Ancient stories, honeymooning, and the Greeks

I’ve been thinking about the origins of storytelling these days.  It involves piles of rocks and a multi-platinum, New Age musician.  Go figure.

My wife and I, married this past May, recently returned from our official honeymoon.  We visited my brother and sister-in-law for a week in Qatar (a great story in and of itself), then spent the next week in Greece.

You know the New Age musician Yanni?  He wrote a song called “Santorini”,  the island where we stayed.  Ever seen a postcard of Greece featuring blazing white villas with cobalt blue doors perched on craggy cliffs above a cerulean sea?  That’s Santorini.  (I’m not usually given to flowery adjectives, but believe me, the place is amazing.) More on Yanni in a bit.

One of the places we went in Santorini found us driving up an insanely narrow, winding road – more like wide sidewalk – to the mountain top ruins of the ancient city of Thira.  Since very few visitors come to Santorini in the winter, we had the place almost completely to ourselves.  We walked through the agora, public baths, and individual residences occupied by normal, island-dwelling men and women – three thousand years ago.

You’d think that walking ancient streets would prompt visions of centuries of toga-clad characters living, marrying, building, worshiping, fighting, and dying.  Some of that happened for me, but frankly… not all that much. (Probably why I’m an editor, not a screenwriter.)  The thing that would really blow my mind was still to come.

Trust us, we’re professionals

We recently discussed the Very Serious Topic of Brown M&Ms and why they matter.  Next question: what do you do with Brown M&Ms?  What is acceptable procedure for dealing with Brown M&Ms?  Weighty questions which deserve sober answers, to be sure.

In the previous Brown M&Ms post, I mentioned the following:

…part of editing professionally is learning the appropriate practices for any given project, and sticking to them so everyone knows that they can hand things off to you and know it’s gonna be done excellently, and done right.

Rick, a friend of Editmentor, commented:

Forgive the noob comment, but where exactly are the specifications of appropriate practices?
  Is it a customer by customer basis? How would one develop the good habits without specifications or guidelines?

Far from being noobish – those are very legitimate questions that aren’t quickly answered.  “Professional practices” vary wildly at times, are rarely codified, and sometimes it’s difficult to find that out until you’re actually on a job and you “screw up” – i.e. go against expectations that may not even have been concretely expressed!  At which point you say “how the heck was I supposed to know that?”  And people just kind of look at you funny and say “Uh, that’s normal.  Everyone knows that.”  (It’s not unlike women expecting men to read their minds without actually saying what they actually want, then getting all worked up when men’s ESP isn’t perfect.  My wife is not like that, and I am so grateful.  But I digress.)

The more I thought about professional practices, the more I realized I had other questions to address first.  Editmentor serves lots of different people with varying levels of experience, and we’ve had a number of questions from people asking “How can I become a professional editor?”  And, in a world where literally anyone can assemble clips of video and audio on their own computer, what makes a professional editor professional?

Change – not just coins in your pocket

Change happens to all of us, certainly to me.  I was watching a movie at home last night with my wife, both notable things – I rarely watch movies at home, and up until last month I didn’t have a wife.

We were watching That’s Entertainment, a film featuring clips from classic MGM musicals and hosted by former MGM stars including Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Frank Sinatra.  In the 1940’s and 50’s, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) was the undisputed king of the Hollywood musical, producing classics including The Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Gigi, An American In Paris, and many others.  By 1974, when the host segments for That’s Entertainment were shot on the old MGM backlot, the studio barely resembled the powerhouse it once was.  In fact, the studio had failed to evolve with the times and had lost so much money in the 60’s that in 1973 the studio’s new owners almost completely shut down production to rein in the studio’s massive debts.  Not only that, That’s Entertainment’s host segment shoots were emotional for some of these stars, who, having spent years acting on those sets, knew that they were the last scenes to be shot before the entire backlot, recently sold to real estate developers, would be bulldozed to the ground.

