Hello everyone, my name is Vanessa Milinski, I'm studying media informatics on the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Currently , I'm in the 3rd semester. And today I want to tell you what it's like to work at a Tv-and Movie Production company with focus on the range of tasks of an editor.

I'm going to start my presentation with a  short overview of all the jobs that have an impact on the production of a documentary. Then(Later on) I will specify all the tasks an editor has to fullfill like finding an idea, writing a press release, looking for protagonists, organizating  a film location, Preparing a storyboard, Interviewing the characters, writing a transcript and compising a voice-over commentary. At the end of my talk I'm giving you a brief conclusion.

Working at a TV- and Movie Production Company

I was lucky and had the chance to do a trainee ship in a TV and Movie Production Company at the end of the second semester/during the summer break. They produces television reports ( reports or documentary? It's not about animals, about people xD) for entertainment shows like VOX, RTL and even news channels  like ABC or BBC.

There are different types of movie-and television production companies in general (oder war das jetzt nur auf deine Arbeitsstelle bezogen? ;)): some produce cinematographic works like the well-known (American?) companies NEW LINE CINEMA or WARNER BROTHERS, other focus on producing television series and some are specialized in producing television reports. If the latter applies, the company can decide between shooting unscripted or scripted reports. The company I worked at has chosen to produce non-scripted material, telling real-life stories instead of fictional ones. But even the production of an unscripted, documentary-style video needs to be processed by a lot of professionals.(NOTE. Falls sie Fragen. Was sind unsripted (aka real life) unf scripted (finctional) docus genau)

From the idea to the screen a lot of jobs impact on the production: freelance writer, editor, cameraman, sound recordist, film editor, post-producer, voice over artist & sound editor. (Without their doing, a movie could not be developed?)

The company's inner circle (?) just includes a few people: the manager, a couple of permanent employee like editors, freelance writers and at least one post-producer. The other staff (I mentioned before) will be booked if required. Usually the same teams are hired. (Maybe you can add: At least … people are involved in creating such a project – from the beginning to the end)

As an assistant editor I 've been involved in a great variety of activities so I want to give you a real glimpse into the task fields of an editor.

If you think an editor is just sitting behind the desk, doing paperwork, you're wrong. An editor has to fulfill a lot of tasks: everything from planning to completion.But also the technical stuff like shooting, editing, adding sound for example.

Finding an(besser:the right??) idea (as an editor??)

In most ((of the,kann man doch weglassen, oder?)) production companies the producer or the screenwriter are responsible for coming up with a great idea. However, where I worked at, the editors are responsible for that. You can say that finding a great idea is the hardest part.  The documentary should be about a topic, that the target audiences will want to see. Sounds easy right? But its really tricky –  I had to think about topics all the time and I filled like 4 pages with suggestions, but in the end only around 3 were taken into closer consideration.

I was told paging through some gossip magazines might help getting an idea. It’s even better when you come up with something that has never been aired before.

If you've found a topic, the editor has to discuss it with the team and suggest it to the boss /head(?) . If he gives the go-ahead you can start writing a press release.

Writing a press release

Don't confuse a press release with a real newspaper article, though. It's more like a summary that's written on the back cover of a book, just meant for the individual channels

A Press release is about 1 or 2 pages long. First, you give the text a title, mostly just the name of the report. A press release starts with some rhetorical questions, interesting facts about the topic or something else that will catch the attention of the manager ( or who is getting this? Of the channel . Remember, the aim is to impress them and bring them to hire you to create the documentary. (NOTE. Vielleicht kannst du hier ein Beispiel eines Press Release hinzufügen, während du erklärst was das ist?)

While writing a press release you have to pretend you're just summarizing the plot, even though it hasn't even been shot yet. You have to use your imagination on how the story might go off. In the end you don't know if it will turn out that way, 'cause it is an unscripted report. The press release is just some kind of guideline.The characters have to be described through actions. Don't use any direct speech, it's a no-go. Furthermore it's really important to add feelings to make it more appealing, to bring the story to life. SEHR GUT! .D

A few high quality pictures should be added, if necessary the editor has to adjust the colors.(WHY?)
The spelling and grammar should be re-checked. Before it's passed to the other (channel? the company's representative glances over the text. Last, the company logo and contact address will be added to each text.

When a xxxxxxxxxx(channel?) indicates interest and thinks this documentary suggestion would fit into their program, they assign/commission the company to film and put the idea into practise.The next step is finding some people who are on the verge of a scenario close to your idea.

Looking for protagonists

I's not easy finding descent protagonists, though. For an unscripted tv report you don't go through any bit player or extra databases. You have to browse a lot of panels, social networks like facebook, skim old or new online newspaper articles maybe even ask around in your circle of friends and acquaintances to find the person you are looking for. Sometimes you spend days trying to find someone.

When you think you've found someone, you have to get in contact with them. Clarify the plan/ the purpose and ask them if they are interested in telling their stories in front of a camera. Ask them, if they don't mind the camera-team tracking everything that's happening (in their everyday life?).
Of course the cast isn't hired for free so you tell them what they payment they would get per hour.

