Hollywood's Most Exciting Job
Most of us -- fleetingly, perhaps -- have dreamed of "getting into the movies." Then reality usually steps in, gives us a Jimmy Cagney grapefruit in the face, and sends us back to our economic cubbyhole where we finish our coffee and the day's dull work. Being an actor seems like the most glamorous job in the film industry. You can find fame, riches, degredation, heartbreak, high times, and the chance to stomp on everyone you hate.
If you're a control freak, of course, being a director must have a certain allure. So does screenwriting. And even at the bottom of the pay scale (i.e. a film critic) there's a certain charm in sharing your crackbrained opinions with lots of people who are still going to see The Dukes of Hazzard no matter how outraged you are.
(By the way, why are we so amazed that so many people are going to see The Dukes of Hazzard, anyway? What, are we suddenly fresh out of morons?)
Acting, directing, writing all have their rush, but I was startled to learn, just a few years ago, that the most exciting job in Hollywood is film editing.
I had just a few days experience editing film, but the thrill of putting it all together seems to linger on. I was living in Staunton, VA at the time, and got to work on an amateur travelogue with a dear (and since departed) friend of mine, Bob Everidge. It was just a little outing by the Shenandoah Valley Kiwanis Club, but we shot the footage on VHS, added voiceover and musical background and pirated in some clips from old movies -- and it was probably the most fun I've ever had fully clothed.
He had a good computer and mid-priced software, and the thrill of actually editing a film was astonishing. We pulled the background sound tracks from Mel Brooks' hilarious Silent Movie for the traveling music, cut in a prehistoric picnic from One Million B.C., and managed to amuse ourselves and the clubmembers for about 20 minutes.
It was just a taste of Hollywood's most exciting job. But it was enough to convince me that, had I another lifetime to mess around with, film editing would be my career of choice.
If you're a control freak, of course, being a director must have a certain allure. So does screenwriting. And even at the bottom of the pay scale (i.e. a film critic) there's a certain charm in sharing your crackbrained opinions with lots of people who are still going to see The Dukes of Hazzard no matter how outraged you are.
(By the way, why are we so amazed that so many people are going to see The Dukes of Hazzard, anyway? What, are we suddenly fresh out of morons?)
Acting, directing, writing all have their rush, but I was startled to learn, just a few years ago, that the most exciting job in Hollywood is film editing.
I had just a few days experience editing film, but the thrill of putting it all together seems to linger on. I was living in Staunton, VA at the time, and got to work on an amateur travelogue with a dear (and since departed) friend of mine, Bob Everidge. It was just a little outing by the Shenandoah Valley Kiwanis Club, but we shot the footage on VHS, added voiceover and musical background and pirated in some clips from old movies -- and it was probably the most fun I've ever had fully clothed.
He had a good computer and mid-priced software, and the thrill of actually editing a film was astonishing. We pulled the background sound tracks from Mel Brooks' hilarious Silent Movie for the traveling music, cut in a prehistoric picnic from One Million B.C., and managed to amuse ourselves and the clubmembers for about 20 minutes.
It was just a taste of Hollywood's most exciting job. But it was enough to convince me that, had I another lifetime to mess around with, film editing would be my career of choice.
posted by Carl Larsen at 1:00 PM
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