E-NEWS
EDITION #029
April 2012
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Greetings Editing Colleagues,
Happy Easter!
I hope the past month has been kind. Busy but well balanced. A mix of creative challenges coupled with some laughter and sunlight.
This is a call-out for some ASE assistance.
Your Guild needs you!
Yes my sign off is the same each week. But that doesn't mean it doesn't carry weight.
We are in need of Committee members. Many hands make light work.
Or perhaps you could simply contribute an article outlining your latest project. Forward a website link to an interesting article. Recommend a Documentary you recently watched?
Let's share the love in this editing community!
If every current member contributed just one small thing per year, we'd be inundated and absolutely flourishing with ideas and information. Wouldn't you like to be a part of that?
Please forward any correspondence to us at committee@screeneditors.com
We'd love to hear from you...
So here I go again....
Remember, it really is a matter of "what can you do for your Guild?”
Please let us know what you'd like to contribute or make available to share.
Let's find great comfort in supporting each other.
Regards,
Jason Ballantine ASE
ASE President
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VICTORIAN UPDATE:
It’s time for the Easter egg hunt already! So while you are trying to think of where to hoard your stash of chocolate goodness here is a shout out to the editing community. At the awards night last year it was announced we would begin creating an Assistants Handbook for our members to be made available on the website. This is the official start of creating it. We are looking for senior assistants and post supervisors to help write and tech check the chapters. We don’t expect contributions to every chapter by people who volunteer - more we will use your speciality and ask you to focus on one aspect of the handbook. If you are interested in contributing please let us know by emailing vicoffice@screeneditors.com so we can give you a better idea of what we hope to achieve and work out what you would like to contribute to. We look forward to creating something great with your help!
On behalf of the Victorian ASE committee I’d like to thank Karen Fleming for her dedication to the ASE and the broader editing community. Karen has been an energetic contributor to the planning and presentation of ASE events but has made the hard decision to leave the committee. So when you see her either in the workplace, socially or at an ASE event please go up to her and thank her for the time she has volunteered to help make the ASE the fantastic Guild that it is. Karen damn well deserves it.
As always the committee is toiling away with getting events up so please keep an eye on the website for event announcements.
Okay I saved this for last. I have been trying to come up with a definition of a group of editors. A murder of crows, a parliament of owls and Karin Steininger came up with this pearler - a tangent of editors. Any one got better? Have an awesome April.
Cindy Clarkson
Victorian ASE Chairperson
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WESTERN AUSTRALIAN UPDATE:
The year is flying along over in the West with most of our members here busy working on all sorts of projects. Congratulations to David Fosdick editor of The Bombing of Darwin: An Awkward Truth, which screened recently and has become the highest rating program of all time on Foxtel's History Channel. The documentary was the top rated program across subscription TV for the night and was the 4th highest rated subscription television documentary program of all time. Also, airing recently was On A Wing And A Prayer edited by Teresa Ashton Graham, The Great Mint Swindle edited by Tony Mestre (a Sydney lad but we'll make him an honorary sandgroper cos he did a great job of one of our most famous crime stories), a new series of Who Do You Think You Are has just started screening edited by Beckett Broda, Teresa, David and Peter Pritchard and recently aired Life Architecturally and Singapore 1942 edited by Lawrie Silvestrin.
Coming up on April 1st we're all getting together for a Sundowner at The Garden. And on April 15th we're having a Q&A screening of the film about life, love and lasagne, Big Mamma's Boy, with editor Beckett Broda and director Franco di Chiera.
Lawrie Silvestrin
Chairman
WA ASE Sub Committee
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NEWS:
Roar Drinks (VIC)
By Cindy Clarkson
ASE Members at the ROAR Digital drinks held at their premises in Victoria.
On a warm autumnal evening conversation, laughs and general envy at the size of the edit rooms was abound at 13 – 339 Williamstown Road better known as ROAR digital. With hostesses with the mostest – Evelyn Cronk and Heather Everard graciously giving tours of the facility - 3 edit suites running either final cut pro and Avid, an ingest room, da vinci Resolve grading room with Mark Pittman or Peter Cave showing off the magic, board room and green screen complete with keep off the grass sign. It was awesome to have new and senior editors mingling in a house for editors nibbling on delightful elegant canapés and sipping a variety of finest. A big thank you to committee member Jill Holt for coordinating with the Roar team, Evelyn Heather Mark, Peter, Graham for pouring the drinks, David for making the fab food, Chris Weir and Ian Kirk who made it happen.
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ASE March Avid Event (VIC)
By Jaklene Vukasinovic
On March 20, Victorian ASE members enjoyed the opportunity to get hands-on with AVID's new Media Composer 6 at the Australian Academy of Design in Port Melbourne. We were fortunate to have Dan Miall, Director of Technical Operations Blonde Robot to guide us. Dan's extensive experience and his familiarity with the new Media Composer was key to the success of the event, and he led attendees through both changes to existing elements as well as introducing and explaining newer features.
