Quintessential Studios' Weblog

So yesterday, I did not edit a thing.

I did parent things, a lot of parent things. I listened to a podcast and took four pages of notes. Grabbed lunch and some coffee. I did some webpage updates. Studied a little. I checked up on some taxes and unemployment things. I read some great replies to yesterday’s post (Thanks everyone!) I did noodle around on the Internet. And I watched two episodes of The Sopranos with my son.

Highlights for me: Being there for my kids. Especially when my daughter smiled back at me after she glanced over during circus practice to see if I was watching.

Oh wait. I lied. I did edit something yesterday!

Please excuse this small rant. I just feel like I should start getting things off of my chest and not hold them in.

Damn. February is slipping away and I can’t say I’ve accomplished much in these 11 days…

in 2024, after nearly a year out of work, I was lucky enough to replace a friend (who took another career direction) on a show that turned out to be a great experience. Sure it had it’s frustrations; my wife wonders why I picked this career. She said, “I thought you’d be happy but you seemed upset a lot of the time.” (Yeah, I thought that too! But I guess that’s part of growing and learning. Or is it?) And now I’m back to being unemployed, as of Feb 1.

As I’m preparing for my trailer course to start soon, I’m rushing through a Post Super Post-Production Delivery Deliverables course while also trying to cut a practice trailer. But I end up spending a lot of time just noodling around on the Internet… (There’s also this story-telling course I’m pecking my way through…) I know at the root of what I want to learn is rhythm. (I also have this Rhythm Course and a Trailer Music Course that are on the back burner…) I just feel there’s so much to learn and not enough time and then I just end up not doing anything, it feels like.

I’m “busy” and as I’ve learned, that is not a good thing but ultimately, I do get small gains, here and there. There are successes in parenting, which is the most important thing to me. So, that’s good. But so much of my life is out of whack.

I’m in an ungodly amount of debt and have had to cash out my retirement just to survive.

The funny thing is… I still have hope.

I’m going to employ a “make small gains” philosophy and just continue to push and try to focus.

Wish me luck! I wish for your success too.

Five months after my last blog post here, I had a breakthrough.

After working with a mentor (Joaquin at Hollywood Editing Mentor), doing an impromptu coaching call (with Sven Pape of The Go-To Editor/This Guy Edits) and doing a two-week taster class (with Paddy Bird over at Inside The Edit). I was able to get over the hurdle of myself and landed a bunch of interviews and got two job offers.

I decided, ultimately, to go with the one I felt had happier employees and was actually an AE job. In trailers. Which is where I wanted to be.

It’s been almost a year now and it’s been a wild ride of hard work, learning and of emotions. But so far so good. At some point, I’ll go over the roller-coaster of it all but for now, I’m satisfied. I even fulfilled my days and got on the roster.

This is from the About page of the This Post Life Facebook Group, updated March 1, 2021.

This Post Life is a community about transitioning to your life’s passion and why it may be the hardest thing you’ll ever do in your life. Stories from people in film and TV post production and from life in general.

Join this group if you’re in Post Production and/or are thinking about making a creative change in your life and would like to contribute to the narrative or are just interested in following along.

Follow our journey from “Day Jobs” to Dream Jobs in the TV and Film business.

Who I am:
Eric Francis Harnden – For 14+ years I worked in a data center. But in 2008 I discovered what I wanted to make my career. Since then, I’ve been faithfully studying and in 2018 made the decision to spread my wings and pursue my passion in post production. But while doing that, in 2019, I was suddenly dropped from my “steady” job. And the pressure was on….

There were various small jobs that “got me through”. Then 2020 and the pandemic (which is still going on and affecting many).

Out of nowhere though, in October 2020, I got my first longer than a couple weeks or a month gig, an assistant editor position for a reality show that would go about four months! Starting out in an office but then being able to work from home/remotely. Life was going great. Then something happened that would change my life forever and almost take it in the process.

January 10, 2021, I suffered a heart attack and 5 days later had a quadruple bypass open-heart surgery (and I still had time left on the show I was on….).

