Am I An Editor?

There has been some discussion over on Studio Daily about issues surrounding the accessibility of editing software to the masses and the discrepancy between professional editors and kids who edit. Very interesting stuff. And a little disconcerting.

I have never done an "Offline Edit" before, and don't know if I ever will. With digital technology moving the way it is, by the time I get into big productions, that whole process may be a thing of the past. Thus, I've never done an "Online" either. No EDLs for me, though I understand the concept.

While I label my tapes, bins, folders, clips, and whatnot, I rarely shoot from a fully developed script, and so have no number systems such as "12A-CU" or anything of that nature to utilize. Also, my log and capture workflow tends to be rather linear--capture the tape, cut it up in a timeline, name the subclips, convert to individual clips to work with--so I have abandoned much of the "old way" of logging.

Is that bad?

It may be if I worked with more editors, other professionals with their systems in place, or ever needed to send an EDL to someone. But since I work on most of my projects alone (true, I'll never become a "big dog" like that), and I pass on my labeling practices to my mentees, I have yet to run into a problem with my labeling system.


So, would I be a great hire for a studio or post house?

Probably not. At least, not at the moment.

But, as many people have noted in the comments that the way to learn these steps is to work in a post house and learn it on the job. So, since I'm a fast learner, and have no problems implementing the workflows of others, I could quickly and easily be "Onlining" relatively quickly.

So, am I an editor, or just a slowly aging "FCP Kid"?

Since I started with Premiere and only switched to Final Cut when I worked my poor $700 editing machine into the ground in college, I'm definitely not just a "Final Cut Kid". But I am certainly still learning a ton about editing every day on the job.

On the other hand, I plan to keep that up for the rest of my life. I will never know it all.

So, yes, I am an editor: It's how I make my living, it's a passion of mine, I love helping others learn this art, and I'm good at it.

I still have a lot to learn, and I am a long way from mastering many aspects of it, but hopefully that is the attitude of all professionals. May I never reach a place where I feel like I "have arrived" and can stop learning. There is always room for improvement.

...or maybe I'm just too much of a "young editor" to have reached that point.

Unlikely.

~Luke Holzmann
Your Media Production Mentor