Evan Mabry

Dear Editor, I am compiling a list of tips from professional editors for reference in a bit of research I'm doing on the subject of gaining experience and expanding one's resume in the editing field. I would like to ask a few questions, if you would be so kind as to address them here. -How do you approach applying for a job as a film editor? -In your experience, what is the strongest selling point an editor can use in their resume? -A Demo reel is used by cinematographers to showcase their talents. How does an editor effectively showcase their talent in a nutshell, as opposed to referring to an entire film? -What are some of your personal "rules of editing" that you may have learned the hard way? -What types of practice/drills do you recommend for a newcomer to editing who is looking to improve their storytelling ability (as it pertains to editing)? -What are your criteria for a production that you would like to be a part of? or, what are some things you look for that may dissuade you from signing on for a project? -What are some techniques that you admire in other editor's work? -An editor has to work with what he is given. what must make your checklist of footage taken in order for you to do your job effectively ( how much coverage, what/how many angles, etc.) thank you in advance for your insightful answers!

Dear Editor, I am compiling a list of tips from professional editors for reference in a bit of research I'm doing on the subject of gaining experience and expanding one's resume in the editing field. I would like to ask a few questions, if you would be so kind as to address them here. -How do you approach applying for a job as a film editor? -In your experience, what is the strongest selling point an editor can use in their resume? -A Demo reel is used by cinematographers to showcase their talents. How does an editor effectively showcase their talent in a nutshell, as opposed to referring to an entire film? -What are some of your personal "rules of editing" that you may have learned the hard way? -What types of practice/drills do you recommend for a newcomer to editing who is looking to improve their storytelling ability (as it pertains to editing)? -What are your criteria for a production that you would like to be a part of? or, what are some things you look for that may dissuade you from signing on for a project? -What are some techniques that you admire in other editor's work? -An editor has to work with what he is given. what must make your checklist of footage taken in order for you to do your job effectively ( how much coverage, what/how many angles, etc.) thank you in advance for your insightful answers!

I just bought the XH A1. It is an incredible camera. But, here's what I've learned. I bought a camera with more bells and whistles than I know what to do with, and at a price that makes it my most valuable asset in more ways that a tool for following my passion. Therefore, I am extremely careful of it. I am hesitant to take it anywhere I am so scared something will happen to it. This also affects my filming because I don't want to do anything risky with it, like hold it out a car window or run with it. It's resolution is incredible, but I recommend you get something a little more compact and resilient. the Aluminum body of the XL2 comes to mind. The compactness and great price of the HV30. at this point i would never consider taking my xh A1 on the slopes.

I cannot begin to describe my appreciation of this movie. I won't even try. I thought that the good reviews were just an ode to Heath Ledger, but he truely was INCREDIBLE. so convincing. Heath Ledger, R.I.P.

Let me preface this post by saying that I am keenly interested in film, and am just starting to get hands-on experience with it, but I am still very naive about technical terms and processes. Please read this post as a question, rather than a statement. :unsure: I saw this film because it was recommended to me on the idea that I would appreciate it "artistically". I believe they meant story-wise. However, I found myself making more judgments as to the cinematic quality. I noticed early on that it had a pretty grainy look (DVD format, watched on my laptop, Windows Media Player). I think the first time this stood out was during a shot of the main character, Gary, crossing the street to work. This shot repeats throughout the film, and some seem to be more sharp. Also, I think this was a shot that seemed a little overexposed. I began to wonder if this was due to being shot in digital format, and converted to filmstock, and then reconverted back to digital format. Does anyone know if this is how it was done? or rather, if/since I am wrong, can someone please explain the normal operating procedure for shooting in digital format? later during the movie I noticed that when the lights are out (which is also an understandably recurring shot--black screen, sometimes with a blue digital clock display) for an extended period of time one can see a pattern in what seems to be very very grainy film. From what I know of converting HD footage to 24F, this pattern seems consistent with dropping every 3rd(?) and 5th(?) frame. Can anyone confirm this for me? or, as before, explain the process and the effect it has on converted footage. I really liked this movie, both story wise and visually. I noticed a few slight discrepancies as far as technicalities go, some bigger than others, but here are some that bothered me a little... 1) when Gary dreams of being bedded down by multiple "Anna" characters, each dressed differently, they seemed to all be very disconnected from the character, except for the one actually interacting with Gary. For instance, the one on her hands and knees keeps looking past Gary and in the other direction. I know this is way too picky of me, but I feel like "Anna"s actions, and gazes should have been much more directed. 2) When Gary and Dora are having an argument where Dora is in the kitchen, it is apparent that there is someone from the crew on the floor of the kitchen. There is a reflection of motion besides hers (and Gary's) in the door of the Oven. What a great movie! I really enjoyed it.

