Being completely transparent, I had a very different idea of where I would be in 2022.

 

Maybe starring in a movie next to Brad Pitt, or walking the red carpet joking around with my best friend Jennifer Lawrence. Looking back, I can safely say that things didn’t exactly go to plan.  

 

 

 

 

Starting off as a fresh-faced college student at the University of California, San Diego in pursuit of a degree in acting, I had a carefree view on life. I felt very lucky that I knew what I wanted to do in the future, so I figured that was all I had to focus on really. Easy, right?

 

End of Sophomore year, I realized a lot of things that I tended to glaze over when I thought of my future and the reality of the world. The biggest one being that I wasn’t entirely convinced that acting was for me.

 

A stable job, money, family were serious things I had to consider continuing in life, and those were things I was risking by pursuing that career.

 

Here I was halfway through my college education, considering that the career I had dreamed of for my entire life maybe wasn’t my true passion in life. Every day I’d ask myself, What am I going to do? What do I even like to do? Can I find another passion in life?

 

By my junior year, I decided to add a communications degree to my plate with a specification in multi-media, hoping that I could still stay surrounded by acting but maybe I could be on a different side of the camera.

 

I started taking classes in video production and editing, and slowly started to figure out what made me happy…again.

 

Editing really took off for me. Between classes, I was asked by a friend to start editing wedding videos. I started building my editing portfolio by editing school projects as well as acting reels for my fellow peers. I began to really enjoy editing and started to look for opportunities that would allow me to continue to pursue that passion.

 

With a covid graduation behind me and two bachelor’s degrees, I decided to move back to Michigan where I found myself knocking on the door of 730 Eddy Studios.

 

 

 

 

That summer I was fortunate enough to gain a position as an editing contractor editing videos for the company.

 

I let it be known early on that I would love to try my hand at video production, and secured a day on set with two of 730 Eddy’s best. With the countless hours of teaching and mentoring from my amazing co-workers, I was able to begin to grasp the craft of video production and eventually secured a job as a video production specialist!

 

Now, I come into to work with the opportunity to be on set along with editing. The best of both worlds doesn’t begin to explain it, but overall, I love it.

 

I love that I get to continuously learn something new every day. Specifically, things that I can put in my back pocket and use on future sets and projects. I love having the opportunity to meet new people and tell their stories and mostly I love that every day offers a new challenge that I can use my own skills and knowledge to solve. 

 

 

 

 

My time at 730 Eddy has shown me that practice truly does make perfect in this field. When I first started out, I would drive to work with a pit in my stomach knowing that I was going to be on set and being so nervous to make a mistake. I quickly learned that every mistake I made created an opportunity to learn and grow.

 

That’s not to discount the very real feeling of this being a very intimidating industry, because it is. Judgement and doubt are hurdles that you will constantly have to overcome. That part is uncontrollable, but what you can control Is how you choose to react to that judgement and doubt. My advice to that? PROVE THEM WRONG.

 

Use the skills that you have, highlight your strengths and focus on your weaknesses. We as humans are never perfect and achieving perfection shouldn’t be a goal as much as becoming a well-rounded, experienced person. You’re going to make mistakes; you’re going to not know the answers to things, you’re going to be nervous, but that is exactly what it takes to learn something new.

 

Ask questions, let those mistakes turn into lessons, show your interest in the field and give ‘em hell. As my mom would often have to remind me, there is nothing that hard work cannot achieve. 

 

 

 

 

So yes, things didn’t go to plan how I had laid them out in my mind. However, to be truthful, things rarely do.

 

I can now say that every decision and experience led me right to where I am now, and I can honestly say that it is a place I am proud to be. 

 

 

In the span of cinematic history, the one area of filmmaking that women once dominated was post production.

 

From the 1900's to the 1920s, editorial departments would primarily hire female workers to handle film negatives. This was because cutting film was considered delicate, "women's" work at the time, such as knitting or sewing (The Cutting Edge).

 

Gradually, as the technology surrounding post-production improved, less and less women were hired as film editors. The introduction of sound made the practice seem more electrical and mechanical, and less suited for women (The Cutting Edge).

 

"The industry seemed to grow more male-centric again in the 1990s," writes Nisa McNamera from Frame.io Insider, "as editing on digital NLEs took the place of cutting on film."

 

In summary, the presence of women in post has always been determined by how the profession is perceived by studio executives. Cutting delicate strips of fabric and placing them together? A woman's role. Operating complex computer programs to place intricate files together? A man's role.

 

 

 

 

We assume history is something far removed from our lives, but I can safely say that this the core of my struggle to get into post-production.

 

The truth is, I didn't think I was smart enough to edit videos professionally. Not by a long shot! It was too technical, too scientific, too masculine. I loved flowy skirts, sparkly makeup, and romance novels; even if I could break into the industry, who would take me seriously?

 

However, something I learned was the technology involving post-production has very little to do with what video editing actually is.

 

Video editing, at its core, is about storytelling, rhythm, psychology, intuition, and...magic. It's absolute magic.

 

And in 2021, as I raced headfirst to the end of my degree, I came to the startling conclusion that there was no where else in the industry I would rather be.

There will be moments where want to. The energy it takes to prove yourself in a male-dominated industry will take a toll on you. Every mistake you make will feel like the end of the world, like you don't belong here, like everyone who has ever doubted you was right all along.

 

However, when you put in the work, trust your instincts, and learn from your colleagues, you will be surprised by the things you can achieve.

 

Here's the best part: You will share these accomplishments with your loved ones. And, while they will be enthusiastic, supportive, and proud, the last thing they will be is surprised.

 

Because they believed in you all along.

 

So, why not believe in yourself, too? Because the rest of us do.

 

 

 

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