Chapter 2
Cut. Cut. Cut.
There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth … not going all the way, and not starting.
Buddha
The timeline for moving up to editor is hard to define because it is so individual. What follows in this chapter is a breakdown of a suggested path to moving up, while making sure you take care of the job you were hired to do. Remember, your first commitment is to be the best assistant editor, and editing a scene or doing sound work happens only after you have accomplished the tasks the editor and post staff ask of you.
I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.
Walter Cronkite
One of my favorite stories about navigating one’s career comes from Bonnie Koehler ACE (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, Grumpy Old Men, In Plain Sight). As a young Stanford graduate, she came to a realization that filmmaking was her passion, and she set about it with a raw energy that set her career on fire. This is an excerpt from the panel discussion for the ACE Internship Lecture Series:
In college, I was interested in all things visual. I liked writing, painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, dance, architecture and I wasn’t sure how I was going to combine all of those things into a career. All of my friends at Stanford were going to go to graduate school or inherit millions of dollars. But I was going to do neither. I knew I needed a plan but I kept putting it off. I just pictured wonderful things for myself, but I didn’t know what the action steps would be for those wonderful things. And then one day I saw a poster on a kiosk of the Summer Film Institute, and the poster was this sexy black and white photograph. This guy had a camera on his shoulder and he was shooting documentaries, and I thought, “Oh yeah! That’s so cool! Carrying a camera.” And I was watching a lot of documentaries; Fredrick Wiseman was big in those days, black and white documentaries in the ’70s. I just thought: “That’s it. Filmmaking—that’s it!”
So I graduated and jumped right into a summer film program at Stanford where I made some films. It was so amazing to me to put those things together. I just cut it all up and kept recutting and putting music to it. I used a song from Van Morrison, I mean why not? I just loved Van Morrison music, and so I cut the whole thing to Van Morrison music. It was just so much fun. And I put this film together and I thought, “Now I have something I can show Francis Coppola. Because he’s probably going to really want to see what I’ve made here.” In 1972 you could go through the yellow pages and find American Zoetrope in the phone book and drive to and go up the stairs and Francis was right there. So I brought him my film and I showed it to him and I actually got a screening with Francis and funny thing—this is a true story—Van Morrison was downstairs—in the automat. He heard the film, and came upstairs like “Ehhh, who’s using my song, man?” I showed him the film and he said, “Yeah … you can have it, you can have it, it’s ok.” It was so wonderful! But then it was really a few years before things really started to gel with me because Francis did not, surprisingly, hire me. But I thanked him very much. But this was the place to be. American Zoetrope in San Francisco in 1972 was THE place to be.
The job I did get very quickly was at a commercial house cutting a lot of 16mm commercials and industrials. You’d actually make a film for the phone company training their employees. But I threw myself into those because I would also record the voice with the narrator and I’d cut the sound effects and the music from the music library. So I spent two years doing that, and then that company got an opportunity to do a 35mm film and I was going to edit it. And we needed a place that had 35mm equipment, and American Zoetrope rented editing rooms and they actually rented the cutting room next to Francis’s office. So I thought, that’s the one I want. So I rented that room, and I cut my little children’s feature on that and assisted myself, in that room. Across the hall was Doug Stewart, a fabulous Hollywood editor cutting a movie for Phillip Kaufman, and he had his door open and his Moviola was just bang, bang, bang and I thought, “Oh, THAT is cool.” Then down the hall, a really narrow hallway, Richard Chew and Walter Murch were cutting The Conversation for Francis. And there was a commercial division. So there was all this cool stuff and John Korty was there. All the filmmakers in the Bay area were there at the copy machine. So I was cutting my film and assisting myself and I was doing sort of a sloppy job of assisting myself, I later learned. I met Richard Chew’s real assistant from New York and that’s when I learned that assistant editing was just not semi-editing. It was a whole group of skills that you need to put together to make the workflow happen. At that time film was incredibly physical. I started learning what Julie was doing assisting Richard and Walter and I thought “WOW, that, that’s a whole craft unto itself.” And I made a nice leap. Richard Chew was hired to cut One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a movie that was going to be made but it ended up being delayed a couple of years. And after I met Richard, he hired me to assist him on a couple of other things, including Star Wars.
