The day is finally here! “Vivo” has officially been released on Netflix! I’m so incredibly proud of this film, and am so excited it's out there in the world to enjoy. It was an absolute blast and honor getting to work on this movie alongside such a talented group of artists and creatives (including my sister Karina McBeth who was a Storyboard Artist!). This was my first feature working as a 1st Assistant Editor and I thank my Editorial team for encouraging me through it all. It had a HUGE learning curve, and I'm so grateful for the patience they showed me each step of the way, allowing me to stumble and learn from my mistakes. I can’t express how excited I am to call this my first animated film that I have seen from beginning to end (previously had only gone up to the Layout stage). I hope you have fun getting to dive into the beautiful sights and sounds of "Vivo" soon enough. Congrats to Kirk and Brandon for directing such a enchanting film, and cheers to the crew!
Changes...Changing...Changes
Greetings! I can’t believe it’s been over a year since I’ve checked in. Shortly after being promoted to 1st AE on “Vivo,” my production made the shift to working from home due to the pandemic. Not going to lie, finishing the film completely from home during Covid was one of the most challenging things I’ve had to do in my animation editorial journey. Not only was I overseeing two Assistant Editors (one joined us during wfh), but I was covering a lot of new ground I had never experienced before while working on an animated feature. Up until “Vivo,” I had only seen animated productions up to their early Layout stage, primarily working with the film in boards. In the final year of the film, we entered crunch where we were now juggling the film at all stages of production, last minute Production Dialog records, and turnovers to Sound, Music, and DI. I am so grateful for how patient my team was with me as I took on a lot of these deliveries for the first time. Not having the luxury of popping in to ask questions in an office setting was a huge adjustment, and I am so thankful for the grace was shown my way as I waded through it all.
Now that I have officially wrapped with “Vivo” and at Sony, I praise God for his blessings in providing me with a team that encouraged and pushed me to keep moving forward even when I believed I couldn’t do it. I was filled with a lot of self doubt and fear when I was asked to take on the 1st position - feelings that unfortunately clouded my thoughts at the height of the pandemic. But thanks to the love and support of the people God placed around me, my confidence in myself and abilities were healed and allowed to grow.
So what’s next? I’m pleased to announce that I have been hired as a 1st Assistant Editor at the one and only, Walt Disney Animation Studios. To work here has been a dream of mine for quite some time. Getting to work at a studio with such a rich history and holding the title of pioneering feature animation is such an honor. I can’t wait to dive in and learn as much as I can from the Editorial teams at the studio, as well as jump into a brand new feature film alongside my same “Vivo” Editorial posse. Time go “into the unknown!”
Onward
Hello and Happy New Year! I just wanted to pop in to give a quick update on what’s been going on with me. First and foremost, as of January 6th 2020, I am now officially Vivo’s new 1st Assistant Editor. I still can’t believe it! It’s a bit surreal that the next step forward has already shown itself, but I suppose God’s timing is always outside of our own timetables. I’ve been blessed with a wonderful 2nd Assistant who is so eager to learn and has already started to master our workflow in only a matter of 2 weeks!
Not going to lie, it’s a bit scary having to think about the wave of responsibilities that this new position will bring, but I can find comfort though in knowing that my team and the Lord have my back to help get me through it all.
Now with almost being a year out from our release date of April 2021, I look forward with anticipation for the challenge ahead. I pray for a clear head, a calm heart during stressful times, and good communication. The finish line is steadily approaching, and I am so excited to see it through to the end :)
A Chance
I can’t believe the day is here. This past Tuesday, June 4th, I celebrated my one year anniversary with Sony Animation. In many ways it feels like no time has passed, and yet when I look back at each month, I realize just how much has happened.
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to say that I’ve been with a place for a whole year. With the nomadic nature of Editorial, it’s such a blessing to finally set up some roots at a studio. With each job, I’ve had the opportunity to be surrounded by professionals that challenge and encourage me to approach work with fearlessness - and team Vivo is no different. And while we still have a long way to go, I couldn’t ask for a better group to be serving alongside.
As I look to the next year, I am pumped and ready to plunge right into the production side of animation. It’s an area that I have only really dipped my toes into, and I’m so thrilled to see this film through all stages of production. I’ll be entering uncharted territory, but I know with the leadership of my 1st Assist, that the editorial process will become second nature to me in no time.
On a side note, I apologize for the tardiness of this update. This past year has been filled with quite a few big life changes, including getting married to my best friend. (That said, I wanted to mention that professionally I will be going by my maiden name, McBeth, while legally I will be utilizing my new married name.) Here’s to remedying this drought and getting back on track with more consistent updates!
