Personality
There are careers that have definitive road maps that help chart your journey to success. You take X many years for study, pass X amount of exams, and begin your career in an entry-level position. Getting into the world of film editing is not quite as defined. There are no tests, no formal sets of requirements, and no guarantees that you will be promoted.
Your path to success includes two complementary attributes. The first is your array of honed technical skills, and the second is an engaging personality. Both assistant editors and editors must run the room with a quiet confidence, take notes graciously, and remain loyal, cheerful, and passionate. As you begin your career, you need to iron out any personality quirks or negativity that might get in your way. It might make the difference between getting hired or even fired.
An overall positive attitude toward your work and relationships in the cutting room is an essential personality attribute. We call this the yes attitude. The editor is responsible for cutting the film. The assistant editor is responsible for everything else—from supplying the room to onlining the film, from ordering lunches to overnighting the cut anywhere in the world, from taking curt orders from rude associates to placating stressed employers.
The assistant needs myriad skills that include an understanding of technology, creativity, and psychology. Along with these basic skills is the need for a positive Yes I can! attitude, which will help keep the cutting room a harmonious place. The room is filled with many large personalities, and the assistant must maintain his equanimity at all times. The editor might emote, the director might stomp, the producer might rant, but the assistant must remain the essence of patience and fortitude.
When a request is made of you, your response should range from, “Yes, I will do that—right away,” to “Yes, I haven’t done that before, but I will find out and get it done—right away.” This is when your network of fellow assistants comes into play. For example, if you are asked to apply auxiliary timecode to the dailies and you have not done it before, call your assistant friends, and they will talk you through the process. When the editor asks for things that are not usually requested, your attitude must be willing and helpful. Let your editor know that you will take care of it completely. The editor has now given you the assignment; he crosses it off his list and will expect you to finish the task.
TIP
Editors are very good at reading expressions, physical reactions, and tone – we do this for a living. Make sure you respond to all requested tasks with a cheerful countenance. We will know how you feel about doing it. No loud sighs, no shrugging the shoulders, no averted eyes with frowns – just an affirmative response.
We have mentioned that the assistant editor should have a notebook and pen with him at all times. This is especially true when you are called into the editor’s cutting room. When you arrive ready to take notes, it will instill confidence in the fact that you, his assistant, are prepared and competent and that the task will most likely be accomplished. Try to complete all tasks daily, and if one has not been finished, it should go to the top of your list for the next day. The editor should be informed that you are still on it.
When you have been asked to telephone someone, call him during standard working hours—9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Avoid phone tag by not calling someone during his lunch hour. When you make contact, it is polite to begin the conversation by asking, “Is this a good time?” or “Do you have a moment?” This provides the opportunity for him to ask you to call back at a more convenient time if he is in the middle of something. When you leave a message, make sure it is informational. If you do not hear back, follow it up with an email, and cc your post producer when necessary. It is a good troubleshooting habit to find out everyone’s home and cell numbers for when you are unsuccessful at reaching them at work. After you have called all of their numbers, left messages with your questions, and emailed those same questions, you have done due diligence.
TIP
Try to get back to your editor to let him know the status of the task. This way the editor does not have to ask you, “How’s that auxiliary timecode coming along?”
At the beginning of your voice mail message, state your name and number slowly. Repeat the number. This way, if he finishes listening to your message and missed your phone number, he can go back to the beginning of the message and retrieve it quickly. Always leave an informational message that is a brief summary of the subject matter that needs to be discussed. When the message contains the question you need to have answered, he can call you with an answer and leave an informational message for you if you are unavailable. Try to make his life a little bit easier by repeating your phone number at the end of the message. If you have received no answer by that afternoon, try again. Keep calling until you are successful and have at least confirmed he has have received your message. Update your editor. If your editor has to ask you the status of his request, an answer of “I left a message” will not be enough.
Look people in the face and make eye contact with them. This is key to a communicative relationship. When speaking with your editor or any visitor in your cutting room, stop what you’re doing, turn to face him, and make eye contact. The back of a head in response to “good morning!” or “how many reels of dailies do we have today?” starts the day off badly. Be polite. When you are swamped with the daily rituals of the cutting room, you must still take the time to say, “Forgive me, I have so much to do, I have to get back to it.” This provides the opportunity for the editor to respond with, “Of course, sorry to interrupt.”