While this was bad enough, a month into my recovery I had a bad reaction to one of the medicines I was on and was rushed back to the ER. This was compounded in urgency, as it turned out one of the other patients in one of the many rooms I was in in the hospital tested positive for Covid. So under the cloud of possible death for a third time already in 2021, I am striving to continue to A) not only survive but B) still try to transition completely to my career of choice.

March 1, 2021 – I am back home and updating this description. One of my goals in life is to help people and especially to help them do what they want as a career, and especially those who are looking to pursue a creative career.

Since my passion is in post production, especially editing, I am going to concentrate on that journey more.

I want to share that journey and hopefully inspire others to follow their dreams.

http://thispostlife.com/

https://twitter.com/thispostlife

https://www.instagram.com/thispostlife/

Regarding any Amazon links I may post: “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.”

Please read entire post.

I made my first ever Amazon affiliate sale!

I made 90 cents. But it’s a start and I’m uber-excited about it because it IS a start!

But I need two more qualified sales to stay in business!

I created This Post Life at first with the idea of a podcast to help guide others along their transformation into a creative career. I found that it was hard to keep that going alone, but I still wanted to do what I could to help people. And believe it or not, I’m really an introvert who has a hard time meeting and talking to people.

With Covid, and the explosion of online events, especially in the field of editing, I decided to provide a place where people can find out what’s going on and this group was created.

It’s hard to do all of this alone but it’s where my passion lies, so I enjoy it. And I love to hear when the things I do help people. I want to grow this into something bigger and help as many people as I possibly can. It takes a lot of time and resources to do this but I press on, with my own time and money.

As we grow, I hope more resources will become available because that would be a benefit to everyone. But as I continue to pour my heart into this group, there will be things that I ask you to do to help, if you can.

Here’s one way you can help:
If you happen to be looking for a book on editing or need anything on amazon, if you click below first (that is an Amazon affiliate link) and then click around and buy something, you can help This Post Life stay “on the air”.
I need two more different buyers and the This Post Life Amazon associate store can stay in business which will help me develop a bigger better community for us. So, please help by clicking below and buying something! (Yes, this is a call to action.)

I still have bigger plans for This Post Life, including bringing back the podcast, more job listing resources, career help and classes. My mission is to help as many people as I can in life. I know that the better I can make This Post Life, the more people I can help. Not only does it help others but doing more, helps me become better because I can come out of my shell more and more with each thing I create. Which is what I want from others too. We have voices and we need to contribute.

https://amzn.to/3sbyEOJ

This Friday, March 5, 2021, the British Film Editors will be holding their inaugural annual Cut Above Awards. (which can be watched here: https://www.britishfilmeditors.co.uk/awards) As part of their first awards ceremony, they are including the Michael Johns Cut Above Award for Outstanding Assistant Editor and the Chris Crookall Cut Above Award for Breakthrough Editor. These awards for young talent are presented in the memory of two members who passed away in 2020. These are great steps in our industry to recognize talent behind the scenes and “below the line”.

A sub-committee of BFE governors selected five finalists in each category from a long-list of nominees. Separate juries, each chaired by a renowned editor will determine the winner of the awards, partly based on interviews with the finalists and the BFE members who nominated them.

The Award for Breakthrough Editor celebrates the outstanding achievements of emerging editing talent in 2020. Chris Crookall was a BFE member who was enjoying an exceptional career. The finalists in this category have demonstrated exemplary qualities in documentary or in drama.

The Chris Crookall Cut Above Award for Breakthrough Editor nominees are:
● Lindsey Woodward (I May Destroy You, The Last Bus)
● Tatjana Rhodes (Tummy Ache, Dorcha)
● Dan Gage (Home, Staged)
● Liyana Mansor (The Alienist)
● Izzy Curry (Goldfish, I Hate Suzie)

The BFE selection sub-committee also wanted to highlight two nominees as ‘highly commended’:
Gaz Evans(Porno Uncle Jim) and Simon Whitcombe (The Heist).