Thank you so much to Sony for such a wonderful year. Let’s make this next one even more memorable!
Water's Edge
The day has finally come. At long last I am now working my first ever Union job with Sony Animation!
It's been a journey, but I wouldn't change anything about it. With each position, God has challenged me to continue to rely on Him and trust in His perfect timing. There's been ups and downs, but with each new opportunity came growth. My skills in AVID were further honed at Pilot, Playmobil got me experience as a 2nd Assistant Editor in Animation Editorial, Audience gave me experience in live action, and Reel FX pushed my independence and abilities as an AE. I've grown more comfortable working as an Assistant Editor, to the point where I even get excited to wake up to go in each day. I've enjoyed getting to learn new tasks in post production and stretch my AE knowledge. I still find it super surreal that I actually get to do this day in and day out.
I am very excited to see what's in store at Sony. The team is fantastic and I'm looking forward to working alongside my sister who is serving as a Storyboard artist on our project. I can't wait to work on an animated feature to its completion for the first time and see how it morphs and develops.
Here's to new discoveries!
Follow You
And so the adventure comes to an end. This past Saturday I flew back to Southern California, bringing my excursion in Dallas to a close.
My goodness, where to begin? This whole experience was such a lovely whirlwind filled with a lot of growth. This was the first time I had ever worked outside of LA, or even visited Texas for that matter. I was rather nervous about going in head first without knowing anything about the city or even getting to see the studio in person before I arrived. When I walked in on my first day, my head was swimming with questions and thoughts about how I would adjust. Would I be able to get around the city easily? What would the Editorial team be like? All of these fears were quelled two seconds later when I was introduced to the team I'd be working with for the next few months.
God not only gave me a fantastic Editorial group to work with, but a family that was extremely giving and loving. In no time at all, my homesickness subsided, and I was able to settle into my new environment with ease. Over the next few months we did the impossible of putting together 3 different screenings. It was a feat that couldn't have happened without the grace of God and the teamwork He instilled in us to push forward into the crazy hours and schedules set before us. And while tensions were high, we all still made time to check in with each other and catch up in between work.
I am going to miss each one of these Editorial comrades, and I hope that one day we'll be able to work together again. The camaraderie that comes with filmmaking is something that I treasure dearly and keeps me going in an industry filled with many ups and downs.
Thank you ReelFX for a memorable time and enjoy some chocolate pie on my behalf. Until next time, partner!
Walking Along
Hello everyone! My goodness it has been quite some time since I last wrote a blog post. A mixture of me wrapping up my job with Audience in October and the holidays put my update stream on hold. But I am back now and have some great news!
As of January, I am currently working as an Assistant Editor with Reel FX on the animated feature film, Ugly Dolls. I've never worked outside of Southern California for a job, and getting to come out to Dallas has been a wonderful change of pace. Even though I've really only just begun with the Reel FX team, I've greatly enjoyed the camaraderie they share. They're a very encouraging bunch who love their work as much as they love their Texas barbecue (the pulled pork here is amazing!). It's been such a blessing to not only be working again, but to be a part of a team that truly wants each other to succeed.
Though I can't say much about the project itself, I can say that I've had the opportunity to cut more sequences for the editors. In addition, I've created custom watermarks for us to use for exports. After seeing how many titles we were having to render out each time we did an export, I decided to research custom AVID watermark creation. I eventually created unique bin views with custom columns that we could fill out. The watermarks directly reference these columns and update with the appropriate information in real time, allowing us to make a quick changes to any text without bloating our renders drive.
I am truly excited to see where things go and I thank God each day for blessing me with a position that fills me with great joy each time I come in for a new day of work.
Waving Hello
After a few months out of work, I am happy to announce that I started a brand new job today as an Assistant Editor with the Audience Network.
While the waiting was hard, and at many times I grew frustrated, this position was a blessing that could only have come from God. The commute this time around will not be quite as taxing, meaning I'll be able to catch up on rest and get home at a more reasonable hour. Being that I previously met the other Audience AE while I was on Playmobil, I was able to quickly form a relationship with the Post Team. Finally, as someone who loves to learn, getting to experience yet another side of Editorial has filled me with joy as I get to continue to broaden my Assistant Editing knowledge.
I'm greatly looking forward to what's to come as production ramps up in the next few weeks, and can't wait for the new adventures to be had!
That's a Wrap!
This past Wednesday, March 22nd, I wrapped up my work on the Playmobil Movie before the production moves up to Montreal. It was a bittersweet goodbye, but I am so grateful for the relationships I formed and the experiences that came with working on this independent feature.
