Createasphere: How did you get started in editing? What was your first paid editing gig?

Christine: I began my editing career as an assistant film editor, when digital technologies were emerging and beginning to replace traditional film editing. I worked closely with Iatrou & Morgan Productions learning the craft of editing picture and sound from Ron Morgan and Milly Iatrou, who helped me secure my first paid editing gig (I use the term editing loosely here) as a “digital video assistant” to Eleanor Coppola -- I worked on her documentary “The Making of Rainmaker”.

My first official paid Avid position was on a documentary feature for Frontline, called “Justice for Sale”. I spent several years as an Assistant Editor at Pixar Animation Studios. I left assisting behind to work as an Avid and Final Cut Pro Editor for Electronic Arts and New Line Cinema, on the Lord of the Rings games.

Createasphere: You recently edited Air Racers 3D - how did working in 3D change your editing process?

Christine: Working with 3-D footage taught me to think about how shots work in Z space. Now, even when working on 2-D projects, I not only look for ‘eye trace’ on the X and Y axis, but I think about how my mind and eyes are reacting to depth within the shots, and across cuts. It’s taught me to think and perceive space in a new way, and altered my approach to selecting shots and joining them together, so that the audience hopefully experiences something close to their own natural 3-D perception of space.

Createasphere: As an editor who has worked on promos, TV spots, documentaries and features, do you use the Adobe toolset the same way across different projects?

Christine: I use Adobe tools on just about every project. Even if it's simply to adjust or save a photo or animatic still using Photoshop, it's rare for me to complete a project without touching Adobe products. I think of After Effects as an essential tool, regardless of which editing application I’m working with, and I’m currently using Adobe Media Encoder for final output and transcoding of everything I touch.

Createasphere: 2011 was an interesting year for editors with new tools emerging - what are you looking forward to in 2012?

Christine: The tools and technologies that became ubiquitous in 2011 shifted my editing and post production work into the field. Now, with so many tapeless camera formats and mobile editing workstations capable of power I’d only dreamed of having in a high-end editing suite, I’m getting involved earlier in the production, and even pre-production, phases of film-making. It’s incredibly collaborative, and I'm looking forward to having more on-location experiences in 2012. Also... this goes without saying... I'm really looking forward to the eventual release of Adobe CS 6!

Createasphere: Why did you become a Certified Trainer?

Christine: I believe knowledge should be shared, and that creativity is enhanced when artists get together and geek-out. Several talented and generous people helped me learn my craft, and I want to give some of that back to others. Certified Training forces me to stay current and really learn the software. Plus, I learn TONS from the amazing people I teach and train.

Createasphere: What are the main points you want listeners of the webcast to learn?

Christine: I just want to share with them some of what works for me, so they take what they like and incorporate it into their own post production process. I want to emphasize that I don’t think it’s the tools that make the work good – it’s the time spent making things with those tools that matters. I want attendees to learn a few timesaving tricks that allow them to be more productive when realizing their creative ideas.


Createasphere: Thank you!

To learn more about Christine Steele and watch the webcast for free, visit: www.createasphere.com/webcasts