BFE used to be GBFTE (The Guild of British Film and Television Editors) and Michael Johns had been a governor of GBFTE for many years, known for championing junior members of the cutting room, offering help and advice.

The Michael Johns Cut Above Award for Outstanding Assistant Editor nominees are:
● Ruth Antoine
● Tom Coope
● Simon Davis
● Christopher Frith
● Jay Kishan Patel

“These finalists have demonstrated that they are exceptional Assistant Editors. They are soaring in this role. If they choose to become editors they will be building on a very firm foundation. Behind their pathways to success are stories of endeavour, flair, cooperation and determination.”
– Renée Edwards BFE, Chair.

The winners will be announced at the BFE Cut Above Awards ceremony, to be held as a live streamed event on the 5th March at 7.30pm.

For the remainder of this article, I am going to concentrate on the Assistant Editor nominees.

Because of this amazing breakthrough for Assistant Editors, I thought it would be beneficial to those wishing to achieve such a status to learn more about each of the nominees.

I went to IMDb and copied their editing related credits (keep in mind that IMDb is not always 100% accurate). Also for any assistant editing credits from 2021-2019, I listed the editors.

Ruth Antoine
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4290209/
Editorial department (14 credits)

The King’s Man (Second Assistant Editor) (completed)2021
Film Editing by
Jason Ballantine
Robert Hall

The Dig (first assistant editor) 2021
Film Editing by
Jon Harris

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (second assistant editor) 2019
Film Editing by
Laura Jennings
Craig Wood

Pokémon Detective Pikachu (first assistant editor) 2019
Film Editing by
Mark Sanger
James Thomas

Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (second assistant editor)2018
T2 Trainspotting (second assistant editor)2017
Tawai: A Voice from the Forest (Documentary) (assistant editor)2017
The Crown (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 10 episodes)2016
- Pride & Joy (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Assassins (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Scientia Potentia Est (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Gelignite (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Smoke and Mirrors (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Windsor (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Act of God (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Hyde Park Corner (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Gloriana (2016) … (second assistant editor)
- Wolferton Splash (2016) … (second assistant editor)
The Idol (first assistant editor)2015
Legend (second assistant editor)2015/I
The Monuments Men (editorial trainee)2014
Christmas in a Day (Documentary) (assistant editor)2013
Trance (second assistant editor)2013/I
Les Misérables (editorial trainee)2012

Tom Coope
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4563520/
Editorial department (13 credits)

Mission: Impossible 8 (first assistant editor) (filming)2022
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

Mission: Impossible 7 (first assistant editor) (filming)2021
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

Top Gun: Maverick (first assistant editor) (post-production)2021
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton
Chris Lebenzon

Dora and the Lost City of Gold (first assistant editor)2019
Film Editing by
Mark Everson

Mission: Impossible – Fallout (first assistant editor)2018
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (first assistant editor)2017
War Machine (second assistant editor)2017
Victoria (TV Series) (assistant editor – 3 episodes)2016
- Brocket Hall (2016) … (assistant editor)
- Ladies in Waiting (2016) … (assistant editor)
- Doll 123 (2016) … (assistant editor)
Now You See Me 2 (Dailies Assistant Editor)2016
The Huntsman: Winter’s War (assistant editor)2016
Spectre (dailies operator)2015/I
Kingsman: The Secret Service (second assistant editor)2014
Welcome to the Majority (assembly editor)2013

Editor (2 credits)
35mm (TV Series documentary) (1 episode)2008
- 35mm Special: Quantum of Solace
Terry Pratchett’s ‘The Colour of Magic’: The Making Of (TV Special documentary)2008

Simon Davis
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2065287/
Editorial department (17 credits)

Death on the Nile (first assistant editor) (completed) 2021
Film Editing by
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle

