Professionals Give their Top Tips on how you can make it in the Media Industry
Gruff Edwards, Picture Editor for TV company, Tinopolis
1. What do you do?
I edit a range of different TV programmes for S4C, ITV and BBC such as sports programmes like Ralio, Le Rygbi, documentaries and kids programmes such as 'Y Fet a Fi' - a new fly-on-the-wall series where kids get to follow vets in their day-to-day work. This means I receive raw footage from shoots and cut it together and make it into a story for the viewers at home.
2. How did you become an editor?
Well, I never gained any form of formal qualifications in the field, I just had an interest and tried to gain as much work experience as I could by sitting in with another editor, watching him work and learning the tricks of the trade. I then started working as a trainee on a very low wage but persevered and I'm now a fully fledged editor.
3. What do you enjoy most about being an editor?
I like to see how it all comes together and seeing how different the originally filmed bits look like when I've finished with them! It's quite a creative process and I enjoy making decisions regarding what shots should be kept and what needs to be gotten rid of in order to make a programme look good and appear interesting.
4. What don't you like about being an editor?
The hours can be very long because it is a very laborious process as it takes time to put everything together. It can also be frustrating when you find out you can't use a certain sequence you've spent a long time cutting as there's no room for it in the programme, either because of time restraints or maybe it's not as relevant as you once thought. You have to be pretty passionate about editing to put up with it!
5. What tips would you give anyone who wanted to become an editor?
Gain as much experience as possible, it's far easier these days as you can get simple editing programmes on your home computer. Also, watch other people's work - TV programmes and films - to see their techniques and to gain inspiration. And the most important thing, as with all jobs in media - show you're keen!
6. What's your favourite film?
Dogtown and Z-Boys directed by Stacy Peralta. It's about how a group of surfers invented what we've come to know as skateboarding and it's amazing because most of the footage is just stills which are cut together in a way that's so innovative and clever you don't miss the moving images.
