Why Teamwork and Communication Matter (MMM#26)

Greetings everyone,

Madeline here with the next entry in The Movie Minute. This entry will be a little more personal since it’s a reflection of filmmaking related events that have had a significant impact on my journey as a filmmaker.

While I was completing my senior year of college at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) for my BFA, we had to pitch ourselves to fellow students who were looking for editors for their senior thesis projects. It took a while of me asking around and attending pitch sessions, but I managed to get myself attached to two projects as editor. I thought both of them would be seamless, low-stress experiences, but I was not expecting that both would end up being the opposite.

For the first one, everything seemed okay and I made sure to attend any meetings we would have. But going into the next quarter (yes, we used quarters rather than semesters), there had been very little updates and movement, and I was worried that the project was delayed. At the last minute, I was invited to another meeting that I attended but there were some major changes: because of the long delays many cast and crew members left the project, the result ended up being quite different, and I had to organize and match the footage myself due to the lack of an assistant editor. I tried my best to communicate with the director of the project as I made cuts, but she was often slow to respond, and so we ended up not submitting the project for the showcase due to dissatisfaction with the cut, though I was still able to use the cuts to complete my senior thesis requirement for graduation.

The second project, however, was a nightmare. At first, everything seemed okay; I attended team/crew meetings regularly, and even helped to fundraise for the project. But after it took a while after shooting to receive the footage and audio, I once again had to manually make proxies and match audio and footage due to no assistant editor being attached. However, despite my best efforts to make good cuts to show both the director and my professor, things took a turn for the worst when my director complained that I “don’t understand the director’s vision” despite never receiving feedback or direction for the project. After threatening to remove me from my position as editor, my professor intervened. Thankfully, I was able to work on another cut, using feedback from my director and class. However, my director’s communication continued to be delayed or cease altogether. Then, one day, after returning home from an event dinner with Special Operations Warrior Foundation, I was informed by the producer I had been removed from my editor position for not “understanding the director’s vision.” 

The entire ordeal caused me to doubt myself as to whether I was a good editor at all, making me feel like I was a failure despite my best efforts. That night, I sent a long email to my professor describing what happened, the mistreatment and my feelings of incompetence and, most importantly, whether I would be able to graduate. My professor replied back that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, and that she would confer with the department chairs on next steps. My family and friends were also there to comfort me as well.

In the end, my professor allowed me to continue to work on my own cut of the project for senior thesis purposes under my own direction. Without interference and lack of communication from the director, I was able to incorporate the feedback I received from my peers and prof more easily, and even expressed gratitude that all their feedback was valid and helpful for creating an effective cut. In the end, my prof believed that the director and producer of the project have truly done a disservice to me as an editor, and I couldn’t have been more thankful for my professor helping me to navigate these difficult circumstances.

Even after I graduated from SCAD, those events have had a significant impact on my life and my career as a filmmaker. When I described the events to Jacob and showed him the final cut of the project, he praised me for pushing through with resilience and being honest that serving as an editor on a project can be more difficult and unpredictable than things seem. Out of the many projects I worked on at Poor Bear Stories, I’m thankful for not having to reencounter the same issues I had with the senior projects. We make sure to regularly communicate with each other and the client on the vision for the projects, and most importantly, teamwork is a value that makes up the core of what makes the stories we tell possible.

Overall, the filmmaking world is quite a journey to be in, but nonetheless, filmmaking is a team process that requires communication, active participation, and the ability of everyone in the project to work together. If there is no connection and no proper team leader, the production ends up fractured, and the result won’t go as hoped.

And with that, this Movie Minute shall come to a close. Wishing you all the best, and see y’all in 2. -Madeline

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