Post-Production : Stage 32 does not help the newcomer to the industry by Justine-Paula Robilliard

All I want is to edit, all I have been exposed to so far in my career is TV news video editing, inserts of 90 seconds or less. I have no experience in anything other than TV news.

Hey! I started in post when I was around (cough) 40.... It took me a few years but I have steady happy paying clients and I'm working on my own films. I did not attend film school nor did I take any classes in film in university. I learned the hard way with books, manuals, and loads of practice.

Thanks for the comments, I feel I need to respond, no matter how hard I try to explain, it seems that I am failing in getting my point across. Nate, I have 12 years experience editing TV news inserts, telling a newsworthy story in under 2 minutes or 120 seconds, including interviews and journalist voice, commercials is entirely a different beast to deal with, sure it might seem short 30 seconds to 1 hour for infomercials, nothing I have any exposure to. Georgia, I noticed from your profile you are in the New York region, that alone is decent enough to make it, it is a well supported region, chock a block full of people in the industry. Alle, Hi, age is very important in this industry, and so is gender, as you are based in the US you might not understand the situation outside of this region, it is very age based, and very sexist, broadcasting is very much a young man's sport, I do not know of many female broadcasters, or females of any age doing actual "rigging". My only contract has told me that they will not use me on outside broadcasting as I simply do not have the required experience, I am "doomed" to remain a junior operator, despite 17 years experience as a video editor and audio desk operator. Stage 32 is no place to try and "relaunch" an aborted career, it is very clear from this thread and the conversation via email I had with the owner of this site that Stage 32 is for professionals talking to professionals, someone like me has no place being here. No one is willing to listen to me, to take time to digest what I have to say or offer, not everyone has access to professional video, film producers, in fact every day I come across terms and concepts that just go over my head. Watching video as suggested is an insane concept, who in their right mind is going to hire someone without 10 years experience, how am I to get this experience, surely there is a "shop" that can take on someone like myself, I have talent, 12 years, what I have taught myself cannot be taught in school, it is through making mistakes, redoing, and re-editing to find a better way to assemble the puzzle. Non linear editing is cheating, it is so easy now to slap 10 000 clips on a time line, with 15 000 tracks of audio, trim here, roll there, send to dvd, cash the cheque, buy the Porsche... I cut my teeth using tape based systems, to impossible deadlines, and I got it right most of the time, tape was impossible to work with, 2 audio tracks, working in a linear fashion, you had no view other than what you have just edited going back 5 seconds pre-roll and the next shot queued up, press the auto edit button, and move on... I have FCP X, and a 8GB Macbook Pro, the only thing missing is something to edit, sure I can steal from bittorrent, piratebay, that is not going to help, it is clear that there is no community in post production, everyone wants one thing, the hot shot with 4 years college that has the one thing I do not have, US Citizenship. Every day, new technology is introduced to the business, and I am so far behind, It would take $100 million just to catch up...Stage 32 sucks.

Sounds a bit more like your attitude sucks, not stage 32. All i'm hearing is excuses... This is a tough business to get into, let alone make a living at. So toughen up and jump in or not. It's no ones decision but yours and it's no ones fault but yours. You want something bad enough you go fo it. If not. then find a nice safe day job and play on the side, but don't blame the pros that have worked to get where they are, nor the support structure for the pros.

Since you brought me into this, I will respond. In the 2+ years of running this site, I have never received such a rude and inconsiderate message from a member. Yet, I tried to respond with kind and gentle advice. Your response was to slam me and this site again. And you're still doing it with an "everyone else but me is to blame" mentality. This site has literally helped tens of thousands of ALL talent levels find work. It's free. It comes from a place of love. I created it to help all creatives stay in the game and multiply their potential avenues to success. But, here's the thing...Every one of those tens of thousands I mentioned put in the work! They put in the time. They worked the site. Every. Single. Day. All this negative energy you're putting into posting could have been spent in a positive fashion networking, getting your skills out there and forcing people to take notice. A defeatist attitude never wins.

And, bravo, Georgia. Fantastic post.

Justine - You won't find a pity party with us. To say "Stage 32 sucks" is incredibly ill-advised and short sided on your part. And, frankly, it couldn't be farther from the truth. I bet most 32ers will agree with me. In just this one post you had several people chime in and offer advice and tips to help you with your situation - what "sucks" about that? They took time out of their day to support you, which is what this community does. As a member of Stage 32 for over 2 years I have seen this site change many people's lives and have made many friends all over the world. I met a member from a remote town in India (300 people!) on here who made a movie with another member from the UK and even another member from Canada. He didn't make excuses. He worked for it. And we all supported him. We all work our butts off here to help one another - this is not a negative community (which is a BLESSING now adays), only a helpful one. I tend to agree with @Georgia, perhaps you should flip and look at your attitude and stop making excuses.

