Editing Evolution

Editors Talk about Changing Roles, Opportunities and Technology

The majority of the 350 editors who responded have had a chance to see their profession change over many years. More than 28 percent of the respondents have been editing for 16 or more years, with an additional 18 percent having 11 to 15 years of editing under their belts. Twenty-eight percent ply their trade at an in-house editorial unit, be it an advertising agency, corporation or institution. An almost equal number work at production companies, with a hefty 24.5 percent identifying themselves as freelancers.

Our respondents hail from all around the country, including nearly 18 percent from the Southeast, over 14 percent from the Midwest, 11 percent from the Northeast, 15 percent from Los Angeles and almost 10 percent from New York. These editors work in a wide range of fields, from feature films and episodic TV to commercials, music videos, reality programming and non-broadcast corporate and industrial work.

The first came with the tallying of the systems that editors are using. To paraphrase Mark Twain, it appears that the demise of linear editing has been greatly exaggerated. Although 73 percent report that "linear editing" is an outdated term, what’s most surprising is that 27 percent think it’s still relevant. Our respondents included editors using Steenbecks, Movieolas, Grass Valley, Abekas and Accom linear suites, the JVC AB roll system, and the old standard, CMX systems. The one million or more 3/4-inch decks out there are clearly not all being used as doorstops.

What’s in a Name?

Nearly 93 percent of the editors surveyed declared resoundingly that the skill set of editors is changing and, with it, the way they describe their profession. A vast majority — more than 60 percent — identify themselves as "nonlinear editors" and more than 95 percent say that the term "creative editing" most accurately describes what they do.

"In Discreet Smoke, you’re editing, compositing and designing — you don’t call yourself a Smoke editor. You call yourself a Smoke artist," notes David Gioiella, editor and founding partner at Northern Lights Post in New York. "My partner and I call ourselves creative directors because we’re doing a lot of different things. It seems that that instills more confidence in clients than offline or online editor."

What do you feel you need to do to ensure that you remain competitive?

Poised to dramatically impact workflow for all digitally equipped editors is the shared storage network (SAN). Runway CEO Roberta Margolies says she’s seen the impact of the SAN run the spectrum from more efficient to more creative. "You’re talking about 1.5 million feet of film available to multiple editors, including visual effects editors," she says. "It’s a huge change in the workflow — just enormous. The stability of the storage systems has allowed us to put larger and larger movies on it and more and more footage. No question that it’ll become the standard."

Back to School

On a recent job for Reese’s Puffs cereal out of Saatchi & Saatchi New York, Gioiella oversaw the entire post process at Northern Lights, handling all 2D animation, digital painting, compositing, art direction and editorial in collaboration with animation house IBC Digital (Buffalo, NY).

"The editor needs to have more knowledge about 2D and 3D, HD and new ways of transferring," he says. "The line between editors and visual effects supervisor has blurred."

Our research makes it clear that editors are learning new skill sets as quickly as manufacturers provide them in their new editing systems. Nearly 73 percent of editors report that they’ve learned more about color-correction lately, followed by over 62 percent who have added graphics/titling to their toolbox and 61 percent who are becoming proficient in compositing.

And that just scratches the surface. The editors surveyed list DVD authoring and compression, audio post, 3D animation, music and sound sweetening, After Effects, Motion, and 24p editing as well as computer networking as prominent on their must-learn lists.

"I’m constantly learning new things," says Soapbox Productions’ Luke Sacher, who produces independent documentaries for Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and The History Channel. "I know color-correction because, without that, you can’t really do anything. I’m just learning text animation in After Effects. I already feel behind because I haven’t mastered After Effects."

Editors do feel they have to learn the tools to stay competitive, agrees Margolies. "It seems extremely clear that editors realized they had to be comfortable with computers. When they got over that, they realized they could enjoy them and use them to learn things they didn’t before. They all talk about how much more sound they’re doing than ever before."

Our research correlates with that assertion. Though 26 percent of the editors say that client demands drive their new education, over 46 percent say they’re learning new skills simply because they can: technology allows it. The desire to learn new things, personal interest and development, artistic integrity, artistic improvement and "keeping up" are all cited as playing a role in the editor learning a range of skills once considered well out of his or her purview.

Margolies also reports that mentoring is alive and well, as editors hire more techno-savvy assistants. "The editor and assistant work together in a different way than in the past, but equally creative," she says. "Editors consult the assistant and hire them for skills of getting the piece to a certain level. There’s no question that the editors get some of the knowledge of the extra tools from assistants."