Artemis Fowl (first assistant editor)2020
Film Editing by
Matthew Tucker

Ready Player One (assistant editor)2018
Inferno (first assistant editor)2016/I
In the Heart of the Sea (associate editor)2015
Rush (first assistant editor)2013/I
War Horse (assistant editor)2011
Exitz (first assistant editor)2007
Cashback (assistant editor)2006
The Da Vinci Code (assistant editor)2006
Red Mercury (first assistant editor)2005
Around The World In 80 Days (assistant editor)2004
In My Country (first assistant editor)2004
Dinotopia (TV Series) (assistant editor – 6 episodes)2002-2003
- Car Wars (2003) … (assistant editor)
- LeSage (2003) … (assistant editor)
- Night of the Wartosa (2002) … (assistant editor)
- The Big Fight (2002) … (assistant editor)
- The Matriarch (2002) … (assistant editor)
- Contact (2002) … (assistant editor)
Dinotopia (TV Mini-Series) (assistant editor)2002/II
The Tailor of Panama (assistant editor)2001
The General (assistant editor)1998

Visual effects (6 credits)
Tomb Raider (visual effects editor)2018
The Nice Guys (visual effects editor)2016
Wrath of the Titans (vfx assistant editor)2012
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (first assistant visual effects editor – uncredited)2010
Quantum of Solace (vfx assistant editor)2008
The Golden Compass (vfx assistant editor)2007

Christopher Frith
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4268793/
Editorial department (19 credits)

Mission: Impossible 8 (first assistant editor) (filming)2022
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

Mission: Impossible 7 (first assistant editor) (filming) 2021
Film Editing by
Eddie Hamilton

To Olivia (associate editor)2021
Film Editing by
Colin Goudie

Cognition (Short) (additional editor)2020
Wonder Woman 1984 (assistant vfx editor – uncredited)2020
The Show (associate editor) 2020/II
The Great (TV Series) (first assistant editor – 4 episodes)2020
- Meatballs at the Dacha (2020) … (first assistant editor)
- A Pox on Hope (2020) … (first assistant editor)
- Moscow Mule (2020) … (first assistant editor)
- And You Sir, Are No Peter the Great (2020) … (first assistant editor)
The Nest (first assistant editor) 2020/I
Dora and the Lost City of Gold (first assistant editor – uncredited)2019
It’s Snowing Outside (Short) (assistant editor)2019
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (3D Editor – uncredited)2018
Mission: Impossible – Fallout (second/3D assistant editor)2018
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (assistant editor) 2017
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (assistant editor)2016
Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (assistant editor)2015
Naked and Afraid (TV Series) (assistant editor – 16 episodes)2013-2014
- Himalayan Hell (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Playing with Fire (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Argentina Impossible (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Hearts of Darkness (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Blood in the Water (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Primal Fear (2014) … (assistant editor)
- New Season Exposed (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Bares All: Starvation, Snakes and Strife (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Meltdown in Bolivia (2014) … (assistant editor)
- The Pain Forest (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Mayan Misery (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Paradise Lost (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Damned in Africa (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Man vs. Amazon (2014) … (assistant editor)
- Double Jeopardy (2013) … (assistant editor)
- Jungle Love (2013) … (assistant editor)
Gnomes (Short) (assistant editor)2014
Puncture Wounds (additional assistant editor)2014
Irma and the Yeti (Short) (assistant editor)2011

Editor (25 credits)
Small Talk (Short) (post-production)
The Long Walk Home (Short) (post-production)
Demon Lake
Bus Stop (Short) 2019/I
The Morning and the Night (Short)2018
London You Live, Brighton You Die (Short)2018
Game Over (Video short)2018
Meet the Nativity (TV Mini-Series) (4 episodes) 2017
- The Boyfriend (2017)
- The Stepmother (2017)
- The Girlfriend (2017)
- The Father (2017)
The Man from Outer Space2017
Seeing Him (Short)2017
The Last Summer of My Youth (Short)2015
The Death of Eurydice (Short)2013
Old Souls (Short) 2013
Sergeant Townsend (Short)2012
Love the People (Video short)2012
Dissonance (Short) 2012/I
Because You’re Too Nice2012
The Man from Outer Space (Short)2011
The Firebird (Short) 2011
Impulse (Short)2011
The Card (Short)2010
Making Snow White and the Seven Sisters (Documentary short)2009
Blood Feud (Short)2008
Saltus Grammar School (Documentary short)2007
The Case (Short)2006

