Mia Bittar - Editor
What does your job involve ?
It involves everything from logging and digitizing tapes to working closely with the director to select the best takes, performances, look of the shot, all with the aim of telling the story as best possible. You work on the overall structure of the film down to the exact frame on which to make the cut.
It takes a lot of time and patience and you have to be ready to spend a lot of hours in front of the computer cutting away. Directors can change their mind and want to try scenes in different ways. They have spent a lot of energy or money in getting those rushes, so they are very attached to them. But the editor needs to be assertive at times if they really think a shot is not working and the director refuses to let it go. It all has to be said with as much gentleness as possible.
The better the rushes and coverage, the easier and more pleasurable the job is. Sometimes, however, it is a matter of trying to fix it in post - but post cannot always fix the problem so the job becomes harder.
What kind of skills do you need for the job ?
I guess anyone could put together a scene or film with some basic common sense but I think a great editor will combine intuition and sensitivity to bring a style and feel to the film that is subtle but ingenious.
On the more practical side, you need to be very organised, meticulous with details and know where everything is. You end up dealing with a lot of tapes and must be able to retrieve the material you need as quickly as possible.
I'm not hugely computer literate, but you've got to be comfortable using computers. Today the most common editing systems used are AVID and Final Cut Pro. Knowing one or the other is essential to getting work. The faster and more comfortable you are with the system and software, the easier the workflow.
How did you get into the business ?
A few years ago, I did a short course in an editing school in New York called The Edit Center. I then worked as an assistant editor, editing shorts as well. After a while I decided to do my Masters in the UK in Media Production.
However, you don't really need to do a Masters. The best way is to get experience through jobs as a runner or assistant. People look at experience more than qualifications. They want to see show reels and you can build up show reels by doing free jobs on good films. On sites like shooting people or mandy there are postings for film crews.
Also, doing short courses helps keep you up to date on the technology side. Skillset helped fund a recent course on Final Cut Pro at Soho Editors which was extremely useful.
It involves everything from logging and digitizing tapes to working closely with the director to select the best takes, performances, look of the shot, all with the aim of telling the story as best possible. You work on the overall structure of the film down to the exact frame on which to make the cut.
It takes a lot of time and patience and you have to be ready to spend a lot of hours in front of the computer cutting away. Directors can change their mind and want to try scenes in different ways. They have spent a lot of energy or money in getting those rushes, so they are very attached to them. But the editor needs to be assertive at times if they really think a shot is not working and the director refuses to let it go. It all has to be said with as much gentleness as possible.
The better the rushes and coverage, the easier and more pleasurable the job is. Sometimes, however, it is a matter of trying to fix it in post - but post cannot always fix the problem so the job becomes harder.
What kind of skills do you need for the job ?
I guess anyone could put together a scene or film with some basic common sense but I think a great editor will combine intuition and sensitivity to bring a style and feel to the film that is subtle but ingenious.
On the more practical side, you need to be very organised, meticulous with details and know where everything is. You end up dealing with a lot of tapes and must be able to retrieve the material you need as quickly as possible.
I'm not hugely computer literate, but you've got to be comfortable using computers. Today the most common editing systems used are AVID and Final Cut Pro. Knowing one or the other is essential to getting work. The faster and more comfortable you are with the system and software, the easier the workflow.
How did you get into the business ?
A few years ago, I did a short course in an editing school in New York called The Edit Center. I then worked as an assistant editor, editing shorts as well. After a while I decided to do my Masters in the UK in Media Production.
However, you don't really need to do a Masters. The best way is to get experience through jobs as a runner or assistant. People look at experience more than qualifications. They want to see show reels and you can build up show reels by doing free jobs on good films. On sites like shooting people or mandy there are postings for film crews.
Also, doing short courses helps keep you up to date on the technology side. Skillset helped fund a recent course on Final Cut Pro at Soho Editors which was extremely useful.
