Frame of Reference with Editor Tej Babra

Tej Babra is a freelance editor working for various broadcast stations such as Bell Media, MTV, Much Music and Rogers. He has also worked on independent films and documentaries that have been accepted to TIFF, and the Vancouver Film Festival. Tej also writes for the widely known post-porduction website AOTG.com reviewing the latest gear, and applications for post-production. As a member of the Canadian Cinema Editors, Tej has been given opportunities to lead workshops on editing and advanced compression techniques.

What got you interested in editing?

I guess my first interest was peaked when I started editing my own projects via tape to tape, and 16mm negative cutting. I really enjoyed the hands on experience of being able to sort through all of the footage and put together a great story. It quickly became a very rewarding feeling to see the final project all pieced together.

How did you get started in editing?

I fist started out learning the craft of editing in high school. I learned negative cutting with my old friend the neg splicer. I have many fond memories splicing away and working on a Steinbeck. It felt very natural, and I enjoyed the craft of assembling a story. Then I moved on to my first ” video” editing with tape to tape. This would be the good old days of VHS, basically editing from one deck to another. Using a variety of tools, which even included the old ” Toaster” transitions. My edit suite although was huge by today’s standards also included a V/O room, for recordings. It was a nice set up at the time, but I really don’t miss editing tape to tape at all. It was difficult to be accurate as the machines age, and I never felt creative , as I was troubleshooting half the time. Soon after I was introduced to the Avid’s and the Final Cut’s which lead to other gigs, and helped establish my career.” read more...