Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
86 M PS E . O R G Technology, especially in the industry, is happening faster and faster. When I talk to younger editors, they tell me about such and such a plug-in or a new way of doing things and as much as I love technology and figuring out new stuff, it is a bit daunting. I consider myself savvier than most in figuring out new things. And I love technology and what it can do. But when I hear them talk, it's like they are speaking another language. I fear with all the new technologies that the reason we edit gets lost. When computers first started showing up, the false expectation is that we can now edit FASTER and with less editors and assistants. That had some truth to it, but the one underlying principle of filmmaking is "What can I edit here to support the story?" That principle never changes no matter what equipment we use to do it with. A badass camera isn't going to make your film great. A spiffed- out Pro Tools edit/mixing board will not make your film an award- winning sound job. It's the operator, not the gear. It's hard not to get excited about new techniques and equipment but it doesn't take the place of using your brain. "Old age is 15 years older than I am." —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. My mom never wanted to retire. Film was central to her life, her social life, and her interpretation of her self. She was the "grand dame" of sound and wore that title both proudly and humbly. She worked until she was 74. When she retired, she had no more social life to speak of. Most of her friends had died or retired and moved away. A couple technologies. But we must. When you learned to edit on a Moviola or a flatbed, that was the same edit system used for close to 50 years. Every studio had Moviolas. You could edit at MGM or Warner Bros. or Universal. Every place had the same equipment. Then, in the late '80s, early '90s, digital workstations started appearing. Some of the freelance editors I knew had to learn four different systems because the studios didn't know what to do about this new technology. That was intense! Some were Mac- based, some were PC-based. Not only did we have to learn computers, but we also had to figure out how to make the computers do what we were used to doing on a Moviola. Instead of studios supplying Moviolas and flatbeds, suddenly they had to figure out what DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) to buy. No one knew what would happen. One studio used Waveform, another used Soundforge or AudioFrame, Fairlight or Fostex Foundation. There were so many different DAWs and the engineers and computer whizzes were trying to figure out this digital revolution. The studios didn't want to invest in any of them, so they rented them for a time. Then people got smart and bought their own and rented them to the studios! I remember that a friend invested with me in buying a Pro Tools system that cost $20,000 back in 2000! I rented it to Sony to work on a film there for $700 a week! It was paid off by working on the film. Those were the days. "Anyone can get old. All you have to do is live long enough." —Groucho Marx of months before she died, in December of 2002, she was given the very special and high honor of receiving an endowed chair at USC given to her by George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, neither of whom she ever worked for but they considered her their mentor. It was truly a wonderful night for her to take in all the accolades and acknowledgment of her vast career and influence in the industry. "I don't feel old. I don't feel anything until noon. Then it's time for my nap." —Bob Hope When I was an apprentice, there were no schools or programs for learning sound editing, Schools had directing, cinematography, writing tracks, and film editing but no sound. You learned on the job. Now, almost every college and a lot of high schools teach filmmaking, including sound, both production and post-production. "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone." —Andy Rooney There's a point as you grow older that you're seen with a big "EXPIRED" date on your forehead. I'm not sure when that date happened to me. I can see it in people's eyes when they look at me. They don't see the youthful zest I once had (unless I tell them). Some cultures see older people as the wise ones, the experienced ones, and revere them for that. Our culture and maybe especially the movie industry, does not revere our elders.