Not only was MGM in dire straits, the studio heads weren’t all that sure about the film’s prospects, being one of the first “docu-tainment” or “clip show” movies.  

Why brown candy matters

Rock star legend Eddie Van Halen became notorious for a clause in his contract forbidding the presence of brown M&Ms in the backstage candy bowl at his concerts.  Here’s the flip side of that story and why it matters.

Celebrities have had all sorts of random requirements included in their contracts over the years.  Aretha Franklin contractually insists that her hotel rooms must never be higher than the 5^th floor, and that all air vents must be taped shut.  John Kerry, when appearing for speaking engagements, requires a recumbent (not upright) exercise bike.  Though in the heyday of big hair rock and roll, Van Halen’s prohibition of brown M&Ms was particularly singled out with disgust as the classic example of rock stars run amok with infantile delusions of grandeur. Most of those critics never found out what you’re about to read.

Oscars! Success! And why film degrees are not the point.

Well here we are.  It’s post-Oscars, the Super Bowl of US moviemaking.  Those of you who follow me on Facebook, you know that I publicly announced how amazing I thought The Hurt Locker was before it won any golden statues.  I’ll be talking more about that movie in another post.

In the meantime, you know all those folks who were saying “thank you” for their awards?  Did you notice how often they thanked the colleges they went to?  Cuz they didn’t.

Speaking plainly, film school – and most film professors who share their knowledge and passion for storytelling at film school –  is good for reasons discussed below.  The need for a film degree, though, is greatly misunderstood.  In fact, I’ll be as transparent to say that I have not finished my Bachelor degree.

My lack of a college degree has not at all hindered me or many others in our paths to success in Hollywood.  Now granted, I haven’t won an Emmy or an Oscar.  I will say, though, that my editing work has been seen around the world by millions of people, and I have earned over $100,000 a year in Hollywood since the age of 22.  Which is why when a Facebook friend asked me my thoughts on BFAs and MFAs in film and the relative values thereof, I proceeded to step up onto my soapbox and typed out the following, which I would wish every film student in the world could see before embarking on becoming the next Spielberg.  By the way, keep reading for a shocking tidbit about Mr. Spielberg.

Dreams of an Olympic editor

A couple nights ago I watched the Olympics on my big HDTV at home.  After my initial gawking at all the makeup caked on the figure skaters, I started thinking about goals and how they shift.  See, there was a time when the one thing I wanted to do most was… edit for the Olympics.  Now I’ve never been athletic – to this very day I become insecure the instant I set foot on a basketball court, pick up a baseball bat, or swing a golf club.  I figured that even though I have no desire to put in the work necessary to be an Olympic athlete, I would achieve the next best thing by being one of the people who bring their stories to the world.

In 2003, NBC was crewing up for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.  I was cutting for a daily entertainment news show on FOX, and I started asking everyone I knew about who I should contact to get on board with NBC.  Well whaddya know, I started getting leads.  A fellow editor from my previous job, also at FOX, had a friend who ran a post house in New York City who had also cut on location for multiple rounds of Olympics.  I called the contact in New York, and he gave me the info for the Director of Olympic Operations at NBC.  I kept asking around in Los Angeles for leads to the Olympics, and they pointed me to the same guy, who I emailed inquiring about how a young, fast, motivated editor could end up editing for the Olympics in Athens.

Screaming into microphones

A follow-up of our discussion of ADR and looping. Make sure to check out previous posts Actors In Tiny Boxes and ADR, Emmys, and Atomic Bombs.  Not only do individual actors often come back into the studio to re-record audio after production has wrapped, sometimes groups of actors called “loop groups” are brought in to recreate or enhance off-camera dialogue, ambience, or general group chatter.