When a mistake has been made, a brief apology or acknowledgement of the error goes a long way to defusing the situation. For example, saying “I’m sorry” and “Oh, no! Let me fix that right now!” is a good way to let your editor know that you understand the error was grave. It will immediately reduce the annoyance level. It also lets the editor know that you are the sort of person who will take responsibility for an error, and it affords him the opportunity to say, “That’s okay, these things happen.” This social interplay applies to all situations. Without these conciliatory interchanges, the editor’s confidence in you will begin to diminish.
When something goes wrong, let the editor know what has happened and that you are taking care of it. Trying to hide a problem will backfire.
When your editor needs you to do something you are not familiar with, be honest and say, “I haven’t done that before, but give me a few minutes and I’ll find out.” You must then do whatever it takes to come back with the correct answers. That is a great assistant.
You are not expected to know everything at the beginning of your career or current project. The editor chose to take a chance on you based on your personality—he assumes that your learning curve will be steep. Your social skills will make up for myriad newbie errors.
Stephen Lovejoy, A.C.E. made a great comparison of an assistant editor to the character Radar in the film M.A.S.H. In the television show, Radar worked for the commanding officer, and he was always two to five steps ahead of him. Usually the joke was that he would answer the commanding officer before the question had been completed. That’s what a great assistant does. Anticipate what’s coming next. The assistant that can anticipate is worth his weight in gold. Be proactive at all times.
When an editor says to you, “phew, it’s hot in here,” you need to get up out of your seat and check the thermostat by the time he finishes his sentence. The nonproactive person will remain seated and say, “Do you want me to check the thermostat?” By then the editor has already stopped editing and changed the thermostat setting himself. Take these hints as a clue for you to get up and do something. Do not sit in your seat and say, “Let me do that for you.” Actions speak louder than words. Get up, volunteer, do it. And do it with a smile.
11.6 Leave Your Problems at Home
It is so nice to spend the day in the cutting room with someone who has an energetic and sunny attitude. It helps to have a sense of humor. If you are having a rough time in your personal life, it is best not to bring your problems to work with you. When your editor asks you in the morning, “How was your evening?” choose your response with care. Try to make it have a positive spin. If you are depressed, upset, and angry, you might have a hard time stretching to a response of “great, terrific,” or “happy.” But you must try. You can say, “I have had better nights, but I’m okay.” The editor does not really have the time to listen to the story about your cat needing surgery or that your boyfriend did not show up for your birthday party. The workplace is not a confessional, it is your professional life. After you have built a special relationship with your editor, you might share more personal information. Remember, we are colleagues, not friends. During the making of a film, we are lulled into the false belief that we are now working with friends. This is a misnomer. We can count on one hand the amount of true friends we have made in Hollywood over the course of three decades.
Crying while watching a sad scene is acceptable. Crying in reaction to having made a mistake is inappropriate. Excuse yourself from the room, find a private place, and pull yourself together. This goes for men as well as women.
In addition to crying, there are other behaviors that have no place in the cutting room. Sitting on producers’ laps, off-color jokes, and a bad temperament will only backfire over the course of time. Behave professionally at all times.
Remember the old axiom that the customer is always right? This holds true in the film industry as well. When asked to bring a second chair into the cutting room, and you do, and the editor says, “Where’s the third chair?” what should your response be? That’s right! “No problem, I will go get it.” It accomplishes nothing to point out your editor’s mistake. Just go find another chair. This will apply to you as you move up in the ranks. As an editor, there will be situations in which the director or producer insists that you made a change in the picture that he did not ask for. Remain calm and put the film back to the way he now would like to see it. No arguments, do not even skip a beat, just make the change. You could spend a few moments correcting him, proving he is wrong, but you will accomplish nothing except creating ill will. Just let it go and move on. Practice taking the higher road.
Be careful how you phrase your answers. The tone, body language, and words you choose will affect the ambience of the room. Use diplomacy in all your dealings.
When dealing with difficult situations, we all need to let off some steam. What will serve you best in the long run is to choose carefully how you react and with whom you discuss these complaints. You should not complain about your editor to someone involved in the film. You can call a friend, you can tell another assistant, but never complain up, never complain down, and never complain to the rest of the film crew or anyone in post. If you have a very strong complaint to lodge, go to your editor and say, “Can we have a chat?” When something is disturbing you, discuss it with him face to face. We had an assistant editor who preferred to email us when he was disturbed about something. This is also fine. One of the problems with complaining is that one day you might say something to an ambitious, mean-spirited, or jealous associate, and he could use it against you. For example, an Academy Award winning editor once complained to the A.P. about a director he worked with for more than 10 years. The A.P. took that complaint to the director, and the editor got fired on the spot.
