People end up in editing in a lot of different ways. Some fall into it when they try directing. Others discover it later. For me, it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do.

I was blogging before it was called blogging, as far as I can tell. My first post that I can find was on DeadJournal on February 16, 2002. I’m glad I journaled online as mundane as most of my posts are, because it’s kind of interesting to see my evolution. I was talking about DeadJournal with a friend earlier and happened to open up my old journal, and found a funny entry near the top (I’m 15 when I wrote this and I had been messing about with the camera for about a year):

April 8, 2002: I’m bloody frustrated because I can’t get my camera to capture..all the drivers are installed, everything is connected right, but it won’t WORK! WORK CAMERA WORK!

If you only knew what was ahead, self.

However, this is my favorite blog entry. I remember this day and this realization vividly – much more vividly than the wording lets on. The realization happened at about 5AM after my electricity had gone out and left me in the dark, snapping me out of my first ever editing coma. I’m 16 here.

July 21, 2003[Note: I had come up with a short film concept when I woke up and went to my friend’s house to shoot it.] It took us 3 hours to film it and then it took me 9 hours to edit it. 9 hours in a row baby. I am so good. It shouldn’t have taken that long, but I’m trying to learn adobe premiere. and also, trying to find music really blew. It didn’t seem like nearly 10 hours, not at all. I think a career as an editor is definitely an option for me. It would have been up this morning, but at 5 AM a storm came in and knocked the electricity out.

I downplayed this experience a lot in this entry. I know it was the turning point for me because I can remember every detail from that night after the power went out. And those sort of details don’t get burned in your brain permanently unless they mean something.

Now it’s ten years since that point and 10 hours of editing still doesn’t feel like 10 hours.