I think the indoor shots could have used some motion. following him from place to place, or if has to be in a tripod, work some pans in there somewhere. I really liked the cobwebs on the hanging cable or what have you, that was a nice frame. But on shots like grabbing the keys and gun, i don't want to see where he's going before he gets there, because then I'm already thinking of the next scene before he even gets there which makes the pacing seem slow. well done. I am planning on shooting a short much like this one, except a little faster paced (chase scene).

I recently purchased a Canon XH-A1 and I would like to get a microphone for it. I checked out ebay for Shotgun Mic's and came up with a mic for the Panasonic AG-MC100. I know it should hook up just fine (XLR) but I am wondering about the bracket, does anyone know if the diameter of the Panasonic MC100 mic is compatible with the bracket of the XH-A1? Thanks!

I recently purchased a Canon XH-A1 and I would like to get a microphone for it. I checked out ebay for Shotgun Mic's and came up with a mic for the Panasonic AG-MC100. I know it should hook up just fine (XLR) but I am wondering about the bracket, does anyone know if the diameter of the Panasonic MC100 mic is compatible with the bracket of the XH-A1? Thanks!

Thanks Will, I'm getting a little antsy, but it looks like It would be wise to go with HD. I guess having that higher resolution means that I have more to work with when trying to get that cinematic look. I'm glad to hear that it works well in dim light. One thing that worries me is that the XH A1 is almost the exact same price as an XL2(on Amazon.com it's actually something like 21 cents CHEAPER for the A1). It makes me wonder if HD really is the next big thing, or really worth the change over. It seems like if it were the state of the art format it claims to be, it would come at a higher price.... I'm not saying HD could really be a bad thing, I'm just skeptical that it is the best thing right now, when there appears to be so little application of it. Aside from HD channels on TV, most people never really see HD and if they do, they don't realize it because they have SD TVs. or is that just my own experience, and I'm way wrong here?

It worries me that I will regret going with the XH A1 because it doesn't have interchangeable lenses. Are there adapters for this camera? wide angle/35MM adapters?

Nice! I was impressed from the beginning with the crispness of the opening shot. I was a little bit puzzled by the blurry dots that faded in in the subsequent shots, and I was very impressed with how you got around to showing what they were. Really neat, I'm glad you filmed that so I didn't have to suffer the elements to appreciate it! --Evan

Some really nice shots in there. I liked the XCU on the girls eyes. Some good stuff as far as effects. I liked the passing out/OD effect (?) in the bathroom but it might have been a little overdone. Timelapse on the trolly was cool.