Jay Kishan Patel
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8859859/
Editorial department (5 credits)

The Serpent (TV Mini-Series) (first assistant editor – 8 episodes) 2021
Series Film Editing by
Helen Chapman
Malcolm Crowe
Danielle Palmer
Miikka Leskinen

- Episode #1.8 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.7 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.6 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2021) … (first assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2021) … (first assistant editor)

The Trial of Christine Keeler (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 6 episodes)2019-2020
Series Film Editing by
Danielle Palmer
Sarah Louise Bates
Edel McDonnell
Carmela Iandoli

- Episode #1.6 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2020) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2019) … (second assistant editor)

Deep Water (TV Mini-Series) (second assistant editor – 6 episodes)2019
Series Film Editing by
Ben Drury
Mark Trend
Nick McPhee

- Episode #1.6 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2019) … (second assistant editor)

Curfew (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 8 episodes) 2019
Series Film Editing by
Ian Davies
Sarah Brewerton

- Episode #1.8 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.7 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.6 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.5 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.4 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.3 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.2 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
- Episode #1.1 (2019) … (second assistant editor)
Lucky Man (TV Series) (second assistant editor – 8 episodes) 2018
- End of Days (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Blinded by the Light (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- The Art of War (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- The Sins of the Father (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Missing Persons (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- The Zero Option (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Run Rabbit Run (2018) … (second assistant editor)
- Facing Your Demons (2018) … (second assistant editor)

As you can see, these Assistant Editors have been at it for a while (so, “young talent” is relative) and are working on the top films and TV. My heart is with the newcomer Patel, but something tells me Eddie’s man Christopher’s got the win. (He’s got two editors I know from BFE who could have nominated him.)

Hope you all tune in to see all the nominees and winners!

https://www.britishfilmeditors.co.uk/awards or streaming to YouTube and Facebook at 7.30PM (GMT) on Friday 5th March, 2021.

Recently, while applying for a student membership to an editors organization, I was asked to explain a little more about my studies and path from IT to editorial.

I am posting a part of my reply here: (I have used brackets below to add more explanation as well.)

“Around 2007-2008, something happened that would start the wheels in motion for a major awakening and mind-shift in what was possible [for me], creatively, as a career. It was a random collision of events, really. While dabbling with recording a show off the telly, I ran into a strange problem where audio wasn’t recorded. This sent me down the rabbit hole of learning about codecs and wrappers and time code and on and on. My systems-loving brain couldn’t get enough of this stuff. Coincidentally around this time, I was trying to edit a video [my wedding video, actually]. It was a bit clanky to me [I was using Windows Movie Maker, yikes!] and I asked a coworker, who spent his spare time making advocacy videos, what he thought was a good editing program to learn. At the time, Final Cut was making its advancement in the industry and we talked about the big Avid vs. Final Cut debate [but in music terms of Pro Tools vs Logic] and he concluded that I should go learn Final Cut Pro.

“Excitedly, I looked to my local community colleges for classes on editing with Final Cut. As luck would have it, I found that my local school had a film and TV degree/certificate program and a beginning and an advanced editing class. The advanced class clearly stated that they used Final Cut Pro in the class and the beginning class was a prerequisite. So, I enrolled in the night class for Beginning editing. I can’t tell you how excited I was to eventually learn that in the beginning class, they also used Final Cut Pro! That very first night, when we opened the program and started learning the GUI, I had what I would have to liken to an out-of-body experience. THIS was what I had wanted to do with computers and how I thought they should be and act and perform, from my very first idea of what computers should do!

“Each night, as I continued to do my exercises, I would be lost in time and spend endless hours, going back and forth on where exactly to cut. It was what I would later learn is called being ‘in the zone’. I couldn’t get enough of this either! I did everything I could to learn more. I got on forums, I went to user group meetings, and just kept on taking classes each semester.