The two sessions focused on both users who may be looking to switch to Avid from Final Cut Pro as well as Avid users who wanted a chance to delve deeper into the capabilities of Media Composer 6. Attendees had the chance to work with files from a commercial campaign to experience putting an advertisement together from scratch to finish. Dan also introduced users to some additional features, such as the masking, tracking and basic colour grading capabilities of Media Composer.
Dan's explanation of the benefits and capabilities of Avid software was extremely informative. The attendees at the training event appreciated the chance to work with the Avid software in a hands-on environment.
Many thanks to our sponsors AVID and Karen Eastmure for giving the membership the opportunity to have a look at version 6.
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WOW AWARDS 2012, Dendy Quays (NSW)
The ASE Editing Award was handed out at the recent WOW Awards. The Joint winners each received Australian Screen Editors Guild 1 year membership.
ASE AWARD JOINT WINNERS:
Australian Fiction: KATIE FLAXMAN
For work on PEEKABOO
Australian Documentary: ELIZABETH TADIC
For work on UMOJA: No Men Allowed
ASE Committee Member Jane St Vincent Welsh ASE and Dr Karen Pearlman at the WOW Awards
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This month, the ASE puts the spotlight on the members in the editing community of Western Australia. A big shout out to all members over in the West.
'Meet the Member'
…with Jonathan Rowden
ASE Member Jonathan Rowden at Lake Ballard, WA. See! Editors really don't mind a bit of sunshine, they just don't like the limelight.
Jonathan Rowdon trained and then worked as an editor at the BBC in London for 10 years, before going freelance. He has since worked in London and Perth. He has cut more than 100 documentaries and 10 drama films for broadcasters in the UK, Australia and the USA.
I knew I wanted to work in post when… I completed my first editing exercise at film school. It showed my I didn't want to be a DOP, which is what I was training to do.
My first break in the industry came when… a friend of the father of a friend of a friend recommended me to a friend who had a post production company in London and he gave me a job synching 16mm rushes. That's how lucky you have to be sometimes.
The thing I love most about editing is… solving the puzzle.
The best tip I’ve got for aspiring editors is... do it, do it, do it. Cut anything and everything you can. And never let anyone tell you it's "too hard" to get into the industry. If you want it that much it'll happen for you.
If I wasn’t in post-production I’d be… wealthier, less tired... and much unhappier.
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'Meet the Member'
…with Teresa Ashton-Graham
ASE Member Teresa Ashton-Graham
After discovering the joys of editing relatively late in life, Teresa has been working freelance on Perth documentary productions for fourteen years. Recent credits include SAS – The Search for Warriors, Part 2 for SBS (AACTA Best Documentary series), On a Wing and a Prayer for ABC1 and Who Do You Think You Are – Melissa George for SBS. Teresa is currently working on Do or Die, ABC2’s first factual commission.
I knew I wanted to work in post when…. I did a Broadcast Operations course at TAFE in 1995, a great little taster of the different areas of broadcasting.
I had previously studied Media Design and worked as a copywriter and production coordinator in television advertising, but knew I wanted to do something more craft based. When I realised the creative potential of the editing process, I was hooked.
My first break in the industry came when…. through my TAFE editing lecturer, Geoff Hall, I got casual work assisting Roland Smith at Whiz Digital.
While doing the usual digitising and assembling, I watched and learnt from Roland and the other freelance Editors I met through Whiz. This then lead to assistant work and attachments on local documentary productions, which gradually lead to co-editing then editing infotainment and docos.
The thing I love most about editing is…. that moment in a project when the cut starts working as a whole and you step back, watch it and enjoy a film rather than watch a series of edits. The big pay off is showing the final result to an audience who laugh, gasp or cry in all the right places.
The best tip I’ve got for aspiring Editors is… to seek out experienced Editors and Directors and watch them working together. Editing is a collaborative and creative process, not just a set of technical tricks.
If I wasn’t in postproduction, I’d be… studying horticulture maybe, and trying to get some vitamin D.
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'Meet the Member'
…with David Langlands
ASE Member David Langlands and the famous ‘Singapore Sling’ at Raffles Hotel, Singapore
I knew I wanted to work in post when… I’d tried camera assisting in the steamy tropics of Darwin, NT and realised that the air conditioned edit suite was the place to be.
My first break in the industry came when… after knocking on doors and annoying various production managers I scored a job as a production assistant at the only commercial station
in Darwin at the time, Channel 8. I worked my way up from promo dubs and newsbreak recording to editing commercials and the local four-minute fishing show.
The thing I love most about editing is… when the hairs start to rise on the back of your neck as you watch a sequence back and think to yourself … this is really starting to look good! This can affect people, make them feel differently about the subject at hand, lift them, make them pause and think, tug at their heartstrings. It’s why I watch people’s faces at viewings to see if the story is having the effect we’ve been striving to achieve.