The following is a follow-up to ADR editor Jill D’Aubery’s story of The Day After, for which she won an Emmy.  Jill remembers…

I had a wonderful loop group that worked on that project. The director, Nick Meyer, wanted the sound of the earth itself screaming in protest as it was torn apart. So I lined up my 20 loopers and recorded a separate scream from each of them. I also recorded a scream from all the women loopers together and a separate scream from all the men plus a few screams from the entire group. I did this at the complete end of the group looping sessions which lasted, if I remember correctly, around a week or so.

I cut these screams together and the result was amazing! When you heard the screams without any other sound, it WAS like the death throes of the earth! But when the incredible work of the sound effect editors was added to the screams it was chilling. And even though we had all worked on this for months and months, when we heard and saw the final result on the dub stage, I don’t think there was a single dry eye in the room. The bombs fell, the trees swayed violently, buildings crumbled and exploded, people and horses were vaporized…and over, through, and beneath it all was sound. Terrifying sound. Sound made more human by the voices of 20 terrific actors portraying the earth itself.

—

Clearly a moment to remember.  Work on enough projects – be they professional or personal – and you’ll have those kind of moments yourself.  Here’s one of mine.

Picture from Brendan Donnison www.lypsinc.com

Got Greener Grass?

Cows like grass.  So do people, especially when it appears to be greener than the grass on which they’re currently standing.  Oh, wouldn’t it be cool if… oh, if only I could… oh, I’d be so much happier if… blah blah blah.  Now don’t get me wrong, imagining possibilities is critical.  Never being satifisfied with anything?  That’ll wear you down, and usually others too.

In the world of acting,there’s a hierarchy. Thousands of would-be actors in Los Angeles would give their eyeteeth to book a gig, one gig, ANY paying gig.  Many already have and wish they could just get any kind of recurring role.  Then there are the working actors – those who randomly book the occasional supporting or featured roles on a commercial, tv, or movie, and can keep the rent paid.  The ones who have it good are actors who book regular roles on soap operas, which crank out episodes day after day.

Yet I happen to know many actors don’t value roles on soap operas as much as if they were working on a dramatic tv series.  And those in tv series *really* wish they could make the jump to C or B-list movie roles.  Those who do appear in said C/B-list roles wish they were A-list.  And A-listers have been known to be discontent because they’re not Tom Cruise.  And you know what?  

Compare Edits! Copier Wars

Check it out. Everyone always says “there’s a million ways to cut this” yet rarely ever sees examples of it. Well, you’re in for a treat, courtesy of the students of Bellevue College in Seattle, Washington. Their professor, Robert Backstrand, worked with us to build the entire curriculum of his editing classes around footage available at Editmentor.com. Here’s a sampling of Copier Wars edits from students who prove creativity is indeed alive and well.

First up: an edit by Joseph Andrews.

Joseph brought some great character development to the edit. Good eye for actor performance.

Next: a silent edit by Hanky01.

Pulling back the curtain

The first time I saw The Wizard of Oz, I was struck by the scene where The Great Oz directs Dorothy to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.” As in, “Never mind what’s actually happening, just pay attention to the way things seem… we have an image to protect here.” File that under the same category as:

• “Politicians always say they’re going to change things, but I really mean it.” [point dramatically at self]
• “Oh yes, models really do look like magazine covers in real life, all the time.”
• “Making TV and film is a super magical process that can only happen in big TV or film studios by specially anointed people.”

To all of the above I say, with all the sincerity I can muster:

Ppppppppppppppppppppppbbbbbbbbbbbtttttttthhhhhhththhhhh.

Especially that last one on the list. Because chances are if you’re reading this, you know as well as I do that it just ain’t true. (Excuse me while I wipe off my computer screen… okay, we’re good.)

Dan Weaver

I was a junior in high school, attending a week-long TV Talk Show Production class at the annual Donna Reed Festival for the Performing Arts under the guidance of Emmy-winning producer – and since long-time friend – Dan Weaver. Sitting around the table with Dan and my fellow classmates, we started shooting ideas back and forth. It was during that humble little production meeting that I realized a fundamental thing: