The Professional Identity-Crisis of the Film & Television Editor

Over recent decades, technological changes in editing have not only affected the work itself, but also the nature of the labor environment. The role of the editor has been both deprofessionalized and at the same time made more complex. Editors are now asked and expected to have a solid grasp on a wider variety of skills and disciplines than ever before. In a new, unstable work environment, they are also expected to incorporate a wider range of tasks into their job, for which they are not additionally compensated. The democratization of technology has created a labor market where professionals who spent many years training in what was previously seen as a specialized craft, compete with those who have learned to operate the tools of the trade as hobbyists.

On the value of Digital Natives as experts

Digital natives have so much to offer us, as experts. All filmmaking is “digital filmmaking” now, to a large extent, and digital is the mother-tongue of millennials. Every time I see “panels of experts” made up of people my generation and older, I am saddened. Arrogance and ignorance leads to a real loss of opportunity to learn from young professionals with some of the deepest wisdom our industry has to offer in areas of technology and user proficiency.