I left Star Wars, replacing myself with somebody else to cut a children’s feature. So I gained more experience cutting 35mm on the KEM. But then I came back to the Lucas’ for Empire Strikes Back. I moved to Los Angeles and I thought I could jump into film editing but there were some union issues even though I had joined with Cuckoo’s Nest— there was the eight year waiting rule and I hadn’t gotten my name on the right list. So I defaulted back to sound and I am glad I did. I did a lot of sound design and a lot of the directors I work with now in television say to me the best editors have always been sound and dialog editors.
A jump came again when John Korty, a director from the Bay area, called me up and he was doing a Hallmark Hall of Fame film and he wanted me to edit it. He had been a little out of touch with me and didn’t realize I’d been doing so much sound and thought I had been editing the whole time. And I thought, “Oh am I rusty? No I’m going take this.” So I jumped on the Hallmark job and I cut that, very successfully. And that led to Steve Bochco hiring me for L.A. Law and got me on to the TV track. Television offers a little more stable life and I got into television and loved it.
What I love about Bonnie’s story is her initiative, clever solutions, rolling with the punches, and the infectious passion she exhibits for her art. Her transitions in career were as navigated as life allows, and she kept her eye on the ball. A successful journey with its share of bumps and curves, but a great ride after long hours and hard work, and some fun along the way.
2.1 COMMUNICATE YOUR DESIRE TO EDIT
Let your editor, co-producer and executive producers know that you are a cutting assistant when you interview. Tell them that you hope to contribute to the editing workflow as often as possible. Let them know that your goal is to be an editor. If they do not know this, you might wait around for a long time and watch other assistants be offered the opportunity for which you had hoped. Of course, you still have to prove that you are a responsible assistant and that nothing will fall through the cracks while you are helping the editor cut. Some editors let their assistants cut an entire act. This is a great platform from which you can evolve your relationship with the producers and let them see that you are a capable editor as well as an assistant. It is also a great training ground for honing the skills of listening, understanding the spirit of the note and how to make changes for both the editor and the producers.
When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.
Ernest Hemingway
When you cut a scene for your editor, he will invariably have notes. Take these in your stride. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to sit with an assistant editor who argues with you about the changes or makes excuses. Even if the note is a bad idea, you must let them view the changes that they ask you to make. If you strongly dislike how these changes are working, create an alt scene, save it in the bin so that you can offer up this new solution constructively.
This is the main reason that I suggest you work for someone whose work you admire. They will give you many notes, and if you disagree with them stylistically, it will make the process arduous.
Oftentimes, you can interpret their request and make a change that satisfies the spirit of the note, without compromising your editorial tastes. After cutting for your editor for a while, you will eventually get no notes. You will apply all the previous notes from various scenes and be able to emulate your editor’s sensibilities. Once you can mirror a given editor’s style, you can then intuit what the director or producer would like as well, and incorporate that into your editing palette for the next scenes.
If you find yourself in a position where the editor does not offer you scenes to cut, you must find some time to cut on your own. This might be tricky, but is still a great training ground for you. Cut a scene and compare it to what your editor did. Learn how he fixed problems, and incorporate this into your bag of tricks. Eventually, you will have to ask your editor to take a look at what you cut so that you might have some feedback. If this does not produce a positive reaction or a willingness on your editor’s part to give you a scene from time to time, then you must reevaluate whether you are in the right place for your future goals. Even if there are wonderful writers, producers or directors on the show with whom you hope to work, you must weigh this against your relationship with your editor. Perhaps it is worth the investment of your time to stay. However, without the support of your editor and post staff, your upward mobility is not secure. Either way, put your resume in order and be prepared to look for a job with better career opportunities.
You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. And I promise you something great will come of it.
Benjamin Mee
2.2 DIG IN
• Do you come to work early to cut?
• Do you stay late to cut?
The workload for an assistant editor is hectic and demanding. It amazes me how one person can juggle multiple shows, keep their editor happy and deal with the erratic social behavior of colleagues, all the while maintaining your equanimity. There is little doubt in my mind that at the end of a ten- or twelve-hour shift, your energy levels are low, your passion for editing wanes and your brain feels a bit fried. The last thing you want to do is dig in to cutting a scene that requires immense amounts of energy and creativity.
You have friends, a partner, family, movies to watch, books to read, bills to pay, chores to do, parties to attend—a life beyond work. Your time is like a pie, to be divided amongst all of these. However, you must add editing to this list, and carve out enough time to do it. Come in early, before anyone arrives, when your energy is high and no one is giving you something to do. Or stay late, on one or two given evenings. Remember, this is your bliss, your career and your future. Bank on you.
