Country and nationality British
Professional role in the film industry 1st Assistant Editor
Years of experience in the film industry 4
I am a 1st Assistant Editor.
I along with the other assistants and occasionally trainees, are responsible for everything that goes between the shoot to the edit and between the edit and post and back.
So that would be the footage and sound that comes from the shoot, processing it, logging it, syncing it, and prepping it for the editors and then anything the editor needs, sound effects, temp vfx work, syncscripts and so on.
As well as that anything that goes between the edit and post production like graphics, music from the composer, sound effects, vfx.
Challenges
I decided to go into Media on a whim, I had a space when choosing my A levels, and my Mum suggested Media. I needed to make a trailer for my coursework and really enjoyed learning about it and putting it together. Especially the process of having all the pieces on the timeline and watching them all slot together to create something new.
Then when an apprenticeship company came to the school it gave me the idea, to go in that direction and see what happens.
I did various short film courses, and animation courses. And on one they brought in industry professionals, which led me to Equal Access network at Film London, who led me to my first couple traineeships.
It was those traineeships that developed my skills as an assistant editor and I could see it taking me down the road I wanted, to become an editor.
Overcoming Obstacles
Along my way of short film courses and traineeships I met many remarkable women and happily, learnt that postproduction has many strong females. Postproduction Supervisors are mostly women and since I started the editors have been equal between women and men.
I have noticed that while there are many females within post, the assistants have been more heavily leaning towards men.
But that hasn’t made me feel like I couldn’t progress further. Mostly because of the really encouraging female assistants, editors and post supervisors who really gave me the boost in confidence to step up.
Recommendations
Develop good relationships with the people in the roles around the job you are going for. They will often be the ones to see your skills and recommended you to others later down the line. They will also be the ones to support you as you go through your career.
‘If there is any role you want to go for whether you think you are ready for it or not, just try it ‘
The WIFILM Case Study Library will provide VET providers, females interested in developing a career within the industry, or those working alongside females in the industry with a series of case studies on successful women in the film industry. The Case Study Library will highlight the barriers to entry for females in the industry, including deficits in role models, confidence, and career planning.
The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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