Editor (Final Cut Pro) Case Study : Helena Astbury

A case study provided by Helena Astbury, a Editor (Final Cut Pro) listed on Film and TV Pro.

To learn more about Helena Astbury you can view their full CV here.

Question 1: What is the most rewarding aspect of working as a Editor (Final Cut Pro)?

The variety of jobs I am part of - its wonderful seeing a piece of work form piece by piece.

Question 2: What are the key skills required to be an effective Editor (Final Cut Pro)?

Editing requires a combination of creative and technical aptitude - sense of rhythm and storytelling ability are valuable assets, even for non fiction work! Technically, you need to be best friends with your system, and not be afraid to learn new things on a regular basis.

Question 3: Do you see your role as a natural step on a career ladder, and if so what is the next rung?

Possibly, if you start out assisting in a post production house or independents. The next rung still has the same job title but on a bigger scale!

Question 4: How did you work your way into your current role?

To work as an editor in my own right I assisted on projects to build up a strong reel in order to pick up freelance work. I mae sure I had as many technical tricks up my sleeve as possible to offer potential clients and went from there.

Question 5: How much do you think networking helps towards landing a job in the industry?

Online networking has been very useful to me as an editor, which in turn can lead to face to face networking. Whether its online or face to face, always have a 'calling card' i.e. your showreel, or a link to it!

Question 6: Do you think you will be working in the industry in the next five years, and if so in what capacity?

I most definitely plan to remain in the industry for the next five years, working on more longform projects.

Question 7: Please describe what a typical day working as a Editor (Final Cut Pro) might contain?

On any one day I may be meeting short and long term deadlines, so organisation is key. If an edit is being attended by a director or producer I'll be preparing for that, as well as tying up short term projects such as showreels, and I check that every single link on all of the sites my work is on every day - I can't afford anything to be less than effortless for clients to find.

Question 8: Have you done any additional training courses to further your career?

I have taken tutoring in programs complimentary to Final Cut such as Motion and Colour, as well as constant self-study on the most new codecs and compressions for the net.

Question 9: How important is working for free at the beginning of your career?

I think that a very choice amount of expenses only work can be very beneficial - do your homework and check exactly what you will gain from each job i.e.showreel material, credit etc. Building up your own equipment is also critical so don't be too proud to take non-media industry work to pay for it!

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