HD Starts to Hit... Gradually

The biggest learning curve ahead involves getting into gear for a hotly anticipated HD future, though it currently has marginal impact on the current editing landscape. "I have not had one single request for HD," says TV One Productions’ Imbrenda, whose facility has FCP HD. "But I’m a believer that it is going to happen quickly in two years, and we try to stay on the cutting edge as much as we can."

The demand for HD deliverables remains low— 50 percent of our respondents said HD doesn’t affect their job security or satisfaction— but editors are anticipating that, in the next two or three years, the need for HD deliverables will impact their jobs very significantly (22 percent) or significantly (37 percent). They’re busily preparing for that eventuality.

At Time Warner Cable in Charlotte, North Carolina, post-production supervisor Jason Dumas reports that he’s starting to look at it— especially HDV cameras, which make the economic proposition more appealing. Cosentino is getting up to speed by going to as many seminars as possible. Godfrey Pye recently bought extra RAID to bring his storage up to five terabytes. "Very soon, I’ll be the smallest poolside HD facility in the world," he notes wryly.

Northern Lights Post holds "HD Nights" to educate directors and producers about the coming HD realities. Though they’ve already done some broadcast promos and long-form broadcast in HD, Gioiella admits that the educational nights haven’t led to a boost in HD work— because clients aren’t asking for it. "We’re trying to establish ourselves as a place to ask questions about HD," he says. "It establishes us as a knowledgeable player in the field— but requires me and my other editors to learn a million different things about HD."

At the Finishing Line

At the eye of this intersection between desktop technology and changing creative models is the new definition of what it means to create and finish a project. At the same time that a majority of editors declare the term "offline editing" to be outdated, an enormous majority— 84 percent— report that "finishing" is a term that’s relevant to their experience. Furthermore, 74 percent say "online editing" and 57 percent say "conforming" describe what they do. But if 74 percent are doing the online, who’s minding the offline store? Have that many offline editors morphed into finishing editors?

Dumas at Time Warner Cable in Charlotte, North Carolina, reports that his 10 editors are getting to the point where, "for the most part, they do some of everything. Where their interest lies is their greatest strength," he says. "And without desktop technology, they couldn’t get there. At the same time, some people just don’t have a knack for color-correction. Only some people are capable of doing audio work or heavy-duty graphics or effects. But that’s a much different individual than someone who can just edit."

At Saatchi & Saatchi Los Angeles, where one of the big clients is Toyota, broadcast production manager Bob Haas puts his fresh-out-of-college new editors on jobs that are finished in-house, such as "sizzle" launch videos and programs aimed at Toyota dealers. These multi-skilled younger editors eagerly tackle these projects from soup to nuts. But the big national commercials get a different treatment. "There are professional post houses out there all working at the top of their game," he says. "Millions are riding on it and the expense of going to an outside post house is justified."

The wall between offline and online is still solidly built when it comes to big budget commercials and other high-end projects. "I think we’re a ways away from totally finishing the spots," says editor Doug Walker at Film Core in San Francisco. "The creative editor can’t do everything. We cut it, and it’s our job to follow it through and line up the best people to work on the project. But there are still a lot of out-of-house procedures, and it’s best to focus just on editorial."

At the same time, Walker notes changes in the process here. "Ten years ago, people were just getting used to looking at a grainy digitized image. Now, I just finished a job where it was all high-res. It’s like looking at a finished spot. The dailies were color-corrected well, there was no compression in the video and we just spit out a DVD that was approved by the client. It still goes to an online editor after the approval process, but I was able to give the client a DVD of a spot that had the quality, with graphics and everything, of an online. It’s a nice bonus to be able to give the client a little more."

Editor Nicholas Erasmus at Terminal agrees. "The role of editor has changed from 10 years ago when you cut the picture and walked away," he says. "Now you’re asked to handle titles and basic visual effects in an offline stage."

Thumbs up on Technology

Editors have a uniformly positive response to the impact of various technologies on their job satisfaction and security. Indeed, 69 percent of the editors queried identified affordable desktop technology as having a positive impact, with 54 percent tagging the changing workflow as another positive.

Can-do desktop editing appears to be both super-charging existing edit facilities and giving birth to the new type of editing-plus boutique. Pye and Clark report they’re in the early stages of creating a collective of like-minded experienced artists who can offer specialized services out of their home offices. "Without the technology we have now, this simply wouldn’t have been possible," Pye says.

At the intersection of enabling technology and creative flux, the edit suite is the place to watch for changing post paradigms in the coming years.

Fast Fact: Working Man’s HD
22 percent of respondents polled found the trend toward high definition deliverables would affect their job "very significantly," with 38 percent saying it would affect them "significantly."