2.3 CONTRIBUTE TO THE EDITING WORKLOAD
• How much VFX/SFX/MX editing do you do for your editor?
• Have you cut the reprise, the opening credits, gag reel, scenes or acts?
• Have you asked to be the editor for any webisodes the show produces?
Assuming that your editor is open to you cutting for him, a good place to start is with sound effects (SFX), visual effects (VFX) and music (MX) editing.
Offer to sweeten the sound effects that have already been added to a scene. Make sure you are working in a copy of the current cut so that you do not inadvertently delete anything. When you have tidied up all the offstage cues, fluctuating dialog levels, added the background (BG) walla, sweetened the various SFX and implemented some sound design of your own, mix it all so that the dialog is easily heard and your SFX is not shouting, “Look at me.”
Ask for notes. Do not assume that it is perfect the way you have cut it; this is your opportunity to learn, grow and find the key to pleasing your editor’s instincts when it comes to sound design. Then make the changes exactly as suggested. Incorporate these notes into the next scene you cut. This will show your editor that you were listening, and that you get it. If you do not like the changes, cut an alt version and ask for your editor to take a look.
Most assistant editors are responsible for the temp VFX. In both features and television, you need to be able to composite shots, create split screens in various forms, ramp visual speeds, stabilize shots and temporarily remove objects or even people from a shot. Become adept in Adobe After Effects and Photoshop.
It is always best to have the VFX completed before the editor’s cut output so that there are no blue or green screens left in the film. Your editor and director will appreciate this. Become familiar with all the buttons in your VFX palette and motion effects menu, before you need to use them. VFX take a long time to create and render, and the last thing you want to suffer through, when there is a deadline, is figuring out how to run the machine.
If your editor has great faith in you, he will give you the opportunity to score or possibly track a scene with a needle drop. If you are good at this, your value goes up tremendously. You need to know when to start a cue, how it builds, where it shifts and when to end it (see Chapter 4.18).
Choosing the piece of score is subjective and time consuming. Though many editors use their favorite scores from films and previous projects, I think it is best to stay within the confines of your present composer’s pieces, or from his library. This way, the selected temp cue is within their wheelhouse. In television, if you are in season two, and the producers were happy with the score from season one, then you would by definition be temping with cues that have already been approved. When you temp with an inimitable John Williams cue, your composer might never achieve the same effect. It puts him in a tough spot. Sometimes, it behooves you to temp with a perfect cue composed by a different musician, so that the composer has an idea of how you want him to stretch. Some composers even like when you go out side their library, but I would recommend first having a discussion with them about this.
When adding a needle drop, the music supervisor is a safe go to, but try to step outside this box from time to time and offer up one or two of your own personal favorites, especially if they are indie and affordable.
When there are several needle drops that the music supervisor has sent to you to try with a scene, the assistant should create a duplicate copy of the scene and cut all of the musical choices into this alt mx timeline. Make sure there is a good intro and that the lyrics start at a special moment. These lyrics must not fight the dialog. Make sure that the end of the scene has a musical signature, and that the transition into the following scene includes a resonating beat of the song. Again, make sure you mix the song so that it does not interfere with the dialog or SFX levels that the editor has cut in. If there is no dialog, then you can rock out.
When you shine at your VFX work, and sweeten scenes with great sound design, and even add a needle drop or a touch of score, you have lightened your editor’s workload and he will come to rely on your help and suggestions. You also become more familiar with his tastes and style of giving notes. It will add to the amount of confidence he has in you and your abilities. It will inspire him to share more of his editing responsibilities and knowledge. It also prepares you for when you take the editing chair. Make an effort to help complete your editor’s scenes with SFX, VFX and MX, with his permission. Try to do this at the end of every day.
Another way to contribute to lightening the workload for your editor is to learn how to cut a recap. There is a reprise at the start of most television shows and it will most likely be assigned to the assistant editor to cut. It is usually thirty seconds to a minute long—which sounds simple, but it is not. There is an art to a good reprise, which we will explore in Chapter 5. You will be working with the associate producer who will give you notes before presenting it to the executive producers. Take these notes, learn how to improve your cut and then apply them to your next reprise; it is essential to your upward mobility. Remember that the associate producer and executive producers are the folks who will say yay or nay to you getting a chance to move up to editor. If the process is frustrating, the communication strained and there is little improvement from the first reprise to your last, you will most likely be overlooked when a seat becomes available.