“It was through all of this that I eventually made friends with the late Norman Hollyn, ACE. He advised me to go to the A.C.E. Invisible Art, Visible Artist event and while there, look for Allan Holzman, ACE and see if I could help him out in any way. I did and that was how I was able to assist in the creation of the documentary [DVD] of that event, and thus my first AE credit.

“I continued to take classes for many[, many] years. Too complacent with my IT job and too scared to make the leap into trying to work in the industry, I just kept networking and learning and trying to figure out how to transition. Fear guided my life for ten plus years but I still dreamed.

“I did everything I could in my spare time to push myself out of my comfort zone. And, eventually started to listen to things (podcasts and audio books) of a motivational nature. These pushed me to finally seek out [...] internships. While I had enough credits to receive a certificate in Film and TV production for quite some time, I never applied for it, until it was needed for the ACE Internship. So, I applied and got it [my FTV cert].

“Part of my transition was to start a podcast (which is now more of a community for people that want to pursue their dreams, mainly in post, called “This Post Life”). [The plan is to pick the podcast back up soon too.] I continue to try to stay connected to all things that can educate myself and others.

…

“So, while my path has been unorthodox, it has been my underlying passion to transition into film and TV editing. Last year I finally made the leap to fully pursue this full-time and only worked freelance in post, albeit mostly as a media manager, and I am not looking back[!]“

Up to now* (Feb. 15, 2019, when I first started to pen this article), I’ve attended ten ACE (American Cinema Editors) IAVA Panels, one EditFest, one ACE Internship Applicant Panel and one ACE Holiday Party but I have never been to the Eddies.

2018 was a banner year for me, I made the decision to finally move to the post production/editing world, as a career. I got a summer internship and an amazing trailer company, went to the Golden Trailer Awards, became an ACE Intern applicant, went to EditFest for the first time, went to the ACE Holiday Party and attended the day-long panel associated with being an ACE Intern applicant. I have attended numerous post-related networking events this year as well: Ask Avid, LACPUG meetings, LAPPG meetings, Editors’ Lounge, Screenings and Q&A’s, BCPC and a couple of classes. Over the year, I made a lot of new friends!

But over the last ten to eleven years, I have built a lot of friendships too. I founded and ran the Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire for seven years. That group, among many user group statuses, was an official Avid user group. This year, and probably most years, Avid hosted a pre-Eddie award party. I reached out to one of my friends at Avid and said, “tell me more about this party.”

There were a few things before that, that lead up to me being able to attend the Eddies. At EditFest, I had a conversation with someone. After that, I emailed that person. After the ACE Intern day of panels, a few of us were socializing at the Pig & Whistle. Someone who would later turn out to be our applicant group’s mentor, mentioned, “Go to all the events.” They mentioned that you may not be able to go to the Eddies per se, but they were held at a hotel and “hotels have bars. Just sayin’.” After the Intern day, I also emailed that earlier person. (I’m sorry to be so general but I just want to show the process, not the whos.) That comment cemented in my mind that I must go hang out at the bar where the Eddies were held and network more with ACE editors.

The Eddies are a black tie affair. Luckily, I was future-thinking when I got married and bought my tux. (Farther back, in high school, I used to read GQ a lot and remember that it said you should always own at least one black tux.) So, I had something to wear.

After getting an invite to the Avid pre-party, I figured I was one step ahead of my original plan. At least I had one place to go that was adjacent to the Eddie festivities!

The night of the Eddies, I reached out to see if anyone else wanted to go along with me to no avail. But I kept forward with my plan. I got to the Beverly Hills Hilton and made my way to the Avid party. On the way, I got to the “red carpet” area. There I ran into a friend who was interviewing editors for his podcast. “Do you have a ticket?” People would ask me that or some variation of that throughout the night.

“No. I’m just going to hang out and maybe see if I can get in but if not, just hang out.”

At the Avid party, I saw a lot of friends, even some who weren’t ticketed either. It was a great party with Avid swag and food and drinks and lots of “celebrity” editors. I’m not too outgoing when it comes to parties, but I try to push myself at these kind of events. After reaching my limit of that though, I kind of made my last lap around the bar and as I was about to just slip away, had an inviting “hi” from another bloke in a penguin suit.

