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Television editor: Robbie

This Case Study belongs to Film/video editor.

Robbie graduated with a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Media Practice from the University of Westminster, in 2007. 

His degree was half theory, half practical and included a professional practice module which was a two-week media-related work experience. Robbie felt that the degree would give him a piece of paper but that the real 'way in' would be to gain work experience and make connections in the industry.

He was making his own 'little web TV show' with comedy sketches and graphics elements, and believes that this 'DIY' project was what got him a three-month volunteer placement at the Community Channel, London while in the last stages of his degree. After the placement the organisation took him on at a low rate, which has gone up as he has gained experience. Robbie is currently working on a broadcast series described as 'T4 with a message'. He works mainly with one producer/director and has a varied job doing camera work, lighting, graphics, and digitising, as well as the offline and online editing.

The job can be quite stressful but it is extremely rewarding to have a finished product at the end of an edit. He enjoys the project-orientated nature of the work and the opportunity to be self-motivated. This particular organisation makes programmes for social causes so there is personal satisfaction in that. He also keeps his own sideline projects on the go as he would eventually like to get into directing.

Robbie always has his eyes and ears open for new opportunities and uses websites such as 4RFV: The Film and Television Production Directory for Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales and NI and Production Base to network and get his CV seen. Other sites such as Mandy's International Film and Television Production Directory are good for picking up interesting unpaid projects including music videos, which usually offer expenses or at least a copy of the video upon completion. He has used Facebook to organise projects between friends but hasn't used it in a 'professional' capacity.

The majority of Robbie's work is with Final Cut Pro but he occasionally works on Avid. He likes playing with Photoshop and After Effects and thinks that his ability to 'do it all' including graphics is a huge advantage. The organisation is quite flexible about hours but Robbie typically works 9am to 7pm. It can go much later if necessary. One of the bonuses is that 'as long as I am on top of my work, I can use the edit suites for my own projects after hours... which is amazingly helpful!' He also has his own MacBook Pro for offline editing and graphics/animation.

Case Study sourced by Megan Peinell of AGCAS, 22 August 2008.