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Make the Cut: A Guide to Becoming a Successful Assistant Editor in Film and TV ReviewI found this to be a hard review to write. Normally I pick up a book after reading its title and figure that it will include something that will interest me. I read the title to the instant book and figured the contents would include information about what a skilled film editor needs to know to be good at his job. Basically I expected to read a book that would help me understand "how to stock footage, sound effects (SFX), music (MX), visual effects (VFX or VIZFX), automatic dialog replacement (ADR), onlining, protecting network/studio assets, and even organizing the office space." [see page 3 of book]. I also expected to learn about being "responsible for paperwork systems, project settings and organization, digitizing, import/export/file transfer procedures, logging, media storage, backup technologies and procedures." [id]. Unfortunately I did not get what I expected. Instead I was stuck reading a career guide for someone considering getting a degree in filmmaking or who has sufficient technical training to skip such schooling.
Sometimes I give a very low star rating to a book that is guilty of bait and switch. Sometimes I don't. It really depends on the mood I find myself in when sitting down to write my review. I have put off writing this review for over a month now. So if I cannot find some good qualities in it, then I should have written a killer review a month ago, i.e, 1-star.
The authors have been involved in filmmaking for a long time now - more than 30 years each I think I read. I got the feeling they are kind of old and by writing this book they were "giving back" so younger people could successfully follow in their footsteps. The authors are freelancers. They work on projects and when one projects ends they go without work for a bit until another project comes along. In the book they explain how a recent graduate of filmmaking school needs to get an intern position under a film editor. Such jobs usually are performed without pay, but they enable you to eventually get hired as an assistant film editor - i.e., chief bottle washer under a full-fledged film editor. Interestingly we are told you have to be an assistant before you can become a full-fledger. However, one of the full-fledgers interviewed at the end of the book said he had no technical skills and couldn't do what an assistant does if his life depended on it. So I got conflicting messages from this book.
If I were interested in learning about how to get an internship, then get gigs as an assistant editor, and finally get recognized as a full-fledged editor, then I would have been very happy to read this book. It explains that there is a lot of pro bono work provided by the wanta-be assistant editor. There is a lot of effort required to be expended in order to appear to be skilled and competent and willing to go the extra mile. All in all, I though someone would have to be crazy to want to be a film editor in the filmmaking business. It reminded me of my days trying to find my way in the legal profession as an attorney. What a racket!
Much of what we are told is common practice in any project management setting. There are the managers with authority, and then there are the worker bees doing all the real work for little or no pay. By the way, why wasn't compensation mentioned more in this book? After all, money is why people pursue a career and this book is certainly a career guide.
This book included 16 chapters that were divided among 4 parts or sections. The subject headings for the "parts" did not really help me follow the book too well. And it seemed absurd to group 9 of the 16 chapters in a part called "Getting Started."
Since this book is a career guide I think it should have had a few less chapters in the first part of the book. I think there should have been a "part" that covered filmmaking schools and degree programs. And there certainly should have been some coverage of the technical training that could be substituted for a filmmaking degree before a person sought an internship.
So the book is mistitled. It covers a bunch of interesting stuff for a career guide, but it fails to cover all the bases that should be covered in a good career guide. So I can't say I loved or liked this book. But I didn't dislike or hate it, either. So what is left, a 3-star rating? The book is just OK.
Make the Cut: A Guide to Becoming a Successful Assistant Editor in Film and TV OverviewBeing a successful editor is about more than just knowing how to operate a certain piece of software, or when to make a certain transition. On the contrary, there are many unwritten laws and a sense of propriety that are never discussed or taught in film schools or in other books.
Based on their own experiences, first as upcoming assistant editors, then as successful Hollywood editors, the authors guide you through the ins and outs of establishing yourself as a respectedfilm and video editor.
Insight is included on an array of technical issues such as script breakdown, prepping for sound effects, organizing camera and sound reports, comparison timings,assemply footages and more. In addition, they also provide first-hand insight into industry protocol, providing tips on interviewing, etiquette, career planning and more, information you simply won't find in any other book.The book concludes with a chapter featuring Q+A sessions with various established Hollywood editors about what they expect from their assistant editors.
* Cutting insight and tested tipsfrom 2 established Hollywood editors (combined credits include Cesar Milan: Dog Whisperer, The Simple Life, The Shield, Dawson's Creek) will have you on the path to being a successful assistant editor in no time * Includes discussions with some of the top editors in the industry, sharing their views on what they expect from their assistants in the editing suite * Offers technical info such as the intricacies of digitizing and breaking down a script, as well as practical knowledge on topics like interview preparation and industry ettiquette
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