He hurried along like a shadow, until he reached an iron gate, so thick it could guard the finest of jewels or sickest of criminals. He fumbled his keys, drawing too much attention from the beggars nearby, and hurried in, slamming the doors behind with a reverberating rattle. Up the stairs he ran, and found a dark, lonely room where he sat himself in front of a strange machine with an ominous glow that only a crazed individual would choose to operate for long hours, days on end. There he found the world of Omni Post, in the heart of Gastown, Vancouver.

I am a tv/film editor, Avid by day, Final Cut Pro by night... actually sometimes I work night shifts on Avid, so it could go either way. When I started at Omni, I hadn't cut on the Avid for about two years. I was looking forward to getting back on that bronco. Oddly just before I reverted, fellow editor Shane Ross went through the same transition and posted about his experience making the switch. I enjoyed his comparisons, switching vicariously at the time. I knew I was a bit rusty, so before starting, I installed Avid Free DV on my system at home, and brushed away all the cobwebs. That really made the difference, and I hit the ground running, working on a lifestyle series called She's Crafty.

For a little background info, I learned Avid in school without prior knowledge of Final Cut Pro, and I really worked hard to learn how to edit quickly and efficiently, to know the system inside and out. When I graduated, I thought I better learn FCP, or have difficulty finding work. It took about 15 minutes to figure out the basics, and within a couple days I felt like I was equally strong on both systems. They are each great in their own right, but Avid is far more unruly when it comes to media management, I find, mainly because all media has to be in one place and file names are in Greek, whereas Final Cut Pro you can keep media separated per project and easily identify files just by looking at them. That's when it's invaluable to have a great Assistant Editor, and that we did!

This is kind of a random entry, so I can't think of any valuable conclusion, but I will say this: love your work, live your life. They go together, but need a separation. I am currently on vacation, and it is so nice to have some time off.

When initially cutting dialogue (or audio-driven scenes in general), I often close my eyes and just listen to my cuts. Sound is the first thing I consider when cutting dialogue, so I usually try to cut it the way I want it to sound, then go in and arrange the picture accordingly. In that process I discover how all the great visuals will support the sound, and how the continuity problems will make my job that much harder. Then the wrestling begins until the picture and sound are harmonious and create the desired effect.

The technique I found to solve this problem is to cut with playback at a very low volume, so that I can only hear major audio, such as dialogue and music. This leaves those distractions unnoticeable, and allows me to better feel the rhythm of my cuts. Of course you don't want to cut like that all the time, because you do need to consider those problems before handing it over to the sound mixer- don't just assume everything can be fixed! I usually reserve the low volume technique for fine-cutting, when attention to detail is critical, and really feeling your visual timing will make or break a moment or scene.

Play/Download Interview (Audio, 12min, 11 MB)

In fact, I would later find out that a lot of my radical ideas about the cognitive process of editing, which often come to me via napkin scribbling-- though once on the "do not remove" label of a tent while camping at 3am-- were almost verbatim to some of Walter Murch's communiqués. That was somehow more frightening than flattering to think that a young editor like myself could be having the same theories about film editing as one of the most profound editors in the industry. But I am just following my instinct, so I can't take full credit.

Don't get me wrong, editing is not a playful joyride; it is the most challenging job I've ever had, and has pushed me to my limits in more ways than one, through sleep deprivation, tight deadlines, hardware troubleshooting, massive data loss a week before the locked picture was due! Heh, that's a week I'd rather not live again. My point is that editing should not be a confined, restricted, assembly-line process, and I think any good director or producer acknowledges this, let alone the need to give the editor freedom to work and put his/her own creative twist into the story.

Fortunately up to this point, I have only worked with directors and producers who value my input and creativity. This is certainly a blessing, considering a lot of editors I know are treated as button pushers on a regular basis. But really I think the industry is changing. More and more good editors are given the room needed to do their best work. It is no doubt thanks to people like Mirrione and Murch, who not only perform the craft, but speak their minds and share their battles, for the sake of elevating awareness of the film editing process. Play on, good editors, play on.