I unfortunately wasn't able to make a blog post last month as we were in major crunch time for February and March. Believe it or not, we put together a whole new movie for our second screening in about 9 weeks! It's a feat that should not be the norm by any means, but it was an impressive achievement for our team and I'm quite proud of what we accomplished.
Over these past few months I was definitely put through the ringer and stretched to and beyond my limits in Editorial. Myself and our 1st Assistant Editor wore a variety of hats and were asked to act outside of our job descriptions at times. However, because of this, I was able to truly push myself to be the best team player I could.
Not only would I run the scratch sessions and break down dialogue, I was also "talent" for a handful of characters. Because we lacked a script supervisor, I was in charge of keeping tabs on all the pick up lines the Editors requested as well as any new lines added by our writers. In addition, because we were pressed for time, I actually got to edit a short sequence and even went through the process of getting notes from the director and addressing them.
That's what I found to be the coolest thing about our production. Due to the fact that we were so small, everyone was asked to do more than what was asked of them on paper. Unlike a larger studio where there is a job for anything and everything you can think of, we became an interesting meld of various jobs all working together in order to make sure we made our screening on time.
It was an emotional day when our screening rolled around. After the hustle and bustle of getting the file set up with our screening room and setting up breakfast for our guests, we got to enjoy this near brand new cut of the film with an audience who had never seen the film. Suddenly all the long hours and late nights became worth it as our audience clapped and laughed at the appropriate moments and left the theater with big smiles.
I am truly going to miss this production as it moves up to Canada, leaving almost all of the LA group behind here in the States. From Editorial, to Story, to Production, they all inspired me to strive to be the best I could be at my craft and allowed me to experience a sense of camaraderie I hadn't felt since my time at Dodge. I am so thankful that God allowed all the pieces to fall into place for this opportunity to take place. It was the perfect first feature for me to serve on as an Assistant Editor.
As I get the necessary materials ready to apply to the Editor's Union, I can't wait to see where I am led next in this industry and beyond. :)
P.S. Hope you enjoy these pictures I took with some of the crew, as well as a snapshot of the half dismantled sound Cube we built.
Part of the Playmobil crew
The end of an era. The end of "The Cube"
A Sweet, Sweet Sound
One of the projects the team I'm working with took part in was creating a makeshift sound booth. Being that our production is working in a warehouse, we tended to get a lot of reverb whenever we recorded our scratch dialogue. As such, me, my 1st Assistant Editor, and our coordinator banded together to create a booth.
After throwing around a few ideas on how to craft it, we settled on making a 10'x10'x10' metal pipe cube covered in moving blankets. Excited to begin, we headed to Home Depot; a place we'd end up making more trips to than we would've liked over the next few weeks. With us being more versed in film and not DIY construction, we ran into some bumps in the road, including buying incorrect pipe fittings, misjudging exactly how high 10 feet truly was, and miscalculating the number of blankets we needed to cover the gigantic cube. However, after a lot of sweat, tears, and driving around town, we finally finished our beautiful cube.
Aside from the light chemical smell the blankets permeate the air with (don't worry, we've been airing it out and using Febreze), the cube has made a huge difference! Before we had our "booth" we had to be very cautious whenever we recorded. We couldn't bump the levels up too high and our editors weren't too thrilled with the nearly unusable, echoing scratch that resulted whenever our actors yelled too loud. Now when we record, you would've thought we were in a real booth! The sound is crisp and clear, with us only having to pause every so often when a particularly loud motorcycle plows down the street next to us.
I'm quite proud of our booth, loving dubbed "The Cube" by our production. Though our resources may be limited, our team continues to amaze me with their resourcefulness whenever a need arises.
(P.S. I would've posted a picture, but I wanted to err on the safe side since we're sharing the space with another company.)
Here We Are Again
As I write this, I still find it hard to believe that I've been in the working world for almost two years now, with school seeming forever away.
With every year, there comes a remarkable amount of change and growth. After a year and a half with my Pilot family, I set off to join a new one at ON Animation Studios. The confidence and skills I gained from Pilot allowed me to jump right in to the bustling animated feature world, unafraid and ready to work.
2016 saw me becoming more comfortable in my own skin, as well as with the strengths and weaknesses of my abilities. Going in to the working world I was convinced that I needed to know everything since I was brought on to a team that wanted me to work alongside them. Looking back, I realize that I put too much pressure on myself to have all the answers, when I didn't. The great thing about being "fresh meat" is that you're still learning. While you should of course harbor the skills that your employer hired you for, you don't have to be scared to ask questions. I've learned that not asking questions out of fear of looking inadequate can be dangerous in the long-run. Being inquisitive allows you to make new discoveries and have a place to jump off of the next time you come in contact with a similar dilemma. Communication is key to a team working well together, and it can't be done unless everyone is on the same page, bringing their various levels of expertise and knowledge to the table. Staying silent is not the way to go as it keeps you from developing those relationships that will provide you with new points of view, and ways of approaching problems.