This will be the most important way to impress your producers, so do your homework. Look at all the previous recaps that have aired to get an idea of the style inherent to your show. Watch the previous episodes, make a list of the story points that are essential to include and start pulling material as soon as possible. Start working on the reprise at the start of dailies, so that you have the time to hone it without the pressure of deadlines.
Placing the opening credits is another way for you to prove yourself to your editor. Volunteer to do this and then take his notes carefully, again applying what you have learned from his sensibilities for the next time. The art of placing the opening credits is to carefully assess where the credit will interfere the least with the story and dialog, and not detract from the first and last frames of the edit point.
Most assistants who have been around a while have had to cut the gag reel for the wrap party. It is time consuming, and often gets pushed to the last minute. But you will be the team hero when you are done, and that will last in everyone’s mind for at least a short while. Executive producers will appreciate your sense of humor, and how you made everyone on the show, cast and crew, laugh and share a sentimental moment. Watch other gag reels, and ask other assistants how they organized their past attempts. Create a gag bin and start pulling funny bits from dailies each day.
Cutting a scene is of course the most fun. Make sure you choose a scene that speaks to you, so that your passion for the scene comes through. Some scenes you need to practice are:
• Two-man scene
• Love scene
• Fight
• Three-man scene
• Restaurant scene
• Interior car scene
• Telephone conversation
• Four- or five-man scene
• An argument
• Chase
• Montage
• Courtroom scene
• Surgery scene
• Boardroom
• Scene with monitors and graphics
Practice cutting these scenes in the above suggested order. The degree of difficulty increases as you work your way down the list. When you have cut most of these types of scenes and can navigate your way through tough dailies, then you will build up the speed you need to stay up to camera when you move up to editor.
Always have a good reason for the cuts you make because you have to be able to defend each splice. Remember the reason you chose that performance, or that size coverage or whether the dialog was per the script. When you are satisfied with the scene and how it plays, add the BGs, the SFX and decide where a cue might come in, and place it. Make sure you know what the previous scene is and whether there is music that will be scored at the end of it. This might affect what piece of score you have at the start of your scene. Do the same thing for the end of your scene. Please add head leader of a second of black before your scene, and fade the incoming MX up so that the start is not abrupt. Add black to the end as well, and continue the MX into it so that you can fade out. If the editor has already cut the previous or following scene, duplicate that scene and join them to your cut. Make a great transition into and out of your scene. When the scene has all of these bells and whistles, it is ready to show to your editor—for notes. This is the most valuable time with your editor, so make sure you get a sense of how he would have cut it. You should apply all that you have learned about his style from the last scene when you cut your next scene. Eventually, you will hear those wonderful words, “Great—no notes.” I had only one assistant, Meridith Sommers, who ever heard those words from me. Meridith works with 1000% effort when cutting a scene. Her work is polished, the kinks worked out and the scene flows. Her dedication to getting the most out of the scene came with determination, paying attention and plain old hard work. She also knows when to ask for help. After working together for three years, and constantly cutting scenes for me, the day finally came on In Plain Sight when I had not one note for her. It was perfect. Now I knew I could recommend her as an editor.
Sometimes, my assistants do such a great job on a scene, that we arrive at a hybrid of my version and his, with me stealing the best of his work and incorporating it into the final cut film. I always make a point of letting the director or producers know where the credit lies. Hopefully, when you are in the editor’s seat, you will do the same for your assistant.
It was a great pleasure to have Carsten Kurpanek assist me on Make It or Break It and Covert Affairs. He cut a montage of a funny scene with Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly, The Prestige, Looper) interviewing ‘walk-ins’ to the CIA. It was so beautifully done and well crafted. It had a great needle drop that drove the scene better than mine. Though the montage ended up going through many iterations, I was able to use the music he had temped it with, and it remained in the version that aired.
Perhaps one day, when you have proven you can temp in SFX, MX, place opening credits, cut a flawless recap and put together scenes with little or no notes, your editor might take a chance on you and give you an entire act to cut. This will put you on the executives’ radar, and they will see how well you edit and handle the responsibility of the post schedule, all while juggling your assistant duties too.