Hi Richard, as I have tried to explain in the past, there is a problem with this site, and I was not understood, so let me explain again. Your site is aimed at a certain class of professional, the fact that you do not have a TV section is clear, this site is aimed at film, and professionals with many many years of experience, not at the person who is new to a very small subset of the industry. The advice offered is not useful, you need to understand that I am not in the USA, and downloading 30 days of trial software is no time to learn and be competent. Every one here started somewhere, at the bottom, they have lost sight of this, I include you as someone that is not close to the ground. I state again, how am I to get the experience if there is no where for me to get the experience? I can sit and watch every video on vimeo/youtube and others, Larry Jordan/Ripple Training etc are costs I cannot carry, the US Dollar exchange rates, bank fee's make this impossible, companies can pay this cost and have the money declared on tax forms. I cannot afford the Adobe cloud subscription, so how do I learn Premiere if it is cloud based? Avid? 99% of people learned from others whilst working as a junior, something I have been for 17 years here...I am not paid enough days a month to pay for US based items. If this was a "caring" site, so far not had that feeling, then surely there is a way to link a newbie to someone that has space, for a junior.

Justine -- Clearly, you are an impassioned person that loves to edit. I won't repeat what others have suggested in that the focus of your attitude may need adjusting or that you are not alone in the world of hard knocks. Rather, I'd like to ask you a few questions: 1) Did you expect someone to bank roll out the red carpet and offer you an all expenses paid editing gig when you put out a post entitled Stage 32 doesn't help a newcomer to the industry? 2) Are you now saying you're a newcomer after you've harped on you extensive experience? 3) Did you ever hear the saying what goes around comes around? 4) Did someone force you to join Stage 32? 5) How have you networked on this site in your 1 month on here? 6) Have you been approachable and kind and open to suggestions? 7) Or have you been a whiny obstinate asshole looking for handout? I wish you the best, but don't blame others who are willing to do what it takes no matter what it takes when all you want to do is complain. Nobody wants to work with a complainer.

For your own sake, you need to change your attitude. For a number of reasons. Its only going to make things worse for you in life. You live in South Africa... get a day job and save your money up. you can buy books, read articles, watch training videos. Find ANY non linear editing system for a couple hundred dollars and learn it. If you can "fly" one NLE or DAW you can "fly" any of them given a couple days. Find some filmmakers in Cape Town or other "relatively" close places and hook up with them. Sing up on blogs and websites like Stage32, Gearslutz, Creative cow... meet people, ask questions, learn about the business in the rest of the world. find websites looking for editors... sign up as a student and take some classes... You can get AE, and many other s/w products as a student for pennies on the dollar. Get your attitude in check, learn the ropes, and find perhaps an intern job. The one thing I can tell you, if you we're the best editor in the world with state-of-the-art gear... with your current attitude no one would hire you, or if you got in the door , you wouldn't last long in the personality/political/artistic world of broadcast and film making.

Wow! Justine! PERSEVERANCE! This is a tough biz no matter where you live, who you are, what your disabilities or capabilities are. We are here to help and give hope but YOU have to hang in and take the hits. You will be alright! We all get frustrated and just at ends but we must keep going. We are in this together! Everyone is on a different road there is no right or wrong road it is your own. Keep a positive attitude and think about serving others take focus off the drama it will pass. Trust me the people who will come in your life that is for you will come. You must change you first and then things will change. I believe you will be just fine! No one is here to hurt you just tell you the truth. Embrace it! Watch the change! Blessings!

First off Justine I would recommend listening and gathering Dan Miller's Material, "No more Dreaded Mondays" "48 Days to the Work You Love", and the 48 Days Podcast. You are not too old for anything. All you have to do is know you can do it. Take the time to talk and learn and other people will come to you. Also he doesn't let you use a disability, like age, as a crutch. Use it as a springboard. A good way for you to demonstrate what you know and what you learn, is to start a blog. Dont do it to show off. Do it as a means to document your growth. As people come by they will come to see you as a person who knows what they are talking about and that way you become that expert you are so achingly wanting. But don't worry about your audience they will come. This will take you roughly about 2 years of dedicated hard work but you will suddenly look and you have several hundred followers. Another way let people know what you are about is creating a podcast or even listening to podcasts about the field you are interested in. IF there is no show about your field then guess who gets to be the leader? Correct, you. If you need help let me know especially on the podcasting.

