Dave’s Take

Innovation is a wonderful thing. Take video and film editing for example. When I first started out in the world of film and video, only highly trained and practiced editors were used to cut my projects. The old days of Grass Valleys, CMX, flat beds, one-inch, Chyron and quads are long gone, but they do serve as a valid reminder of what is required to do a professional project – dedicated staff. Nowadays, technology has evolved to the point of allowing anyone with a modicum of talent to assume the role of professional editor or producer – an assumption that can cost a project dearly.

The belief that anyone can edit a project professionally all began with the Media 100 in the mid-90s. The Mac-based editing machine was the first to really integrate the intuitive logic of Macintosh computers into the editing bay. Gone were all the mysterious buttons old school editing pros had trained on and knew how to push in the right sequence for the magic that is advertising and entertainment to emerge. Gone too, was the necessity of multiple tape machines, cold rooms and tape ops. Which may or may not be a bad thing. I’m betting the tape operators union would say bad, production company owners would say good riddance. In any event, with the advent of the Media 100, all that was needed for editing film and video was the interface and a couple of Macintosh hard drives.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the Media 100. It was the first editing system I felt comfortable operating by myself – and therein lies the problem. While I have supervised literally thousands of hours of editing, producing everything from thirty-second spots to episodic TV, I have no business self-editing. I am a writer/producer/account manager who is comfortable and dare I say competent behind a keyboard – just not an editing keyboard. It has been my experience that editing, like writing, is something just about everyone seems to think they can do. And in all fairness, anyone can write, maybe just not very well. Editing is in itself an art form reserved for people who have editing in their DNA. It’s not that they are smarter or more agile, it’s that they have a certain je ne sais quoi they bring to the edit from hours of training and experience. Your temporary receptionist on the other hand, doesn’t.

Just because your office manager purchased a used version of Final Cut Pro doesn’t mean that anyone in the office can learn to use it during his or her lunch break. As silly as this sounds, I am amazed at the number of clients I run into who take my script and video and hand it over to their IT manager for editing. They truly believe that technology has replaced talent and who needs to pay for talent when they got technology? Needless to say, after the project is delivered, I am often called upon to take the “completed project” over to a competent editor for a final cut that looks and sounds professional.

My point is that companies can save themselves a lot of time, money and aggravation by utilizing the services of a professional editor to begin with. While most edits are now done on the user-friendly Final Cut Pro, (by the way, it’s called Final Cut PRO because it requires a pro to really utilize its amazing capabilities) technology is no excuse for competence. If your middle-school daughter just read a book about Photoshop, would you let her design your new corporate logo? On the same line, just because the janitor knows how to use a Mac, it doesn’t necessarily mean he or she should be cutting your company’s latest commercial. It all goes back to the old saying, “You get what you pay for.”

In this economy, media jobs are tough to find and harder to land. As someone who’s always on the lookout for a long term gig, I know the online job sites well. While all of them have taken a hit in this economy, some are better than others in offering a solid variety of industry opportunities. Of the more than a dozen advertising/marketing job sites I regularly visit, three stand out for their competence and usefulness in the job search. All three are great for finding jobs not listed elsewhere and between them, anyone in advertising, marketing or production should find some light at the end of the tunnel.

TalentZoo.com: This free website features jobs from advertising, marketing and media companies. It is user friendly and offers a great base of jobs that are easy to search and apply for. By posting your resume on TalentZoo, you will allow advertising professionals from coast to coast to view your resume. It posts jobs that cover everything in advertising from management to media placement. Just as important are the discussions and articles posted on the site, covering everything from industry projections to interview techniques. Here’s the link to their site: http://www.talentzoo.com

GetCopywrtingJobs.com: Obviously as the name implies, this is a website dedicated to copywriters. While this free site may appear to be limited in its job offerings, it has a surprising depth of employment offerings for writers and editors. Whether you’re an SEO specialist, technical wordsmith or just a plain old copywriter, getcopywritingjobs.com has something for everyone who makes his or her living at a keyboard. Job openings are listed by state as well as position, so searches can be cross-referenced for best results. To visit their site, go to:
http://www.getcopywritingjobs.com

As a rule, I am leery of any paid job sites. I have learned the hard way that just because they charge, doesn’t mean they produce. Media-Match.com is one of the few subscriber job sites I recommend. Featuring hundreds of listings for production positions ranging from Grips and P.A.s to Directors, Writers and Line Producers; media-match.com is a job site worth the reasonable subscription rates they charge. With fees ranging from a monthly membership of $10 to an annual subscription of $60.00, they are worth the investment. They even offer a great deal for recent graduates – a mere $5.00 a month! Most film and video job postings found online are either outdated or incomplete, but the pros at media-match.com do an incredible job of screening postings, thus ensuring all their members of actual current offerings. As an added bonus, they even allow you to post your portfolio online. If you are looking for work in the film, video or television business, you need to check them out at:
http://www.media-match.com

Remember, the key to the successful use of any job site is persistence. Persistence in keeping your resume up to date and topical; persistence in writing specific cover letters for specific jobs; persistence in keeping your portfolio and other work samples available; and persistence in keeping your job log and contact list current. Always treat the search for a full-time job as a full-time job. I wish you the best of luck in your career quest.