The world of postproduction in Hollywood might seem immense at first, but it will become quite small in time. Your reputation will follow you throughout your career, and it begins on your very first job. Remember that it is often your reputation as well as your personality that makes editors, directors, and producers hire you on their next project.
Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” There is no benefit to gossiping. Avoid as many dramas as possible. Inevitably, there will be situations that are emotionally charged and you will be tempted to enter the fray. Sometimes a colleague will want you to join in a negative discussion about someone. Gracefully extricate yourself from the situation by leaving the room to complete your work. A good response to gossip is “hmmm.” That is it. If an assistant says “I cannot believe so-and-so is doing this to so-and-so,” respond simply with “hmmm.” If you must engage more than that, go the therapist route and say, “Wow, that is interesting” or “Don’t you just hate it when that happens? Oh, I hear my phone.” And off you go. It validates their dismay, it is empathetic, and it does not commit you to an opinion. Remain as neutral as possible. Joining in the fray will only hurt you over the long haul and bring so much negativity into your life.
We must admit there have been times when we have gone against our own rules and said nasty things about a coworker. Word always gets back to him and causes problems. It is too high a price to pay for a momentary release of anger.
Remember this: you are there to work, not socialize. Be professional and keep your emotions to a minimum in the cutting room. Maintain your equanimity.
11.11 Noise and Personal Hygiene
Be aware of noise levels. It is very disturbing for an editor to listen to unnecessary noise around the editing rooms when he is trying to concentrate. Editors do not want to listen to people eating, talking on cell phones, filing nails, chewing gum, tapping pens, or cracking their knuckles.
Grooming is another innocuous but annoying habit that should not happen in the editor’s cutting room. Brushing hair, putting on makeup, or dental flossing should be done in the privacy of the bathroom.
If this sounds at all tyrannical, we’re sorry. The expulsion of these habits will serve you well in becoming a successful assistant. You will find that directors and producers have equal or more intolerance for idiosyncratic behavior.
I worked with a director on a pilot, and when he fired the director of photography, I asked him what was the determining factor for making this bold decision in the middle of the shoot. He said it was mainly due to the amount of time delays caused by the DP, and then he admitted, “and I hated how he was always munching food so loudly in video village.”
–Ijc
11.12 Creating Ambience Levels
Go through the room as quietly as a mouse. Do not make waves or ripples. You might be the most skilled assistant editor in the world, but if you are too big for the room, it can be disruptive. Several years ago we interviewed a marvelous candidate for the ACE Internship Program who was skilled, educated, and perfect for the program, except for one minor thing. She was overwhelmingly talkative, loud, and effusive. The editor does not want to compete for the airwaves in the cutting room. Be careful to not be smarter and cleverer than the editors themselves. It’s hard to be with that personality for 12 hours a day. It will make the editor very uncomfortable about how to deal with an assistant who does not know his place.
Generally we have found that every assistant falls into one of two categories: a bit too quiet and reserved, or a bit too loud and verbose. Understand the difference between humble and weak, assertive and aggressive, solicitous and subservient. Recognize yourself when we critique certain characteristics that are unsuccessful in the editing room. Ask yourself, “Is that me? What should I do to change it?” Make a mental note and remember to work on improving your behavior to suit your work environment.
You have to read the room and evaluate the personalities of your coworkers. The cast of characters and personalities changes from show to show. What might have worked with one editor might not work with the next. We need to function in editorial with both functional and dysfunctional people. After we’ve groomed our personalities or improved how well we handle our different bosses, we still have to evaluate ourselves throughout our career. There is always room for improvement in the cutting rooms, and making sure that the ambience in your cutting room is pleasant and inviting is part of the job. Your progress will be a testament to how well one can adapt.
After you have all these skills sets, the way you shine is by being this wonderful person. We share cutting rooms for 12 or more hours a day, longer than any other waking activity. We must look forward to seeing each other, in the good times and the bad.
One of the hardest messages to get across to novice assistants is that their education and skills is not enough to get the job. It is so very hard to examine your own personality, put your finger on your shortcomings, and amend a lifetime of behavior. But you must! Getting hired, fired, and rehired is all about your skills and personality.