Organizing film locations

When the cast is confirmed the editor starts looking for suitable film locations – depending on the storyline.

When everything takes place within the home of a protagonists– like the show meet&great, that's similar to “the perfect dinner”. It is unscripted and the main protagonists are students. – you still have to ask the tenant (easier to understand maybe: renter?) for permission to use their property as a set. The protagonists themselves have to inform the editor about what kind of belongings or photographs mustn’t (are not allowed to?) be seen in the final cut.

If you want to film on public land you will need permission from the appropriate local authority or council. Places like public parks, shopping arcades and squares are not public places, they belong to someone. The editor hast to find out who owns the property and then apply for permission to film. Maybe you still remember all the rules we've learned in “filmproduction” last semester when we had to film our own short video.

If you are organizing a location in another country, it's really important to carry all official documents with you. Different countries have different rules and regulations, so that the camera-team and you won't get in trouble it's easier to keep all documentaries handy.

Don't forget the passport, the Id cards, the permission to film & the forms of all protagonists.

It's important to keep all the bills of the equipment when you're team is getting though airport custom.

During my time at the company I witnessed a heated discussion on the phone between an editor and a member of a German airport customs. When the film crew returned from filming in Azerbaijan they were not permitted to take along/collect the camera equipment, the laptops and their external hard disc drives, because the customs thought all of it has been bought overseas even though it was obviously used. Unfortunately they couldn't prove it by showing the old bills because they forgot to carry those with them. So they were kept locked for a time. Anyhow they got all of their equipment back though.

Preparing a Storyboard

For an unscripted show you don't need a storyboard, which is kind of understandable. When the editor is using the term “storyboard” it has a different meaning. It's more like a filming schedule with a roughly described course of action send to the cameraman, protagonists and the authority in charge of the filming location so they more or less know what's to be expected. That's referred to the timing not the storyline.

An editor is responsible for writing such a storyboard. When all the organization and planning is done, and a shooting date is xcoming upx/fixed the editor has to accompany the camera team.

Interviewing the characters

During shooting, the editor is also present to ask interposed/thrown in questions in case the protagonists themselves don't talk much. They are supposed to answer , so that, in the final cut,  you can use their sentences without hearing the question.  Like, when the editor is asking: “Do you like cooking?” They aren't supped to say: “Yes, or no.” rather “I don't like cooking so much, I'm not that good at it.”

When you're watching a documentary or reality show, now and then a few commentaries of the main characters are displayed. They are actually little interview-snippets, where the questions are cut out. Under the impulse of the moment the editor has to come up with questions matching the situation.

Before filming begins, the protagonists have to fill out a form, giving their consent to being filmed.  Afterwards they won't be able to say “I don't want to be part of the report anymore.”

When everything is wrapped up the editor can work on a transcript.

Writing a Transcript

Documentaries don't have a script, so you need a transcript of all the scenes that were shot. It's a list of what was said on tape, a word-for-word-written version, with a brief description of the course of action.

Here you can see a composition of a transcript.: (picture)

You have to give the transcription a title, most of the time it's just the name of the report, and the number of the XD, so the film editor knows which XD matches to the transcript.

l............................................................................You have to go through all clips, some of them are just a few seconds long, others last about 15 minutes.

On the left hand side you add the time code so you know exactly when each sentence is spoken. Right next to it, you note the spoken words and the name of the person who is speaking.

You should use standard punctuation for easy reading. Long paragraphs need to be splitted up. If there's a brief pause or a person trails off you have to mark it with three dots […] or something similar. If you are listening to the same sequence over-and over again, but still don't understand anything because the protagonist is mumbling too much, you have to mark that part, too. [inaudible]  Usually, those segment s will be excluded.

When you're done you have to re-check the transcription of spelling mistakes et cetera.

The transcription helps to organize the editing of the documentary. It saves a lot of time, because it's easier to skim a transcript than to go through hours of footage. The editor can use the transcript to prepare a pre-cut version with lines of the protagonists selected and placed in an order.

However, the film editor will have a say, what will be pulled from the tape. Together, they go over the chosen footage, re-order, remove or shorten the clips.

The final cut will be controlled by the company's representative anyway.

Composing a voice -over commentary

An editor also has to write the voice-over commentary. Voice-over is the off-camera voice that imparts the important information that the video footage itself doesn't. It also can be used as a bridge between segments.

Words or combinations that are hard to pronounce aren't used. You should avoid sentences that are too long .

When writing the narration, it's helpful to use stopwatch to time oneself reading the commentary aloud. As you know, we read faster silently than we read aloud, so it's important to get accurate time.

A good script will not only tell the voice-over artist what to say, but how to say it.

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At the end, when a project is done and was shown on TV, the editor burns the documentary to DVD . Each protagonists will get one as a keep-sake.

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Conclusion

noch nicht 100% fertig ;)

Unfortunately research is the main activity and rather sooner than later you really lose interest in doing so. But occasionally it can be fun! If you are lucky enough to do research about a topic you like a lot. However, there are still other tasks, which are really interesting.

The tasks are not listed in a chronical order, so it's possible to modify the procedure.