…Michael Garber. I’m a video editor and a sometimes shooter. This blog is a way for me to discuss all of the exciting things I see, do, and learn about relating to my work in the world of production and post.
I got interested in computers and filmmaking at a young age which lead to me getting a film degree and pursuing a career in production and post. My first camera was a Sony CCD-F35 8mm video camera and I edited the videos that I shot with my friends on VHS decks. Old school was not necessarily the most fun school! At night, I dreamt of serial-controlled tape to tape edit systems with timecode.
In film school, we shot with CP-16s and Arri 16mm shells, as well as 3-chip studio cameras. We edited on Steenbecks, Sony RME-450s, Video Toasters (yes, I proudly used the Kiki effect), CMX editors and very early Avids. With so many editing systems at our disposal, I sometimes found myself trying to hit cmd-Z on the Steenbeck! I had multiple editing personalities.
When I got out into the real world, the first nonlinear editing app that I used professionally was Final Cut Pro v1. I eventually started my own post production company out of my very tiny bedroom in my very tiny studio apartment in aptly-named Studio City.
The amount of innovation that’s happened for cameras and editing tools in just the last few years is pretty phenomenal… it’s dramatically changed the way we do things. And things are continuing to change at a rapid pace with the increasing rate of new gear getting released.
What convinced me to start writing a blog is that this past year has been a particularly crazy one in our field.
Specifically for me, in June of 2012, Apple announced the next revolution in nonlinear editing… Final Cut Pro X. Apple promoted the launch as one of the best in the history of Apple. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for professional editors at the time of launch. That’s changed a little bit since last year – but that’s for another blog entry.
Since the release of X and the beginning of the end for Final Cut Pro legacy, I’ve been experiencing the greatest sea-change in terms of my work and my business since I moved to LA in 1998. In that time, I’ve gone from a full- offline/color correction/online house to, well, not that! I’ve been on a quest to figure out “what’s next” for me and for my company (whatever form that may be). I’ve been test driving X, Premiere, and will inevitably need to check out Avid’s offerings.
I know that there are many other shell-shocked FCP editors out there, and I hope to help them and the filmmaking community in general by way of sharing my discoveries and test findings. I’ll start with highlights about what I’ve learned over the past year and, once I catch up, I’ll keep you all up on what I’m currently researching, learning, and doing.
Don’t expect this blog to be entirely post-production related though. I like to tinker with other related technologies. I’ve been shooting with the famed hacked GH2… I’ve built a beast of a Hackintosh… And I am really happy with my switch from iPhone to Android (I’m a bit of a Gmail freak)…
So with that, I’m looking forward to the next entry and beyond.