We talked a bit and I found out that he was from England and that this was his second time across the pond for the Eddies. The last time he didn’t win and did not expect to win this time either. In fact, he confessed, he hadn’t written speech or anything. He asked me what table I was at and I confessed that I was just “hanging out”. We joked about him saying I was with him but that didn’t actually work out when it came to trying to get in to the event.

As the crowd moved towards the dining hall, there were a couple of “bouncers” at each door. One asked to see my ticket. I grabbed all of my pockets. Looked around, calling my new friend’s name, who I had somehow lost in the crowd on the way there, and said, “Oh I lost my friend who has the tickets. I’ll be back.”

I sashayed my way over to the ticket tables and noticed a couple of friends of mine were working it. I started talking to one and he said, “are you on the list?”.

“I’m not on the list. Unless I’m ‘on the list’”, I winked.

He looked through the list… “No you’re not on the list.” So much for that idea!

As I moseyed away, I noticed the person I had been emailing after each of my earlier events. I went to them and struck up a conversation. After confessing that I was “just hanging out” again, they said they had an extra ticket and asked if I wanted to go! Hallelujah! Not only had I so far exceeded my networking goals, I was about to attend the Eddie Awards!

As an aside, I have to tell you, by networking, I truly mean just making friends. I not only want to immerse myself in the field but also I want to have friends in the industry, for the sake of having friends. I find, generally, post people are my kind of people. So it makes life easier having people with the same interests, etc.

Well the show was amazing, the food, the MC, the presenters, the clips, the speeches, hanging out with people I knew, everything was surreal. Speeches! Turns out my new friend won his category and with a lucky lead in to his category, had a nice opening to his speech. And he did just fine with it.

I was so happy for him that I waited for him to come out, after the show was over, to congratulate him. He had found another person from England, whom he had worked with before, and they both invited me to follow them for a drink. She acted as PR agent as we went to a “you-had-to-pre-register” after-party and got us into that one with a “look, he’s won!” and I just threw my wrist out to be banded, as they both did.

Then off to the next bar and the next, there were a lot of bars in this hotel, actually! And I stayed way into the night, cavorting with lots of friends and having the best of times, celebrating and honoring the winners and the nominees and the craft. And when I had my fill, I said my good-byes.

What attending the Eddies meant to me was “exposure”. Exposure to what’s possible. Exposure to “yeah, you can achieve this in your life”. Awards aren’t the goal in artistry but I can see it’s nice to be recognized and being around these folks, whom I admire for their work, makes me want to do more and reach higher goals in this industry. So this was my first and I’m positive it won’t be my last.

–EFH

Dedicated to Norman Hollyn. He’s the one who turned me on to all of these ACE things and supported me and so many other people all along the way. I dearly miss you, My Friend.

*I attended my 11th IAVA Feb 23, 2019.

I received this email from Film Editing Pro about a month ago, and have received permission to share it with you.

As you may or may not know, I spent the summer interning for one of the top trailer companies out there.

I spent my time earning how to do assistant editor duties.

Since that experience, I am hell-bent on becoming an assistant editor for a trailer company.

I also want to edit trailers but know I have to work on my craft a little more. Because of this email, I looked further into Chris’ Film Editing Pro online school because they have a trailer editing class that’s pretty spot on.

Jonny Elwyn did a real great write up on their course here: https://jonnyelwyn.co.uk/film-and-video-editing/how-to-edit-a-film-trailer/

As you can see from the tips below, they really know there stuff!

You can visit their training page here: https://www.filmeditingpro.com/training/

Here’s the email:

Hi there,

Today, we’re going to look at how to avoid some big (and common) trailer editing mistakes — particularly related to story-telling and graphics.
Let’s get started.
3 Common Trailer Editing Mistakes

A trailer is basically two and a half minutes of information. How much information can a person be exposed to in that amount of time and still be expected to retain any of it? 

