Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
88 M PS E . O R G believable, intimate, and nuanced. This was something I didn't think about when I first started teaching. Noise was something the re-recording mixers dealt with. Not editors. Our job was to smooth out the noise behind the dialogue so it could be dealt with by the re- recording mixers. "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." —Lucille Ball Now that we have iZotope and other tools readily available to editors, it often gives us the false impression that we've fixed the problem and takes away the possibilities of making it better. I am grateful for this insight but I'm also worried that younger editors won't have this thought process available to them. Don't let the bells and whistles and the lure of plug-ins fool you into thinking that everything is fixed. Sometimes the problems are there to help you realize other options. The process is: think about what is best for the film. Would ADR help or hurt the film? Is "noise" the only issue with a sequence? Would an actor be able (or want to) improve their performance using ADR? "My mother always used to say, 'The older you get, the better you get. Unless you're a banana."' —Betty White Actor Donald Sutherland was notorious for purposefully speaking low on set so that he could come to the ADR stage and re-do his dialogue. He knew the power of ADR. Some actors hate it. In the case of Speed, the actors knew they had to do ADR because of the noise, and they worked really hard to get it right. And it made the film better because of it. "Live your life and forget your age." —Norman Vincent Peale The point of this is—that filmmaking is always surprising and there are many obstacles thrown in our way, no matter how old we get! No matter how many new plug-ins there are or will be, it is important to still think. How can I make this work better? What are the options? We don't want films that sound antiseptic or in a vacuum. Films can start to sound artificial without the ambient noise that surrounds the words. "My face carries all my memories. Why would I erase them?" —Diane von Furstenberg Back to aging. Looking back at my career and life, I'm wondering what the 30-year-olds now will deal with when they are 70. If it weren't for the mirror, I still think of myself as 35 or 40. My advice: Don't look in the mirror! No, really, it's this: Keep your mind active. Read. Stay physical. Stay interested. Stay curious. One thing about our craft is that we sit too much for hours at a time. Thank goodness for Apple watches to tell us "GET UP and move around for a minute!" Try and balance home and work life, which is a lot easier now because so many can work from home (Thank you COVID). I wished I could have worked from home when my kids were young. "Aging is not 'lost youth' but a new stage of opportunity and strength." —Betty Friedan Know this: You will grow older if you're lucky. The time will come when you don't feel as viable and valuable. Plan for that the best you can. Stay engaged with your craft. Teach what you have learned so that the younger generation will know. Really, though, did you ever learn anything from listening to older people's mistakes? Probably not but I hope you have. We all have to learn from our own mistakes but we can take something from people who have come before us. History is important and crucial. We don't have to reinvent the wheel over and over. Learn enough about the past to not repeat the bad stuff. "When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it happened or not." —Mark Twain My advice, if you're willing to hear it, is to keep yourself relevant and engaged as long as you can. Learn new technology enough to see if it works for you. A friend and colleague says: "Always have a beginner's heart." Have something else in your life that you like to do. Many of my work colleagues do many other things now—painting, music, writing, even directing. Don't limit yourself yet make sure you dedicate yourself to your craft. We need editors who are thinkers and problem solvers. Don't forget the story you are telling with sound. Think outside the age box. Don't limit yourself. Don't fear thinking about the future because it is coming for you if you're lucky. "No one is as old as those who have outlived enthusiasm." —Henry David Thoreau