getting my hands dirty

i feel like being articulate and engaging tonight. i feel like writing something witty about politics, world issues, the meaning of life. i feel like it. but i'm me. since college i've wanted to have something significant to say. but since i don't feel like i do, i content myself with trying to entertain. being funny, being provocative (i'm talking about my films and my writing here, not how i am in public; though, now that i type that, i'm not so sure i'm not talking about both).

do i have anything to say worth hearing? is my work shallow and insipid? maybe. but at least it's funny. (the comedies, anyway).

the title of the post refers to the fact that i finally sat down in the edit suite today and did a little editing. the film's editor has been handling the 'hands on' editing, following my instructions and continual comments and notes on his edit. but today, after viewing his second attempt to cut a particularly challenging scene and being completely disappointed by both (most of his cutting has been great; this was an anomaly), i went in and worked on it myself a little.

i spent three hours editing that scene (mostly to my satisfaction) and tweaking several other things. and while i do think i cracked that scene, i mostly enjoyed just getting in there and doing some of the hard work myself. felt good. felt like i was 'swinging the bat' again after a long layoff. i was stymied by trying to remember some of final cut pro's quirks (i haven't worked with it in over a year, because since i've been teaching i haven't had any projects to edit), and i find it particularly difficult to come in and edit on someone else's project (it's my film, but the editor has set up the final cut pro project, organized all the video and audio files, music, etc., so it's often hard to locate something specific).

but man, it felt good to take my film into my own hands. and, at the same time, i wonder if doing so is dangerous. directors need editors. maybe if i had the budget money to hire an experienced editor, i would feel like i could do that. but i think i'm going to have to keep a tight leash on the editor because, while he's got innate talent and good instincts, he falters on the basics sometimes.