I'm A Big Girl Now!

For the first time ever, I edited my own reel. Boy, was it thrilling.

I’d been lucky in the past to have someone make and edit my reel whenever I pleased (It’s called having a boyfriend who went to film school.)

Well, when the boyfriend is no more and you don’t want to pay someone to do it because you know you’re perfectly capable of doing it, what do you do?

You spend your entire Friday night learning to edit your own reel.

 

It involved a lot of patience. I had to google a software program that would transfer the DVD to an Mp4 format. Had to wait for that to download, then read the instructions, then sit there and decide which scene to use... Many a potato chip was consumed during this time.

Then when I went back and re-watched my old reel, I realized there were all of these small errors that I had never spoken up about (probably because I was getting a free service and didn’t want to pester.)

But now that I was updating it, I could go back and fix all the mistakes I saw before!

I realized that editing is all about timing and space. Each video clip needed a breath afterwards, so the viewer could process what they saw. Clean and crisp. Such an art to editing. I see why it has a category in the Academy Awards. 

I was really proud of myself afterwards. I had learned a new skill all by myself. Now onto learning Photoshop. Slowly but surely. . .

-- Dominique | @domtoney

 

Comments

[Kim]

MANY A POTATO CHIP WAS CONSUMED DURING THIS TIME.

Love the reel, Dom!

[Dominique]

Haha thanks Kim!

[Jesse]

I did the last edit on my reel. It really is, as you say, an awesome accomplishment. Those of us who have done so can do a bizness: "Reel for Actors by Actors."

[Dominique Toney]

Hey Jesse - isn't such an exhilarating feeling when it's done?! And such a valuable tool to have. I wish theatre school taught skills like THAT!

[Luis]

Hey Dominique, Congrats on putting this together yourself! It's such an awesome feeling to accomplish this and editing is actually really fun anyway :-) I watched your reel and I like it but may I suggest changing the order of your clips a bit? The first 30 seconds should be very clear about who's clip it is and yours starts with a scene that could be either person's shot. Your third clip is one that is clearly more about you and I'd go with that one first :-) Anyway just a suggestion from watching it. Great body of work though! Break leg :-)

[Nathan Wellman]

Wow, I've never thought about that either.

[Dominique Toney]

Hi Luis, thanks for the thought. I realize that, but then I do have my headshot as the very first thing you see before pressing play and if you're on my website, you'll know what I look like from the homepage.

But in theory, yes - a good idea to start off with a singular shot!

[Natasha D]

Fantastic reel and article! Good for you for taking the time to learn something new and exploring other parts of the industry!

[Dominique Toney]

Thanks Natasha. So many parts of the industry to learn about! I'd love to learn about cameras and lighting! But like I said, one thing at a a time. I've started dabbling with Photoshop. That one is super important I think!

[Brandi Ford]

Hey Dominique, nice work! I do agree with Louis however, about changing the order of your clips. That 3rd scene is really strong and clearly shows that it's focused on you. While someone coming to your website will know that this is your reel, think about when your agent/manager forwards your reel to a CD- They see so many each day that it's helpful when they can immediately tell who it is they're supposed to be watching. Just food for thought. Nice edit either way!

[Glenn M.]

thank you a lot for sharing with us, Dominique! But i can't play the video, i wonder what the problem is...

[Dominique Toney]

Hey Brandi, I will rearrange the order and see what it looks like. If it turns out well, I'll post it up!

[Dominique Toney]

Hi Glenn, I just tried the video and it played for me. Are you clicking right on the video? You can also go to my website to view it! www.dominiquetoney.com/media