (are you using a sound designer, colourist, assistant, etc, or are you doing it all yourself, and if so for how long). When talking to my corporate clients, I often use the simile of catering; I can create your video on sausage roll and party pie budget or caviar and foie gras budget. Either way, you can have a video at the end, and often the same length and with the same key message but the production value will be very different.
(13) Eat good foods and eat regularly. The best editing machine in the world can not help if your brain is mushy. Healthy fats, good salts, and water and a must.
(14) Be courteous to everyone, even the arrogant DOP who intentionally stuffs up your safety shots, or doesn't get safeties... Or the sound guy who doesn't get room tone. I know you want to kill them, but being strong and meek will help you in the long run.
(15) Live. You have to have a life away from your timeline. This means learning time management and the axiomatically important triangle: fast, cheap, and good. Your client or producer can pick up to two. If it's lower than industry rate (or lower than what you usually charge) and high quality then it will take longer than usual (allowing you to either got other work or just relax). If it's fast-and low budget, it won't be good. Importantly, if it's high quality and turned around super fast (meaning you, or your team,h ave had to give up nights and weekends or turn down other work) then it will not be cheap!
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