With the new year just a stone's throw away, I look forward and up to what God has in store for this blank slate ahead of me. It may look overwhelming, but it's just another step in this journey. And to that I say, "2017, bring it on!"
Transition
Last Friday was officially my last day with Pilot. It was a bittersweet goodbye as I had grown rather close to my co-workers at both the LA and New York offices.
I have Pilot's Post Supervisor to thank for pushing me to challenge myself to be an independent thinker and troubleshooter. With each network having its own set of unique delivery specs, it forced me to become more observant and thorough, as it was crucial that deliveries followed the post requirements to a 'T.' It was overwhelming at first since it seemed like every network had vastly different specifications, but as I did more and more jobs, I realized they were more similar than I had originally thought, with me only having to make slight changes here and there to adhere to a specific network's guidelines.
The next leg of my career journey began Tuesday of this past week. I am now serving as a 2nd Assistant Editor on an animated feature film with ON Animation Studios. One of my former Pixar mentors approached me about this position, and I thought it would be a great next step as I'd be able to serve as an Assistant Editor in animation editorial. I'm very excited for what these next few months hold (especially since the 1st Assistant Editor is another one of past my Pixar mentors!), and getting to really dig my teeth into this project.
Pilot, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for a fantastic first full time job. It was a great learning experience and a time of growth that improved both my post skills, and confidence in myself. You will be greatly missed.
Driving Along
A few weeks ago, a spot Pilot created for BBC America and Mercedes-Benz called the "Mercedes-Benz Social Adventure" premiered. It was meant to get viewers excited about the new C-Class Coupe through the posts of a group of hand selected Instagramers that captured fun pictures of the car in different areas around Southern California. I acted as Assistant Editor on this piece, and was so thrilled to actually see it be featured on the official Mercedes-Benz USA Facebook page and have it air on television.
The biggest challenge for this project had to be up-rezing for delivery and working with mixed video resolutions. When we shot the spot, the car we used was a dark navy blue. Unfortunately, the footage that Mercedes provided for us to cut with featured a black car. As a result, any shot of the car that we captured had to be color corrected to a matching shade of black. Because of this, I eventually had a mixture of 1080p and 2K shots of the car; some from Mercedes and the rest from our colorists. However, because we were cutting in AVID, the question became how to maintain the resolution of the new car shots. While I could have easily just imported them at a higher resolution such as DNxHD 145, I was worried about the 2K footage looking compressed.
To solve this, I AMA linked the entire sequence back to their high res source files and applied any LUTs and additional color corrections to match the original sequence. My initial course of action was to just export out an EDL and then link up and export the sequence from Da Vinci Resolve. However, the issue came down to having a proper Broadcast Safe Filter to apply to the footage in Resolve. My company uses a custom filter created in AVID to throw on top of all of our deliveries. With this in mind, I knew that even if I exported out of Resolve, I'd have to bring the file back into AVID to apply the filter. Being pressed for time, I was unable to work with my Post Supervisor to create a new filter in Resolve. As a result, I settled on over cutting the sequence with AMA linked HighRes footage. It did take a while, and I'll admit it didn't feel super efficient, but it allowed the spot to be delivered on time and at the best resolution possible.
This spot was a fantastic group effort and I'm honored to have been a part of it. Hope you enjoy watching the final product!
Anniversary
It's here! At last I have made it to one year with Pilot. I know in a previous post I said that I had started on June 15th, but, much to my amusement, only a few days after I posted that did I find out that my start date had been bumped up to June 9th. Funny how life works.
This past year can be summed up into one word: learning. Fresh out of college with some internships and a degree under my belt, I thought I was aware of and could take on anything the working world threw my way. Needless to say this was wishful thinking, and I was in for a whirlwind year that would mold my skills as an Assistant Editor and a team player.
From day one, I was given the task of mastering our company's post workflow and becoming aware of how to aid our freelance editors with any issues that might come up. Our company has two branches, one in Marina Del Rey and the other in New York, with the majority of the company at the latter. Being the only post person at our West Coast branch, I quickly learned that I couldn't be a passive player, turning to my post colleagues to save me when things got hairy. This became especially apparent the first time I ran into issues with a digital file delivery.
