My 10th IAVA (Invisible Art/Visible Artist)
In 2009, I went to my first IAVA event. It’s a panel of editors who have been nominated for that year’s Academy Award or Oscar, put on by A.C.E. (American Cinema Editors). The editors in attendance, usually all of them, discuss their path to an editing career and their film they’re nominated for editing. It includes a showing of a clip from the movie and they talk about why they picked that one to show.
(If you’re interested, here is my review of the first one I attended: http://wordpress.quintessentialstudios.net/?p=32)
Throughout the years, I have met and become friends with a lot of the people who attend, at least those I am in line with and the ones with whom I’ve had social media interaction with. I call it the Annual Editor’s Day. There’s usually a lunch afterwards with all the normal crew.
Each year, I have found it harder and harder to get into the event as it becomes more and more popular. Editing is really coming into view in the public eye, especially with video becoming one of the major ways that people get information and even interact. But I love the event and will get up early and drive all the way down to Hollywood, each Saturday before the Oscars, anytime it’s on.
As I look back over my notes and interactions with the post-production community, I’m torn between the shoulda-woulda of not jumping into the career harder, earlier and the “I shouldn’t get down on myself”, “you have a family to think of”, “it’s the journey” and “it’s NOW that matters!” All I know is NOW is my time and I’m not taking NO for an answer! I fill myself with assistant editing knowledge every day. I fill my podcast drive-time with career and motivational airwaves. “I want it as much as I want to breathe!”
Each year the line or lines, get more complicated. One year, they started a second line for members for the editors guild. Personally, I think this sucks because they’ve already made it. This event, to me, is for inspiration, for students, for aspiring editors. They let that line in first and that makes the original line an even harder bet to get in. I’ve also noticed that sometimes they say the second line is also for members of the theater, people who have an annual membership to the Egyptian Theatre who support the theater and thus get discount tickets to their normal shows, etc.
This year, the event is already “Sold Out”. I have my ticket and WILL get there early, like I do every year and I went ahead and bought a Cinematheque membership to hedge my bets.
This Year’s Oscar-Nominated Editors Discuss the Art of Editing
Sat, March 3, 2018 – 10:30am
Grauman’s Hollywood Egyptian Theatre
6712 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, California 90028
Moderator: Alan Heim, ACE
Jonathan Amos, ACE (Baby Driver)
Paul Machliss, ACE (Baby Driver)
Lee Smith, ACE (Dunkirk)
Tatiana S. Riegel, ACE (I, Tonya)
Sidney Wolinsky, ACE (The Shape of Water)
John Gregory, ACE (Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri
*Panelists attendance subject to availability
I’ll post more about this year’s actual event later.