Though the industry continues to change and shift, and agencies are under more pressure to deliver more and more content with little increases in budgets, the value of creative collaborative relationships is at an all-time high. The editorial process has always been one of tight collaboration, with directors working hand-in-hand with editors with a joint goal of bringing their vision to life. But lately there has definitely been a noticeable shift into more director/editor collaborations, and maintaining these kinds of partnerships are what keeps the creative editorial world alive and allow it to continue to thrive. It’s about finding that dynamic synergy and trust where you are able to navigate the creative process as a pair, and eventually establish a shared methodology and vision.
An increased workload across agencies, production and post production means that schedules are more strained than ever. The days of constantly having clients in the studio and spending their days in your edit suite are gradually decreasing as the demands on their time are continuing to stack up.
This means that you have to be more intuitive than ever as an editor and be really focusing on fully understanding your client’s needs from day one. Taking this kind of perceptive approach to the creative process can also help streamline feedback cycles and help to meet continually tighter production timelines.
With these kinds of industry changes, I’m being asked to wear more hats than ever. Being a partner and editor at Bandit allows me to be able to take a broader look at what we are doing and how we collaborate with clients. On any given project, I now take a much bigger picture approach, taking on multiple roles to not only craft the best cut for the client, but also continue to evolve the overall creative aesthetic of the studio. This multitasking approach is being felt on all sides and gives us all a better appreciation for the roles of our colleagues and clients, and how they all fit into the big picture puzzle of it all.
Being an editor allows me to play a big part of the creative process, but as a partner, it is also exciting to work with the entire studio to cultivate a body of work and studio environment that speaks to who we are as a company and the kind of maverick storytelling that excites us.
Between continuing to cultivate ongoing partnerships, developing director/editor/client relationships for artistic collaboration and an increasing need for creative intuition with shrinking timelines, the continually evolving landscape of the editorial process is allowing us to keep our approach fresh and meet challenges with exciting new solutions.
John Piccolo is a partner and editor at Bandit (banditedit.com) in New York City.