It’s a delicate balance. If you make it too sparse, the audience might write your movie off as boring or slow. Pack in too much though, and you risk them tuning out entirely.

The key is finding that sweet spot. Good trailers stay interesting but don’t actually ask the audience to remember much. Let’s look at some common mistakes or pitfalls that newer trailer editors can run into:
Common Mistakes

Mistake #1: Using a lot of character names

This might sound crazy. Of course we use character names, right? But if you actually pay attention while watching most trailers, you’ll realize that saying the name of a person in dialogue is actually rare. 
The main character may get a call out (especially in the common scenario where the movie title is a play on their name) and of course franchise movies use lots of names (this is a special case which we’ll discuss below) but aside from that, characters are usually referred to as he, she, my son, my wife, etc. 

Why is this?

The answer is simple. It’s not worth asking the audience to remember. Let’s be honest, the character names probably don’t really matter that much to the story of the trailer. If the audience is thrown a ton of specifics they are likely to forget them anyway. And even if we do use a bunch of character names, how do we know if the audience has retained them? 

Will they know who Sarah is as opposed to Julie or Stephanie? If we assume they do, and they don’t, what sort of confusion might this cause? Keeping it simple, and avoiding names whenever possible, is the much safer course of action.

Mistake #2: Graphic Cards With Too Much Text
A lot of trailers have what’s called a “copy message”. This is often a statement which speaks to the theme of the movie. Here’s an example:

Let’s note a couple of things. 

1. Each card stands alone
You don’t need to connect them together. They work together, but they don’t require holding each one in your head in order to make sense of them all as a whole. 

2. Each phrase is very short
No more than 3 words per “card”. The professionals know that if the graphic has even a few more words then they’ll start running into problems. The more words there are, the longer you have to leave the card on screen. This can easily wreck the rhythm of your trailer. 

But more importantly, if there are too many words on any given graphic, the audience simply won’t read them. They’ve been trained by years of tv commercials and movie promos that the text is only going to be on screen for a very short amount of time. 

As a result, if they see a card that has more than 5 words, they won’t even attempt to decipher it. And even if they do try, it’s often going to be to the detriment of the next thing they see or hear during the trailer. They’ll still be thinking about that long list of text they were just shown. 

This can create a domino effect that leads to confusion as they miss important story beats that contextualize other parts of the narrative later on. Remember, we need to be cautious about giving the audience too much information, thus overstimulating them to the point that they tune out. 
This is one reason why “copy” (this is what we call the message of the text or narrator) is very often a play on words. A slight variation on an existing idiom. The copy writer is attempting to capitalize on knowledge the viewer already has. Effectively piggybacking on mental real estate that already exists. 

Here’s a good analog: 
What’s easier to remember, a random 11 digit code or your own phone number with a “2” added to the end?

One last little insider secret regarding graphics cards such as these: 

Their main function isn’t even always the message they contain. They’re often more important as a tool to break up the story and allow easy transition to different parts of the movie quickly. 

Mistake #3: Lip Flap
This is when the editor makes the decision to use a shot where a character’s mouth is moving but the audience isn’t also given the matching dialogue or sound. 

Besides the fact that it looks sloppy, it also leads to a lot of audience confusion. What happened to the sound for that moment? Was it there and I didn’t hear it? Or was I supposed to not hear it? Even if I’m not meant to hear it, I still can’t help but thinking, what did that person say?

And right there they’ve missed the next 10-15 seconds of your trailer. And now they’re confused for the rest of the time because they’ve missed information and there’s no way for them to catch back up. Sometimes it’s painful, the shot may be beautifully lit or framed, but if you have lip flap you simply cannot use it.

Watching a trailer is kind of like being a hurdler. Each piece of information is something the audience has to jump over (understand/digest). If they trip on even one thing, it can start a chain reaction where they never complete the race. 

Keep those hurdles as simple and easy to clear as possible.

Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful week, all.

- Chris

P.S. As always, please let me know your requests and suggestions for additional content. Are there any editing topics you’d like us to discuss? Any specific problems you could use help with? Let me know!