Editing Manifesto from Jor-el (yes our editor is the father of Superman)

As I speak more and more with Dan (Director/Writer), Morgan (DP), and Catherine (Writer) about Out OF Reach I get more and more excited. They have such a clean and clear idea of what the movie is going to look like, that I can already visualize where I'm going to be cutting, fading, adding effects etcI am so happy that Dan has decided to bring me on at such an early stage of this production. Many Indy film makers make the mistake of either bringing their editor after the shoot or just edit it themselves. Now I know I probably just pissed off a few people by that last comment. Let me explain my self.

1. Bringing on your editor from the very beginning.

As an editor I am all for this. The advantages of bringing in your editor in pre-pro are great and can save you tons of headaches in post. -You build a great relationship with him/her-You both jump on board with the same vision-He/She can start visualizing where the Director wants to go-He/She can tell the Director what shots will cut well and which probably wont.-He/She can already get an idea of what type of visual effects are going to me needed. Whether its a gun flare, explosions etc.-He/She can start developing the work flowThats just a few.Now don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with getting your editor after principle photography. If there is an editor that you have worked with time after time and things are awesome, by all means continue what you are doing. Perfect example is director Martin Scorsese and his editor Thelma Schoonmaker. These two individuals have worked together for years. Pretty much when Scorsese is done with shooting he drops off all the footage to Schoonmaker and doesn't come back until she has a pretty good rough cut. Now thats trust. Thats a trust that they have built over that 3 decades.

2. Editing It Yourself

I know as indy film makers we tend to do everything our selves. Trust me I know. I usually have multiple credits on most my projects. From Gripping to set dressing and everything in between.And I know that what ever project you are doing is "YOUR BABY""AND I DONT WANT ANYONE MESSING WITH MY BABY!"As a film make and editor I totally understand. But here's the thing. YOU CAN NOT DO EVERYTHING BY YOURSELF! You need to rely on the talents of the team that you are building around yourself. And most importantly you need to have another set of eyes while you edit. As an editor I know that sometimes I get tunnel vision on a project, so I get someone else to come in and give me feedback. Thats why I feel that it is VERY important that an editor works along side his/her director. Directing doesn't stop when you yell "THATS A WRAP". Directing is done when your editor is burning the DVD to send off to the festival or to a potential buyer.Well what a way to kick this off. I did not mean to write all of this, but I couldn't stop. Keep coming back please. I will be discussing the work flow with the Canon 5D Mark II, What system I am using, On-Set editing, general post production stuff and much more.

Thanks for reading.

- Jor-El