Once you are known as a cutting assistant, and the executive producers or writers enjoy being in your company, they might ask you to edit the webisodes that are sometimes made concurrently with the production. This is an honor, a tremendous amount of work and a sure sign that the producers have faith in you. Chances are excellent that when an editing seat opens up, you will be on their short list. This methodology worked on Covert Affairs for our assistant, A.J. Calomay, and he began a fruitful relationship with Chris Gorham (Ugly Betty, Popular, Covert Affairs) who directed the webisodes. In seasons four and five, he was moved up to editor for individual episodes on the show. If we had gone to season six, I firmly believe he would have been moved up to permanent editor in the third slot.
2.4 RECOGNIZE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT
• Is your editor willing to share credit as a co-editor?
• Is the co-producer willing to move you up and pay you while you cut?
• Did they hire an outside editor or move someone else up before you?
If you have cut an act for your editor, you need to discuss sharing editor credit. If he feels you have contributed to the show enough to receive co-editor credit, perhaps he can get the producers to allow it. This would entail the producers giving you an editor’s salary while you are cutting. It is a hurdle, but can be navigated occasionally. When it works, you will have a credit on your resume, which will help when you leave the show or the show ends.
Once you have spent a season or two with a show, proven your worth and continue to be enthusiastic about moving up, ask yourself how you can make this happen. Here are some of the circumstances that need to be in place. First, an editor has to leave a chair open. Sometimes this happens when they get a shot at directing, vacating the seat for one episode. This is the best circumstance, because your editor will most likely recommend you for the job. He will feel safe knowing his assistant is cutting the show the way he likes it. He also knows that he will meet with little resistance to his notes in the editing room. Sometimes the departure of an editor is based on health reasons, an offer to do another film or personality conflicts with the producers. These are awkward reasons, but they still leave an empty seat. You must be completely prepared when opportunity knocks. It is showtime. And trust me, there are only a few times in a career when a window of opportunity opens. You must go for it—and nail it.
There are times when taking your editor’s seat is impolitic, and could cause a rift in your relationship. In 1996, my friend Ray Lovejoy (The Shining, Aliens, 2001: A Space Odyssey) asked me to be an additional editor on the film he was cutting, 2 Days in the Valley. The atmosphere in the cutting rooms was tense, and I could not quite figure out why. All I knew was that I was happy for the opportunity to help Ray finish the film. After a couple of weeks, the co-producer asked me to focus on cutting scenes with the music team—an odd request which I ran by Ray. Ray told me that they were replacing him and he would understand if I said yes. Out of loyalty to Ray I did not stay. Clearly, he felt betrayed by the producers and I was not comfortable getting a break based on his having to leave the film.
The point is that if you prepare constantly by cutting every day, network with as many people as possible and do multiple projects on the side, then you will be ready when an opportunity presents itself. In a panel interview with John Refoua ACE (CSI: Miami, Dark Angel, Avatar), these basic tenets of career navigation are exemplified.
When I first moved to LA I didn’t know anybody, I got started late. I was twenty-seven years old before I figured out I wanted to be an editor. I took a class at UCLA extension and I went there every weekend while working at my retail job. I learned that the way you get bumped up is completely different for everyone. I saved whatever money I had and I went to the instructor and I said, “Hey, I’ll work for free, whatever it is you want, because I don’t know anybody in this business.” A month later he said, “Well there’s a no-salary job, nine to five.” So I did it. Free—for three months. I had depleted nearly all my savings and I figured, “I’m not getting any job offers, so I guess I’ll go back to what I was doing.” I set a deadline for myself and it was, “This Monday I’m going to call up my old job and say, will you take me back?” Then, that Friday, amazingly enough, my instructor called somebody and said, “Hey, you know John’s been working for three months. He seems to know what he is doing, so give him a break.” They hired me on a non-union TV show and I started there and I just kept working. It’s a business you really have to have a passion for and your passion will wane at times, of course. But you know the fire is there. You need to be patient and have the passion.
I guess the big Avatar break came from knowing James Cameron. I met him on Dark Angel. On Dark Angel, I remember the last episode of the second season, which turned out to be the last episode of the whole series, he decided to direct it and shot for sixteen days and we had to deliver fourteen days after that to meet the air date. We were up till late, as he likes to work many hours and doesn’t sleep. I don’t think he goes to the bathroom! We would be up late at night, and he would say, “I want to do this myself, I want to do that myself,” so I would take the initiative and take a scene and cut something out of it. I was one of the editors and we would split it up into two pieces and there were a couple of scenes he said he wanted to mess with, which is his prerogative, he can do whatever he wants, and I was still able to present to him and take initiative and say, “I know you’re going to do this yourself, but here’s something I did, take a look at it.” At three in the morning I could have gone home, but I said, “Here he is, just sitting in there so let me just do something that I can show him.” Turned out he liked it, and he brought me onto the next project and then Avatar. So you never know where things lead, as long as you keep applying yourself.
Breaks come in many forms, and working on a successful television series (one that lasts more than a season or two) is a great launching position for upward mobility. If, however, the newly vacated seat on your series goes to an outside editor, or someone on staff who you believe was not next in line, you will have to reevaluate your status on your current job.
If you find yourself overlooked on a continuing basis, chances are, when the next seat opens up, you might get passed over again. Something is wrong. It is best to face this head on—have a discussion with your editor, the associate producer and perhaps the executives. Perhaps there has been some misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up, or personality conflicts or there is dissatisfaction with performance. Listen carefully. There will be soft padding around what they say, and you must interpret the spirit of the notes. The hyperbole is meant to save your feelings. Take their notes to heart. Identify and improve what you can. Also, it might be time to look around for a new, safer environment. Do not allow inertia or fear of change determine your career trajectory.
2.5 THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX
Do you cut independent projects in your spare time and during hiatus?
Along with cutting scenes for your editor, it is a good idea to take an editing position on an independent film. These are often no-pay, lo-pay or deferred payment jobs, so very little money, if any. What it offers you is a widening circle of contacts who will one day be successful and take you with them. It is also another editing credit on your resume that might convince your current producers of your worth. It is great training to take on the responsibility of being the sole editor. It will help prepare you for cutting scenes that are sometimes less than perfectly directed.
Once in a while, an opportunity will present itself early in your career that affords you the chance to work with a new director who one day might be very successful. There is no way to know which director will catapult your career to the heights you dream of. Risks need to be taken. A perfect example of setting your sights, working for free or deferred-pay and having the talent to back up your progress, is the story of Stephen Mirrione ACE (Traffic, Ocean’s Eleven, The Revenant) and how he got his start in the business.
I knew when I was in college that I wanted to be an editor and I wanted to be a feature editor and it gave me a huge advantage over the other students. Most of the people I went to school with in the small film program in Santa Cruz really didn’t know for sure what they wanted to do. All they knew is that they wanted to live in San Francisco and not Los Angeles because LA was awful. That was probably my biggest advantage knowing that I needed to immediately move to Los Angeles. So I moved down to Los Angeles and started hanging out at USC and UCLA to try to make contact with graduate students at both of those schools and to volunteer to work on their films in any capacity in editorial. That is how I met [Director] Doug Liman (Bourne Identity, Jumper, The Edge of Tomorrow). He had a flyer up and his film happened to be one of the only student films being shot on 35mm at the time. He had a cutting room at Disney and so I spent that first summer getting to know Doug and working as an assistant on his thesis film until his editor, who had just recently come out from New York, decided that she was done and that she needed to move onto something else. Doug wanted to keep working so I took over and we worked nights usually for the rest of the summer. At the same time I was trying to pursue getting assistant editing jobs so I could get my days and get into the union. I was really focused on doing everything and taking a specific path to becoming an editor. I got very lucky because that summer Doug was hired to direct his first feature called Getting In—a really bad movie with Andrew McCarthy and Kristy Swanson and they were silly enough to hire me. We struggled through that and got to the end and thought, “We’ve done it, we’re film makers.” Then we discovered, “Oh wait, no one wants this movie.” It took about a year to understand the rollercoaster of trying to get distribution. Every other week you’d hear stories about how it’s about to be bought, and then it’s not. During that time I tried to focus back on assisting but then another feature fell into my lap and I did that. The same thing happened with that—the film could not find distribution.
After a few years of that I started to really feel like I’m not going in the path that I want to be going in. I’m editing, I’m getting great experience, it’s a lot of fun, but I’m not making the kind of long term serious legitimate contacts that I need to sustain a career. It was right at that juncture that Doug came to me and said, “I wanna do this movie called Swingers with Jon Favreau. We’ve got money left over from the first movie; work for $300 a week, and let’s do it.” At the time I was also being offered a post-super job on MTV’s The Real World, the San Francisco season. For me, that would suddenly be financial responsibility—to be able to really have enough money to pay rent and all those things that I was barely able to do up to this point. Something inside of me said, “You know I’m young—this is my last real chance at this, and I’ve got to take the opportunity.” So I did Swingers instead, and thank goodness I did.
We finished that movie but it didn’t get into Sundance. We all thought, “We did another one that’s not going to go anywhere.” Right around that time I started getting back out there to try to get assistant editing jobs and Doug told me, “Oh no, people are really interested.” We had this screening after Sundance, and distributors came and started showing interest. I told Doug, “I’ve heard it all before, I’ve been through this, don’t call me and tell me about all of this until you have a signed check, I can’t deal with this.” Two weeks later he called me and said that Miramax bought the movie. We made it for $250k and they bought it for $5 million dollars. Everybody’s life that worked on that movie changed from that point forward.
There were a lot of opportunities that were leading to dead-ends, but I was super focused. It was my only priority and the only thing in my life that was important to me. I knew that it was going to take a 100% of myself to get where I wanted to be and as quickly as I wanted to be there and I didn’t give up on that.
Stephen’s career navigation, tunnel vision and immense talent led to an incred ible, academy award winning, successful career that continues to flourish.
2.6 LEARN HOW TO LEAVE
This is a freelance world, and we work our way out of a job each time a show comes to its conclusion. However, we are sometimes compelled to leave before a show has ended. There are many good reasons to leave a show: an editing opportunity, a gig in a preferred venue or a chance to work with someone you admire. For whatever reason, there are some graceful ways to do it that cause less waves for those who remain.
I would not recommend making a habit of leaving shows too often—this reputation will follow you. There will come a time when the producers will not hire you for fear that you will leave when the next better offer comes along.
Leave for a career opportunity
One of the best reasons for leaving a job is an offer that will advance your career. It is a no-brainer for you and what your objectives are. However, it can get sticky with some folks, and they might hold it against you. They feel deserted and ‘less than’ which makes them behave poorly. All you can do is give them enough advance warning. Always be honest about your aspirations (earlier rather than later) and offer to come back and help out on weekends or after hours if they are in a bind. Always be grateful for the help they have given you and let them know that you appreciate them.
Leave to make a venue change
If it is your goal to leave reality for scripted, or television for features or indies for documentaries, and the opportunity presents itself, you should go. Remember to give enough notice. Never leave your employers in a bind. They were kind enough to hire you when you needed those hours for your union roster days, or a paycheck during lean times. It is standard for leaving any job, or terminating a position, to give a two-week notice. Editor’s Guild rules demand that your producer give you at least one-week notice in writing. Essentially, it is best to give as much notice as possible to alleviate their stress in finding a replacement for you. This is a good opportunity to help assuage your producers’ discomfort by offering to replace yourself and/or train the new person. Even if that means coming in early or staying late on your own time. They will remember how much you tried to make their jobs easier, and will be willing to work with you again.
Leave for a worthy mentor
If you feel you are not advancing in a timely fashion, perhaps it is time to find someone to work with for whom you have a deeper admiration. Someone who will be a mentor, help you learn more about editing and support your cutting aspirations. If you find this person (an editor, director, co-producer), it is worth the difficulties of leaving that will surely arise. No boss likes to be left. This will be a harder discussion to have than if you were leaving for the above-described reasons. But you must have the fortitude to evaluate your current situation, your lifelong goals, and take action. This is a weighty decision, so before you jump ship, be as sure as possible that you make an informed decision about with whom you cast your lot.
2.7 SUMMARY
Networking is the mainstay of finding work in Hollywood. In general, you have to schmooze; meet with your colleagues, your favorite editors and assistants; write letters to the people with whom you would like to work in care of the MPEG or the ACE office; find the social gatherings of post personnel; ask to be Facebook friends and/or LinkedIn associates; find the blogs where other assistants discuss tech questions and post jobs offerings; and contact co-producers, associate producers and heads of post production at the studios. Word of mouth is often the best way to get in the door for the interview.
If you have to make a change and find a new editor or post production team, be wise in your choices. Ask the right questions at the interview before making a year or two-year commitment to a show or crew who will not support your hopes to move up to editor.
If you have made all the right choices about venue, and honed your assisting skills to perfection, now is the time to log sufficient time cutting. If you do not cut every day and build up your speed, you will not be prepared enough when opportunity knocks. Remember that when you finally do have an offer to cut a show, there is a time schedule that must be met and this can be challenging to even the most seasoned editors. You must practice editing in advance of your window of opportunity, so that when your moment of truth arrives you will be well prepared.
So … Cut. Cut. Cut.