1) How long have you been a filmmaker? How many films have you made? (list student and professional separately) I've been making movies since I was thirteen years old. I started with clay animation, developed primitive computer animation (back in the days of Atari 800, TRS-80, and the earliest Apple computers), and then moved onto live action films with a 50-member+ high school film club I created. My first experience editing was on super-8 silent black and white film. Number of films: amateur and film school: About a hundred ranging from a minute to an hour. Professionally: At least 400 educational documentaries with 3 different companies ranging from twenty minutes to two hours. In broadcast and cable television: Well over 1000 if you include day of air short pieces -- ranging from a few minutes to feature length, to multi-hour documentaries. |
2) Did you go to film school? Who did you study under and did you have any notable classmates? Do you have any notable mentors? Yes. I started at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, then transferred to the University of Southern California. I studied under Edward Dmytryk and the staff at USC. My classmates included Steven Sommers (The Mummy), Bryan Singer (X-Men) and Judd Apatow (40-year old virgin). I have been blessed with amazing mentors from across the globe. But, dearest to me is Irvin Kershner, who directed The Empire Strikes Back. |
3) Just to make sure you can handle the "hot seat" in an edit bay, what high end clients have you DIRECTLY worked with? Also, list a few notable networks, studios, or companies you have worked for. I have also worked directly with Tyler Perry, Nigel Lythgoe, Ken Warwick (American Idol), Kevin Burns (The Girls Next Door), Ellen Degeneres (as her creating editor), Matthew Perry, comedian Louie Anderson, agents Arnold Rifkin and David Snyder (WMA), Barbara Eden, Bruce Willis, Christian Slater, and many, many more. I have worked for practically EVERY cable and broadcast network. I've also worked (as producer/editor) for NASA, American Airlines, Mitsubishi Corporation, and more. |
4) What production skills (for which you been PAID professionally) do you have besides editing? Writing, directing, producing, sound design, camera work, lighting, video technician. |
5) How big have your audiences been? How does your edited work compare to other editors on the same show? The highest ratings in prime-time has been 34 million viewers. >more> My ratings are generally the highest on a given series. For the Travel Channel, my ratings were about 25%-50% higher than other episodes. For MTV, my episodes received ratings almost twice as high as the subsequent years and those I was not involved with. >more> My educational work has received wide international success. My programs can be seen in almost every school district and every school in America. >more> And, i am proud that my groundbreaking scientific series on indoor air pollution set the new scientific standard in this billion dollar industry and I am told has saved many lives. |
6) Name some editing styles you've invented. Discuss editing styles you enjoy. Discuss your views on using editorial styles. I was among the first editors (possibly the first) to discover and use modern 'speed ramping' before the technique had a name. On one hand, I can enjoy the frantic and energetic pacing of day-of-air editing like EXTRA and Access Hollywood. I also enjoy psychedelic MTV music video techniques. But I am currently focusing on a more dramatic story-based style of cutting, and allowing the viewers to drink in the luxurious images of production by staying in the background creatively. An editor is like a composer -- their contributions can sometimes be present an 'in your face' -- calling self-reflexive attention to their work. But, more often, an editor is invisible, the cuts are organic and motivated by the action. A great editor should be able to flow between styles and everything in-between effortlessly, bringing the story, characters, and subject matter to the highest level possible -- all while remaining invisible! Ultimately, editing is 'organic' and must be drawn from the material it serves. Getting to the point where the television program or feature film itself dictates the style and decisions of the editor has become the modern goal of editing. This has been possible using traditional editing of film and tape, but the realm of non-linear opens up intense new access to ultimate editing perfection where every single frame is perfectly chosen for the most appropriate and powerful storytelling result. |
