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The Rhythm of Silence
As discussed in The 1% Expert I use many 'tricks' to evaluate a trailer or an edit. One of the most powerful is 'stripping' my edit from each 'element' that composes it and reviewing the edit working in passes. Try this: Mute the audio layers, strip the edit from the music and the sound effects, and hit play! Your edit will be 'naked' from anything supportive and the inner rhythm of the scene will be revealed! I like to think of it like diving underwater! As you submerge deeper, your hearing...
Shake it till You Make it
During 22+ years of editing trailers, I have changed my keyboard shortcut layout four times. The first three were... mehhh... not so impactful, I'd say. The last one was phenomenal! My newest keyboard shortcut layout brought a tremendous amount of -positive- change in my: Speed Immediacy Efficiency Creativity Comfort Clarity Focus Happiness It was such a radical and profound alteration of my daily workflow that I can't even recall how it was possible to work the way I used to, before making...
How to be as Unique and Innovative as you want!
You want to be 'unique' and valued as someone who brings fresh and innovative solutions to common problems. You want to stay above the average video editor and put your stamp on every project you tackle. You want to have endless productivity and inspire other team members too. You want to think differently daily and approach creatively all your tasks. There is only one way to satisfy all your 'wants'. Be a Conscious Human! What do I mean by that? Two faculties are exclusive to human beings on...
The Compass
Today I had an interesting call from a close/distant friend. Although we speak only once or twice a year, to catch up with our news, we have known each other since early school and maintain a strong relationship! Surprisingly, I 'serve' clients like him, and he 'hires' creatives like me, so we have discussed business many times, too, but we have never worked on a project together. Today he called me to ask for my advice. He had an urgent project in mind for which he had received already a...
Media Online .v001
Hello dear reader, It's a new week so I'd love to share a new topic in this news-letter to share the latest news about... me. It's about my Online presence and Media soMedia Online looked like a fitting title! Here you will read about: Podcast appearances Social Media posts and articles Editing or Marketing achievements Awards (that would be nice) Services updates Client Reviews, mentions, and highlights Proof of Work referencing air-released Trailers Case Studies on Impactful Promos Creative...
A soup of Ideas
During my video editing studies, the following quote solidified and became a tool in my arsenal : Video Editing is about creating Ideas! Use Eisenstein's core principle, distilled from his work on film theory, to 'liberate' yourself from a 'sterile' video editing consisting of a simple segmentation of an event, into multiple camera angles. Let's make a thought experiment. We will visualize three versions of an edit. Version 1: In our timeline, we have a close-up shot of a steaming hot bowl of...
Death and Re-birth
Since you might have noticed a lack of consistency in my weekday emails lately, I thought I should be honest and clear about what is happening, dear reader! 'Death' is happening (unfortunately it has already happened) and keeps 'visiting' me, lately, dressed up in weird costumes and taking odd shapes and forms: At first, the loss of a dear and close relative, marked the very end of 2024 just before New Year's celebrations, reminding me that Life is unpredictable, unstoppable, uncontrollable,...
Re-Cycle Advices
In a previous email, I shared this story about a senior editor and me working as his assistant around 20 years ago. First, he was my teacher in analog and digital editing. Later became one of my greatest mentors and remains my biggest influence until today! One of the most memorable answers he ever gave me was in response to a 'fear' of mine, expressed openly in class. To put you in context, let me outline the period for you! When I started in video editing, around 2002, a transition was...
Dangerous playgrounds!
There is an inherent prerequisite for parenthood. This may sound strange if you don't have kids, but it will make sense to parents and... video editors! I refer to it as: The ability to acknowledge that, in some instances, you have to act like a parent and not like a friend toward your kid. If you are a parent, you know you need to set clear boundaries for your kid and consistently check if he/she crosses them! Does he/she play with a friend? You need double the awareness! What if there is a...
Learn to Observe and vice versa!
Humans are such incredible creatures. Like a nuclear reactor once 'ignited', we become unstoppable. We constantly evolve consuming knowledge blistering fast, using every sense available, physical or metaphysical. Humans are eternal learners. Curiosity, lighthearted playfulness, and strong observation skills feed this endless desire for exploration. Trust me, I have verified the above by watching my little ones grow from infancy! Observation drives Learning! But the learning continues in our...
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