The best tip I’ve got for aspiring editors is... don’t go to ‘film school’, it’s just a waste of time and money and you don’t come out any further ahead. Get in any other way you can, interning or work experience is a good in. You’ll need to work hard, show enthusiasm and be prepared to do some of your own projects after hours to prove yourself.
If I wasn’t in post-production I’d be… running a sound desk, or making espresso coffee just how you like it.
David Langlands has just clocked up 20 years in industry and has edited everything from Four Corners to Playschool (literally!)
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SPONSORS UPDATE
The ASE will proudly feature updates of our sponsors each month to tell us what they’ve been up to recently and what exciting things they have installed for 2012.
The ASE is proud to announce Autodesk as a new gold sponsor for 2012. Autodesk is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. The last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects have utilised Autodesk’s software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas.
“We are very pleased to be able to support ASE,” said Michael Yell, Sales Director APAC for Autodesk Media & Entertainment “and look forward to more close engagements with the industry stakeholders and participate in the growth of the industry.”
We’ll be sure to keep members up to date with Autodesk’s latest releases and upcoming events so stay tuned!
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ON THE WEB:
- Australian filmmaker Bruce Beresford blames the digital format as one factor that impinges on directors’ creativity:
http://www.sbs.com.au/blogarticle/125895/Beresford-takes-aim-at-directors
- Ever get annoyed by people texting on their mobile phone in the cinema?
- An interesting article that relates to everyone in the post industry:
- And a possibly a solution for the above article: http://www.fitsugar.com/tag/treadmill-desk
- Something for the inner nerd in us all: http://mashable.com/2011/10/08/digital-storage-infographic/
- A funny clip from the guys at Lonely Island about tough guys in the cinema:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz5dbs5zmo
- Need to relax? Click here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bc1Zc4qsTQk
- Or perhaps this is more soothing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJSQFzw1pEE
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Side By Side @The Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival has just released a sneak peak of 25 TEASER FILMS playing at this year’s Festival. Flexi passes are now on sale! Share them with your friends or family – they’re that flexi-ble! Be quick, don’t miss: SIDE BY SIDE. A fascinating look at the shift from celluloid to digital and its impact on moviemaking: Keanu Reeves in conversation with film-industry heavyweights including James Cameron, George Lucas and Christopher Nolan. June 6 - 17 - For more information, visit: http://sff.org.au
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UPCOMING COURSES:
Premier Pro for Final Cut Pro Editors (27 Apr)
This FCP to Premiere Pro switchers course will provide you with all the skills to cross over to this platform.
http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/E552
Avid Media Composer: Intro (30 Apr - 3 May)
Four evenings introductory course for this Industry standard software.
http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/E513
Cinema 4D: Intro (30 April - 1st May)
Designed for those who would like to further their knowledge of 3D and gain more of an understanding about what CINEMA 4D is capable of. Two days.http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/G602
We’re also running aCinema 4D: Advanced course (19 - 20 May)http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/G603
TV Assistant Editor (4,5 and 6 May)
This three-day, intensely practical course introduces participants to the duties, technical skills and responsibilities of the Assistant Editor in today’s Reality television environment.http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/T532
Avid for FCP Editors (12 May)
This one-day course is designed for intermediate to advanced Final Cut Pro editors wanting to broaden their skill set to include Avid Media Composer.
http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/E547
Colour Grading with Da Vinci Resolve (31 May & 1 June)
This 2-day lab-based course will explore the basics of colour correcting and grading using the industry standard DaVinci Resolve software. Limited places available.http://www.open.aftrs.edu.au/course/E554
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ASE MEMBERSHIP:
***Members receive 10% discount to AFTRS courses
***Members also receive discounts to the Sydney and Melbourne film festivals, so check their websites for details.
***Palace Cinemas in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney are now offering ASE members $13.50 entry to any film, any session (not including festivals or special events) upon presentation of membership cards.
***Did you know ASE members get concession rate at Popcorn Taxi events? We do! So just remember to show your ASE members card.
***Online Membership Payment:
There’s never been an easier way to join or re-new your membership to the ASE! We are excited to announce our new online payment facility.
You are now able to pay online with your credit card. If you would like to join the guild follow the link for Online Application Form:
http://www.screeneditors.com/ase_membership/membership_application_form.htm.
Or if you are renewing your membership access to all the ASE benefits will be yours at the click of a button:
https://www.screeneditors.com/membership/form.php
***Discounted AFI membership, check the link below for details
http://www.afi.org.au/AM/ContentManagerNet/ContentDisplay.aspx?ContentID=7014&Section=Guilds
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
“Filmmaking is considered to be the art that most mimics the human mind. Editing from a character’s point of view exemplifies this and is what allows movies to cross into our dreams, hopes, fears, beliefs, and experiences.”
Joy of Film Editing.com
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Until next time
The ASE Committee