In the days after my mishap, I swore to myself to never have that happen again. As a result, whenever we got a new job from a client, I immediately read up on and studied their delivery specs, asking questions about any sections that were confusing to me, even creating checklists of all the elements that needed to be uploaded. With the addition of mapping out more hotkeys to speed along my editorial process, new jobs became less scary and more of a puzzle that just needed the proper time to find the solution. Final deliveries to clients are already stressful enough, and if I can avoid any added stress just by being prepared, I'll take it.
Even writing emails, of all things, is not as daunting. When I started out, I tended to be very wordy, sometimes even asking questions I already knew the answer to. After much trial and error, and looking at how my coworkers wrote to clients, I figured out how to be direct with my inquiries, even learning the polite way to correct clients if there was a misunderstanding. With so many emails being sent and received every day, quick and concise message are a godsend.
Finally, this job has coaxed me out of my comfort zone. I'm more on the quiet side, and working at the Marina Del Rey office has had me make phone calls to various companies to place orders or ask questions, as well as communicate with shoot crews and freelance editors that enter Pilot for the first time. It was a bit of work to push myself to do so, but I'm so glad I did and my confidence has grown because of it.
Thank you Pilot for an amazing year, and I look forward to what the future has in store.
Application
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend a shoot for one of the promos Pilot is going to be editing. The Creative Director on the project suggested I come along to see what the company does for these shoots. So, on an early Friday morning in April, I made the trek over to set.
The interesting thing about this particular shoot was that we were filming in the same place that the series we were making the promos for was shooting. During the show's shoot downtime, the talent would come over to our set for us to interview them.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the promo and series sets were run just like the ones I had been on at Dodge. Everything from the call sheets, to the communication the crew members had with one another, nearly matched that of the student film shoots I had been on. While things did get a bit behind schedule, just as Chapman sets were wont to, everyone remained patient and cooperative, working to stay helpful and positive through it all.
It got me thinking of how well Dodge did in fact prepare its students for the real world of film production. While set could not compare to my preferred home of the editing suite, being there allowed me to experience the realization of the Producing team's plans, as well as the camaraderie of the camera team. Dodge drilled into us from day one the importance of teamwork, and remembering that creating films was a group effort.
Even though I ended up taking a post route versus a physical production one, it's comforting to know that my Alma Mater taught me well and gave me a rounded education that will continue to aid me in my field of work for years to come.
A Look Back
I'm a bit late, but happy 2016! I didn't realize just how fast 2015 passed me by until I pieced together my annual "Second a Day" video. I always enjoy cutting it since I'm able to take a trip down memory lane and reflect upon the various events from the past year. To think, just a year ago I was finishing up my AVID Certification course and preparing for the conclusion of Senior Thesis!
Flash-forward to present day. Now 8 months into working at Pilot, I feel that I've finally hit my groove. Heading deliveries and running freelancers through orientation no longer overwhelms me like it once did. I've come to realize the importance of strong communication, as well as taking initiative when you see a need. My confidence in AVID and Final Cut has been strengthened, allowing me to become more efficient in my work through the discovery of new shortcuts.
I look forward to the opportunities 2016 presents, and trust that God will continue shape and challenge me each day. This year's "Second a Day" is going to be wild!
Blastoff
Hard to believe it's been almost a whole month since I finished up my last year at Chapman University. So much has been packed into these past few weeks as I've started to enter the workforce. I've traveled to New York, secured a full time position in Post Production, and received my first feature credit as Editorial Intern on Pixar's Inside Out. It's both exhilarating as well as scary to reflect on how quickly this all happened, but I look forward to what this next year of adult life brings. I've got much to learn, and I'm stoked for the growth I experience as an Assistant Editor as well as an employee. 3-2-1 let's go!
Next Chapter
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.
The Pursuit
For the past few weeks, I've had the opportunity to delve into some in-depth job hunting. Thanks to one of my mentors, I have a list of places that I've been scouring every day for updates on new jobs and opportunities. My goal has been to gain enough hours as an Assistant Editor to enter the Motion Picture Editors Guild, and hopefully find work in Animation Editorial as a result.
But that's getting ahead of myself. I still have to graduate after all!
So far, I've been able to talk to a Director of Post Production and an Editor about potential work and any advice they have for a budding editor. They've been so kind and I truly appreciate the honesty they've shown towards me, laying out the nature of the industry and instructing me on where would be good places to start out.
This Friday, I am going in for an interview for a post house that does trailers for feature films and documentaries. The reality of going in to talk about an actual position versus an internship is slowly starting to sink in. No longer am I going to be a student searching for experience, but an adult looking for a place to apply the knowledge I have in a professional setting.
This search can be a bit daunting at times, but I'm keeping my head up and praying God brings along a job that I can use to glorify Him.