The Editor - Year End Lists — Things That Piss Me Off

If there’s anything outside of politics that stupider than year-end Top Ten Lists I’m not sure what it is.  So, in honor of stupidity, I’m going to put together a list of Top Things That Pissed Me Off In 2008 (Editorially).  Notice that I’m not promising ten things.  Also note that these are in no particular order. 

1.  The Next Great Thing.   Every year there is a new Great Thing. Last year it was the Red camera and while there are certainly good reasons to be excited about the camera, it is neither the savior nor the manna from heaven that its fans would have you believe. Frankly, I love the entry level price which is nowhere near as cheap as everyone was saying it was (when you factor in funny things like lenses, storage and monitoring). And I think I love the idea of tapeless workflow. The Rivers documentary I edited this year was on P2 and I really liked not having to digitize from tape. But issues of archive and ever-increasing codec creep, where camera companies keep piling on new codecs that post production companies cannot possibly keep up with, continue to frustrate me.
2. 3-D. This year the major distribution companies, fresh out of new story ideas, decided to push 3-D as a way of bringing new audiences into the theater. And, for a brief moment in time, that will probably work. But, as the difference between Pixar and other animation companies has proved, it’s not the technology that sells tickets, it’s the film’s advertising. A brief look at the BoxOfficeMojo’s year end box office chart (and doing a little spreadsheet BoxOffice Mojo of my own) shows that when you sort all of the 2008 movies by the number of theaters they opened in, the Top Ten films include every top ten box office movie, on a per theater average, except QUANTUM OF SOLACE and SEX AND THE CITY. This means to me that a great predictor of success of release has to do with the number of films you distribute in, which equates to advertising dollars. Notice that in no place in this list are the films segregated by great technology. Imax releases probably don’t hurt films, but they hardly guarantee its success.
3.  The Death of The Independent. I’ve been as guilty at sounding the death knell for the independent filmmaker as anyone, with blog entries over at Hollyn-wood bemoaning the state of the business. But it may always be darkest before the dawn and, if that is the case, then we’re about to see some dawn very quickly. Facebook apps like Mass Animation, online series and the increasing use of services like Hulu, Joost and the iTunes Store, all bode well for increasing distribution (so long as we can dodge the advertising factor in Irritating Point #2. Hmm, on second thought, maybe I’ll still proclaim the death of the independent.
4. The Death of The Story. The Birth of The Story. I’m not saying that there is no story in the endless round of reality television series and films like FROST/NIXON — it’s just that it seems that story has been replaced by plot. And that pisses me off. On the other hand, I’m one of the philistines who disliked REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, despite some good performances, because it seems all about deep, meaningful, subplotted story. And I didn’t buy it.
5. Ubiquitous Advertising.  I know that someone’s got to pay for all of this free content that we are supposedly clamoring for. As a content creator I do want to get paid for my work (my endless blogging to the contrary). I don’t want people stealing my book or the films I work on. But my daughter spends as much money on iTunes, downloading television shows and music, as I spent on CDs ten years ago. So, people will pay for something that they value. But it seems like I can’t pick up my cel phone without getting an advertisement at the bottom of the screen, and there are ads for products at the bottom of the trays that I put my shoes into at the TSA security lines at airports. I honestly don’t need to be told to watch a television talk show when I’m standing at a urinal at my gym.
6. Top Ten Lists.  If I were a real journalist, I’d save this one for the end, so that my readership could finish the piece with a smile.  If I were a Real Journalist.
7. Plethoras of Producers. When I was editing features full-time (as opposed to teaching and not being a Real Journalist) one of the biggest differences between working in films and working in commercials was that commercials had about 12 times as many producers/decision makers as films and television. That ratio seems to have evened out now. While it is true that not every producer that is listed on the head credits of a film spends time in the editing room, it often seems that way. I’ve found that too many decision makers tend to limit the success of any project, just as too few of them do.
8. Finally, Editing As a Commodity. Now that Final Cut Suite and Avid Media Composer are so cheap, its tempting for producers and other budgeters to assume that anyone can edit their projects, including themselves (this is A Bad Idea, and what I meant by the “too few of them” line in the previous point). It’s also tempting to have one person do everything — edit, color correct, sound design and finish, DVD design and create, etc. etc. etc.  I’m a little old fashioned about this, but I have rarely met someone who is a master at all of these jobs and it’s a mistake to think that one person can give you the best of everything. They might be able to give you the cheapest price overall and that might be what you are looking for.  But, if that’s the case Mister or Ms Money Person, then be up front about that at the outset of the hiring process and let everyone know that you care more about the budget than the end product. That will give you the best possible end result.

So, now you’ve eight curmudgeonly year end gifts.  Just when you thought that you were going to get out of the year with happiness and joy. I’ll save that for next year.=============================Speaking of Next Year, for those of you who are coming to MacWorld, I’ll be speaking there on Thursday, January 9th, at 12 noon in the Peachpit Books Booth (booth #812 in the Moscone South Hall). The topic will be “Visual Effects and The Lean Forward Moment”.  I’ll also be at Sundance, speaking once or twice about THE LEAN FORWARD MOMENT (my new book).  More details in the next entry.

Tags: Film Industry, Film Blog, Oscars, Film, Filmmaker