EditFest 2018 Panel “The Extended Cut: How to Survive and Thrive In Editorial”
About Episode
This bonus episode is a raw recording of my recent appearance at the wonderful event Editfest in Los Angeles where I was on a panel sponsored by Avid Technology titled, “The Extended Cut: How to Survive and Thrive in Editorial.” The panel was moderated by Matt Feury of Avid Technology, and in addition to me the panel also included Lillian Benson, ACE (ACE Officer and co-chair of the diversity committee), Carol Littleton, ACE (Member of the Boards of Governors of the Academy, Past President of the Motion Picture Editor’s Guild, and award-winning film editor), and Andy Seklir, ACE (Award-winning editor of Westworld as well as one of the architects of the “ACE Best Practices” Pamphlet).
This panel was a brutally honest and open look at what it really takes to not only survive but thrive in Hollywood as a film editor. We talk about the brutally long hours, bouts with depression and burnout, issues with diversity on both an ethnic and gender level, office politics, and the importance of not letting anyone steal your creative passion. This was a ‘No Holds Barred’ conversation where no topic was too taboo.
NOTE: This is a raw recording of a live event so I apologize for any inconsistencies in audio quality. No editing has been done to this recording…this is LIVE and UNFILTERED.
Episode Highlights
- Facing the question, “I love my work, but is it worth all of this physical pain and mental anguish?”
- Focusing on your own wellness in order to enhance your storytelling power
- Fighting the status quo of unhealthy working conditions for editors
- Being a woman nin the industry and the quietly malicious ways you are discouraged from asserting yourself
- Finding, refining, and protecting your moral center while discerning whether a job is good for you or not
- How to process being fired and facing other tough workplace confrontations
- Being disrespected will rob your of your passion, you owe it to yourself to protect it and your identity
- Recognizing when “paying your dues” is related to you growing stronger rather than simply being mistreated
- Breaking the cycle of harmful cultures of competition in the workplace
- Learning to give and receive criticism without jeopardizing your job
- Reinforcing patterns of physical movement in your day in order to reduce tension and toxicity
Episode Credits
This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared and published by Elyse Rintelman. The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).