Last week, I completed my first job as a Freelance AVID Assistant Editor for 7ate9 Entertainment. Basically, whenever the studio has a new project they're putting together, they call upon their pool of assistant editors to come in and work until completion.
My first task included transcoding a variety of footage in Resolve. There were about 5-7 different cameras used, ranging from the RED CineX to GoPro. While it took a bit of time to get the exporting going, the real challenge came once I brought the media into AVID. I began by making folders for each of the spots, creating bins within each one of them with the names of the cameras that were utilized. With a structure laid out for myself, I was able to sort and move the footage around with ease.
The footage was often shot at a frame rate other than 23.976, ranging from 48 fps to 120 fps. Initially, I was terrified as to how I was going to sync it with the sound as it played back in slow motion. However, it was because of this fear that I was able to challenge myself to figure out how to troubleshoot the problem on my own. It had been a concept I remembered one of my Pixar mentors mentioning to me about how the job of the Assistant Editor is to find the answers versus constantly asking others for the solution. After much searching, I discovered that the motion effect editor would allow me to type in a new frame rate to convert my footage to. Soon enough, I had converted and synced all the footage just in time for the Editors to begin working.
On Monday, June 15th, I begin my first full time job as a Post Producer/Assistant Editor at Pilot, a company that creates promos for major television networks. I look forward to the new lessons I gain at Pilot, building upon those from 7ate9 and others.