7) How many finished (fine cut) minutes can you create a day? How many notes do you get compared to other editors on the same show? Excellent question -- it's all about the notes, isn't it? I have been known to rush out over a half-hour of rough cut in a day, but anyone can do that. It's all about ‘fine-cuts’ -- complete with music, sound effects, a rough mix, and elegant seamless picture and story. I can 'finish" about 4-6 minutes of picture per day, depending on the genre. Generally I get FAR fewer notes than other editors and on high-end multi-day edits, my work is 80 - 90% of what will ultimately air or make it to theaters on my first pass. As a recent example, Tyler Perry has looked at first drafts of my work and said, "I have nothing to say." To put that statement in context, he fired two previous editors who had spent months unable to create even a rough cut of the same material due to the challenge. Another example: Ellen Degeneres and Will Ferrell did an improvised skit on a sound stage that was so badly covered and so randomly performed that an executive producer and a producer were unable to do anything with it and it was deemed impossible to cut. I spent a few hours of my own time after work and the next day it was approved and went on to be one of the most famous segments in the show’s history. Yet another: A year ago, I was brought onto a show for Travel Channel that was about to be pulled. Two other editors had failed to create anything the network or the producers liked. After a few days in the bay, my version generated so much excitement that the network spent $5 million advertising the series. They went from almost canceled to throwing millions at it. At MTV, I walked into a similar fiasco on Sorority Life. Eight seasoned Real World editors could not create a cut that the network approved. I was pulled aside by the executive producer and told I had three days to create a re-cut that was acceptable to network or the entire operation was going to be closed down and the series canceled. After two and a half days, my rough cut was delivered, eagerly accepted, and I was bumped up to lead editor on the first 10 episodes. The show went on for three seasons and had a spin-off. In all of the above examples, my work was done unsupervised and entirely my own until notes. |
8) What genres have you worked in? What's your favorite? Your least favorite? I have worked in almost every genre: feature dramatic film, documentary, scientific, educational, day-of-air, corporate, advertising, music video, reality, docu-drama, psychedelic, multi-cam, live, short forms, animation, claymation, pixilation, computer graphics, and probably a few I can't think of right now! My favorite genre is dramatic -- which can often include moments in reality, docu-drama, and documentary. Any genre that explores character and is true on a fundamental level. My least favorite genres are those that are ‘forced’, overly written and come off as fake and insulting to the viewer. |
9) What editing platforms do you work on? (linear and nonlinear) How much experience do you have on each? Which are you 'best' at? I am equally adept on AVID media composer and Final Cut Pro. But, I've also cut super-8, 16 mm film, and linear editing systems on a wide variety of tape formats. I've been cutting film since I was 13. I cut linear (tape) for a decade. I've been cutting on AVID and FCP since the early 1990's. Although I am flexible, I am among the fastest AVID editors around. Final Cut Pro can achieve great results and the FCP Studio is the best collection of tools around, but, honestly AVID has an artistic edge that can’t be beat -- especially in the revision phase of an edit. I have both platforms in-house as well and can offer remote editing services. |
10 Who else do you work with while editing? (producers, writers, AEs, Executive Producers, talent, etc.) I have cut films while sitting on an apple box with no assistants, all the way to having a driver, catered meals, and staying at a 5-star hotel. It really doesn't make a difference -- all that matters is what makes it on screen. I have worked side by side with producers calling every shot, but that's not the best use of my skills when the possibility exists for me to edit unsupervised. Although I love collaborating, I am much faster and often much more creative working alone. Today, I can often take the place of a small staff of editors, and often work without a producer or writer -- reporting directly to the executive producer and network executives. I am very skilled at writing as I work, and more often than not the 'writer' of a show actually simply writes what has been approved during my edit. AEs are only important at a facility where file servers, etc. are part of a larger network and machine rooms are shared. But even in those situations, I am able to be my own AE (much as I love the help when it is available on a show). I am okay on any end of the collaboration spectrum -- from solo to a large team. Each show has its own needs and ultimately we are all working for the audience, not our individual egos. The show must go on and the editor's job is to bring out the best in each participant's contribution from writer to director to producer! |