Here is what I am getting from reading your posts Justine. I'm trying to be open and understanding and helpful. I want to listen to you and digest what you have to say and offer. You are in South Africa where a woman of your age cannot find editing work because the local industry is very sexist and ageist. You have a disability that prevents you from walking. You said you do not have the needed software and even if you were to buy software/hardware no one will hire someone close to 40 years old with skills lower than that of a toddler. You said “non linear editing is cheating”. You are far behind in experience with the current editing systems. You can't leave your local area. And Stage 32 sucks because no one who posts here will hire you? Am I misunderstanding that? People have offered ways to get up to speed on current systems but you resist doing that; “non linear editing is cheating” and you can't do it because you don't have the money to do so. I'm a producer – for TV. When I look for an editor I look for someone who is current on the systems we will be using and someone with a great attitude. Honestly I look at those two things above experience. I'm older than you; one of the things I find in too many people over 40 is (how shall I put this?) a “fear” of young people. When we were in our 20's we took jobs from those over 40 and now those in their 20's are taking our jobs. That's what sucks. Not Stage 32. But a lust to learn new things (what we had in out 20's) and a good attitude goes a long way. I'm listening. I'm sincerely trying to digest what you have to say and offer. You seem to offer nothing but old school ways, a resistance to current methods and self pity. Am I misunderstanding that?

Question: What is wrong with wanting to only edit TV news inserts??? I do not have the personality or the patience to handle anything longer than 120 seconds, longer than 120 seconds, I start to panic, shot selection seems too long, I love short inserts, NOT COMMERCIALS, adverts are way to complex for my simple brain. I know what shot to use when, that cannot be disputed, what I lack is simple time on the equipment. Liken this to a pilot, who has 10 000 hours on Flight Sim or X-Plane, would you want him flying the A380 JFK to Dubai?? No...You need him sitting right seat, as co-pilot with a trained, skilled Captain-in left seat. Old school editing was more of a mental challenge, I have if any one has missed it, a 8GB RAM MacBook Pro and Final Cut Pro X, my skills as what shots to use when, that is something you cannot be taught, hard school of knocks, 12 years freelancing taught me what was what there. The only issue I repeat is time behind me, I do not have any hours editing TV news inserts on FCP, as that is all I have, really it should not matter in news if I use Win Movie Maker, Apple imovie, or any of the bargain basement 2 for $10 Staples discs, or FCP/Avid/Premiere. The home viewer would not see the difference, sure the top of the range systems have more features, but in the end they all do the same thing, take 1 shot, connect it to the next, using features such as trim etc. The editor is the one that has the skill to select the most suitable shot for that segment, taking into account the material used, still to be used, is it technically legal, or law legal, will this shot get the company sued or is it safe, most of that is intuition, not taught at a degree mill. I was in the USA in 2013 from Feb to August, and I watched TV news locally, and after a while I could not contain my frustration, the quality was not what I would have produced, I took way too much care, not time, hell, tape was quick, 5 sec pre-roll, stop, queue next shot, auto-edit, move on, 30 sec to deadline, OMG the rush of making block A, lead, with the bumper rolling and you are still ingesting, no faults, the rush...Nothing beats that..I miss it... I know that given a chance, a gamble if you like, it would not be a waste, I do spend time going over material, trying to keep my skills in FCP X current, depression is a beast not easy to overcome, sorry if I am not making sense. Justine

...if all you want to do is edit news inserts, then put together a resume with all the news agencies and shows you have been doing and send them, along with a demo to every new agency you can find. Here's a world wide list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_news_agencies You might, if your rates are reasonable and ability to receive and transmit materials quickly is there, find a chance to do some remote work for any number of agencies around the world. They won't care how you work, or where you work, as long as you work fast, cheap, and good and can deliver to appropriate broadcast specs.

If I am understanding correctly – and I am sincerely trying to digest what you have to say and offer – you want a news producer who is looking for a very specific and narrow skill - editing news inserts and ONLY news inserts of no longer than 120 seconds, a producer who is willing to either allow you to live where you are now (and pay you) or pay to move you (with all your special needs) to the U.S. and work on a linear system that may not even exist at any news station. If I hear of any such job openings here in Los Angeles I will let you know.

Adobe editing software (Premiere, After Effects, Photoshop, Audition, etc.) is not expensive. $50/month on the Creative Cloud for all of the above and more. It's a 1-year commitment that's required, but even still, the value you receive relative to what you pay is substantial. There's your ticket to getting up to "industry standards" as you define it. As for your other issue, have you considered going into business yourself? I myself started my own company out of frustration in trying to get hired by someone else. Jobs, especially ones where you can make a sustainable income, are few and highly competitive. I went $2,000 in debt to afford a nuts and bolts rig, and although I still have a long way to go, I haven't regretted my decision to go into business for myself. You ought to consider that rather than blaming a networking site for your problems.

I am praying for all that have posted here. I am sure that the bottom line here is to not give up. Rather adopt what you know to fill the void in where your going. Let me also encourage you just as many others have to turn your negatives into positive thought processes so that you can realize and become your dream. .O.

Justine-Paula Robilliard: I doubt you worked at the last house still using older equipment. Considering that post production has become a nomadic profession, look around for other houses, probably in other countries or smaller cities, that are still using the same equipment you know. Editing is an evergreen skill, regardless of tools employed. I'd wager that somewhere there are people looking for someone like you and they can't find you.