this is something that has been a long time coming. If you haven't ever heard of LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) please read up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larping and then please watch (all 3 parts of) my collaborative effort with a few of my friends. We made this last spring, only recently have we rendered it into an uploadable version. Please, if you like what you see, help me spread the word. Lords-a-Larping Episode 1. part 1/3 part 2/3 Part 3/3 My friend and I collaborated to write the story line, this first episode os one of 3 we have shot, we hope to generate some buzz about it and hopefully get somewhere with it (We are both writers, and would love to land a job writing for TV, maybe even write THIS show). We did this on a budget of about $75 and the help of a lot of friends and supporters. All the camera equipment was borrowed, as well as the editing station/software. Please let me know what you think. there is an email address on the videos where you can send your criticism and praise. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to produce this on DVDs which will have additional footage, storyboarding and commentary (one commentary reel done by two of the characters, and one done by my friend and myself --the directors). I am working on editing the next episodes, and would love to hear your feedback, negative and positive. We are cutting together a Pilot episode that we intend to pitch to TV stations, possibly some big ones. Thanks so much, --Evan

I Guess I should do some research on the A1. I have been wanting to buy my own camera for about 2 years now, and I've finally gotten to a place that I can spare the money. I guess I've just done a lot of research on the XL2 and not much on the HD cameras. I kinda wrote off the HD cameras because they seemed like a lot more money, although, now it seems the A1 is comparable in price to the XL2. Here are my concerns about switching to HD. Tape life - HD takes up so much more tape doesn't it? Hard drive space - HD takes up so much more space on my computer, doesn't it? Editing - operating a program to edit HD takes up so much more RAM, doesn't it? Image quality - is the difference in quality really THAT much more? Film look - According to my research, the XL2 easily achieves a film-like quality, doesn't HD spread the gap between film and Video? I'm planning on getting a DTE (direct-to-edit) unit for my camera, so i guess the tape life isn't as much of an issue. but it only magnifies the HDD space issue. I can fit 7+ hours of standard def footage on a 100GB unit, how much HD footage does that hold? I guess I owe it to myself to research the A1 more before purchasing an XL2, instead of going with the XL2 simply because it's the camera that I had in mind all the time i was saving up to buy. can someone recommend me to some good reviews of the A1? I mean good as in comprehensive, i want to hear the bad too.

A word of caution Don't purchase through Preferredphoto.com. I searched for cheap sellers of XL2's and was blown away at the price they listed ($2600.00) The description was very short and kind of ambiguous. Bring a skeptic, I decided to call and verify that it was not used, or factory recalled, etc. The man assured me that it was exactly as if comes from the manufacturer. I thanked him and he offered to take my order over the phone. I told him that I could do so on the website. he told me "it's faster to do over the phone..." what ensued was a coercive, manipulative pitch to get me to buy more accessories, starting with a battery ("because the one that comes with the camera only has a 15 minute life") before you know it i was paying $200 for the charger, $200 for a 4-hour battery, $200 for a set of three filters... $3300.00. then he offered to throw in an 8 hour battery for $80 more. I stopped him and told him it was out of my budget. He told me that there was no way i would get these great prices anywhere else. When I told him I might have to wait and buy it with my next paycheck he told me if i canceled my order then I would have to wait 3 to 4 weeks to order again becuase "it puts a red flag on your name." at this point I wasn't even sure if this place was a legitimate opperation, if they even had cameras to sell. I told him I couldn't afford the package price. He told me they could just charge my card for $3300 today, and the rest tomorrow. I told him that i wouldn't have the money by tomorrow and he told me that they could just make the remaining balance C.O.D. I told him i wouldn't be paid by then. He got really irritated ("what? do you only get paid every few weeks?!") I told him that I had been saving up and that evidently i was going to have to wait another pay period before i purchased it. He put me on hold and came back and asked if i could do it for $3350 (knocked $50 off). I told him i didn't have that much in my account. THEN HE ASKED ME HOM MUCH MONEY I HAVE IN MY ACCOUNT! I told him my budget was $3323.00. He put me on hold and when he picked up again he offered that he could sell me the camera, a 4-hour battery and a charger for that price. WHA?! that would have gotten me filters a minute ago, what happened to that? ..nope. no can do. I told him that i wasn't looking to rush myself into such a big investment and he practically hung up on me. no thank you.