It's not about the NLE, it's about telling stories

In this excellent article Scott Simmons talks about being and editor, which means being a story teller. The tools you use are an important part of your workflow, but they do not define you or your craft. Limiting yourself to just one NLE could limit some opportunities for you down the road, because you need to adapt to whatever workflows may already exist in that facility or post house.

PVC by Scott Simmons Are you, as an editor, defined by the NLE that you use? I'd rather be known as a storyteller than a button-pusher Are you defined by the NLE you use? If you answered no to that question you can probably stop reading now but if you answered yes then read on. If yes I would ask why? Are you an Avid Editor or a storyteller? Are you an FCPX editor or a craftsman of the moving image. There are still those that define themselves by the tools they use. There’s a lot of editing choices out there and these aren’t nearly all of them. If you can use one you can probably figure out them all. I think there are perfectly legitimate times for someone to ask what do you cut on? Or even more specifically do you know Premiere Pro? I like to think that in 2015 these questions are only asked when an editor is being hired by a post house or production company that has an existing infrastructure and workflow that they are fitting an editor into. If you’re a company producing reality shows on a tight turnaround with 50 Media Composer bays then you’re most likely not going to take the time to train an FCPX editor on Avid even if they are a great storyteller. You’re also not going to try an shoehorn a different tool into an existing and proven workflow. read more...