Birkhead Editorial

The Sun

Andrew Birkhead — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:27:59 +0000

I’ve read The Sun off and on for too many years to count. One of my favorite parts of the magazine is Sy Safransky’s Notebook, short notes about whatever crosses Sy’s mind. After reading it for all these years, I feel like I already know Sy, it’s almost like we’re friends, or could be if our paths crossed. This selection is a good example of the writing that resonates in me:

YES, WE’RE IN A RECESSION. But sooner or later each of us will lose something more important than our savings or our job. Will we have the resilience to deal with sudden illness or injury? With the death of a loved one? With any of the innumerable misfortunes life may have in store? I remind myself that every experience can be a teaching if I’m willing to see it that way; that suffering, too, can be a teaching. In fact, suffering usually gets the teacher-of-the-year award because I always sit up and pay attention when I’m in physical pain or when my heart has been broken or when I witness the anguish of someone I love. To honor the teaching doesn’t mean welcoming suffering with open arms, or looking for the silver lining of a tragedy with the kind of relentless optimism that denies painful feelings. I remind myself that blessings in disguise remain disguised until they’re good and ready to reveal themselves — and even then, the blessing might simply be that a particular setback has taught me to live more fully in the present, or deepened my compassion for others going through a similar difficulty, or underscored the paradox that we’re ultimately alone and inextricably bound to one another.

The Nutcracker

Andrew Birkhead — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:43:03 +0000

Through the miracle of social media, I recently got reintroduced to an old colleague from my WFYI days. He introduced me to a creative team that needed a trailer for a documentary on The Nutcracker. They had the video and needed an editor. The piece turned out great! I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved putting together. By the way, the documentary is still seeking funding. If you’ve always wanted to fund a documentary on The Nutcracker, I’ll hook you up!

Slomo with the Phantom

Andrew Birkhead — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 18:07:56 +0000

I just finished a project that was shot using the Phantom high-speed camera. It captured some wonderful slow motion water shots that nicely show how the product works.

Editing Links

Andrew Birkhead — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:20:34 +0000

Scott Simmons at EditBlog has a great article on edit suite etiquette for facilities operators and freelance editors. It cover’s a lot of great ideas on best practices, including the two biggies.

• Never remap a keyboard that someone else has setup.

• If you have to change the Final Cut Pro capture scratch folders then please put those back at the end of your session.

He also covers how to make dupe detection work while using footage shot on the Canon 5D and 7D.

That means you have to add a reel name in FCP. This can be accomplished by bringing up the Reel column in your FCP bin. I’ve got into the habit of copy and pasting the name of the 5D/7D file into the Reel column as it will be a unique name:

Films for Editors

Andrew Birkhead — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:34:46 +0000

Oliver Peters has posted a nice list of films that editors might enjoy.

With Oscar time approaching and movie-going, as well as, movie-giving a holiday tradition for many families, I decided to post a list of some films that are fun for editors to watch. These aren’t all Oscar-contenders, although there’s plenty of bling in this list. They are presented in no particular order, so I hope you enjoy.

My Netflix que just got longer. Here’s a link to the list.

Quotation

Andrew Birkhead — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:06:05 +0000

When we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death – ourselves.

Eda LeShan

B-Roll

Andrew Birkhead — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:33:47 +0000

Rule 10

Andrew Birkhead — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:25:45 +0000

This is the last of my personal commandments. It’s another ‘anti-resentment’ tool to keep in your back pocket.

10. If you see the problem, you own the problem.

Here’s how it works for me: I notice a problem and immediately look around for someone who SHOULD be fixing it. Then I blame them for the problem as well as judge them for being useless!

On the other hand, if I see a problem and then take ownership, I can avoid the whole cranky phase and jump right into action. Owning the problem eliminates any resentment or blaming by keeping the ball squarely in my court.

Commercial

Andrew Birkhead — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:26:39 +0000

I wish I had edited this.

Connection and Collaboration

Andrew Birkhead — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:13:35 +0000

When my daughter, Sarah, was really young, I took her to the pediatrician for a check-up. I’ve always enjoyed my interactions with Dr. Leland. He’s direct, to the point, and insightful. On this visit he said something that I’ll never forget. As he started to leave, he turned and looked at Sarah, who was around two years old and said “You’re doing a good job raising your dad, keep up the great work.” Ever since then, I’ve been on the lookout for what Sarah might be trying to teach me. Often it’s a tip on how to be a better parent. Sometimes it’s an idea about leadership, being present, forgiveness, or keeping an open heart. Until last weekend the lessons were never related to editing.

Last Sunday we decided to carve pumpkins. I have recently purchased a flip camera and we agreed to shoot the project and collaborate on a video. The process was a blast! I shot the video and we edited the piece together at the studio afterward. For me, the real enjoyment of editing comes from connection and collaboration. Collaborating with my daughter on a creative project is something I’ll never forget, and I intend to do it again, as often as I can.

My best work as an editor comes when I’m connected with my collaborators. I have Sarah to thank for the reminder. Here’s the video we created together.