In the can

Can we still use that phrase, in the can? The state of film being what it is, you'd figure that such phrases will be lost to history soon, yet I don't know if there's a digital equivalent. It's on the drive. Not that hard drive - THAT hard drive!

Anyway, this is one of those Been-Awhile-Been-Busy-Oh-Man-Sorry-I've-Been-Away-Just-A-Quick-Update-Neglected-This-Blog kind of blog post. Maybe I shouldn't call attention to it at all, but February to November is a pretty big gap (assuming anyone noticed in the first place). 

Last summer I started work on editing a documentary feature, my first as editor. The director is Jesse Lyda, the producer is Jason Wehling. It's a documentary about the inner life of folk singer Ana Egge, raised by hippies in New Mexico and who draws on her personal life for her music. So personal that when she found her latest album being produced by the legendary Steve Earle, she decided to explore some long brewing issues within her family that had not been confronted in decades. This leads to some family strife on her pursuit of commercial success. 

It's an emotional journey and the most personal documentary I've seen about someone who has yet to be a household name. 

If you follow me on Twitter, you've seen me strongly advocate and stand up for Apple's much maligned flagship editing program Final Cut Pro X. At the time we started the doc, I think FCPX was on version 10.0.8. Maybe 10.0.9. I had just finished cutting a short doc with it and was excited about the possibilities of what you could accomplish on a feature doc. So, with Jesse and Jason's daring permission, I was given the opportunity to go forth in uncharted territory. 

It was a ride, and I pushed that version of FCPX to its limits. Version 10.0.x was not ready for a feature film. Not quite. But when Apple updated to 10.1, it changed the game. They cracked the code of how to make that app functional for such a large project. 

I loved the experience. It's hard for me to go back to a track based editor now. I can do it because the platform doesn't define my work or my abilities. But FCPX is a step forward in a new direction, a forward-looking direction, and proves we can break away from old paradigms and still get our work done. (Maybe even by 5PM ;).

I plan on writing more about the experience as we just recently finished color correction and sound mix (and yes - for anyone reading this and doubting you can take an FCPX project all the way through post, including Pro Tools and color in Resolve, and back again - you can; it's not 2011 anymore!). I've moved on to other projects, not all of them in FCPX, sadly, but I've stretched my skills by editing a documentary from start to finish. That is what I'm most excited and proud about. Looking forward to sharing updates on the film's life-after-post in the future.