Each and every DHD Films team member contributes to the success of every project. From business development, to on-set crew, everyone on our team brings something special to our studio. One role that doesn’t get much face time with our clients is a video editor. Editors take all of the footage that is captured by our production team and weave it together to create video magic. We sat down with DHD Films editor, Sean Miller, to learn about what goes into the making of an editor.
DHD Films: What made you interested in becoming a video editor?
Sean Miller: Sundays in my household were movie marathon days of the classics – usually anything by George Lucas or Steven Spielberg – which is where my love for film, and especially foley artists, developed. While in an audio engineering class at the University of North Texas, my professor assigned us to musically score and design all the sound for a series of commercials and sections of cartoons. The only thing I remember was disappearing into those edits for hours, overwhelmed by creative wonderment. I decided to pursue film and editing for the rest of college and graduated with a focus in post-production while subsequently obtaining my AVID certification.
DHD Films: You’ve been working as an editor since graduating from college. How has your work changed since you started?
Sean Miller: I feel that I’ve been perpetually challenged to adapt to the needs of storytelling. Between the evolving norms and styles of social media, or the completely remote work situation during the pandemic, I’m constantly having to stay on my toes as trends re-structure the ever-changing landscape of content creation.
DHD Films: What’s something that inspires your work?
Sean Miller: First and foremost, I always utilize the three-act story structure in order to build the foundation of a piece. Secondly, I love to heavily reference a movie or piece of content in order to drive the motifs, graphical design, and color grading of a video. I find that referencing a work of cinematic prowess translates well into elevating a piece from just okay to great.
DHD Films: You do a lot of work with high school and college students through the DHD University program. Do you have any tips for aspiring editors?
Sean Miller: My advice for editors is to never stop experimenting and never fear the footage. Some students and younger editors I’ve worked with can be intimidated or insecure about the assets they have available – too much footage, too little footage, etc. Just know that anything’s possible and, contrary to popular belief, there are some things that can be fixed in post.
DHD Films: Here’s the controversial question: what’s your go-to editing system?
Sean Miller: Although we use Adobe Premiere at DHD Films, my heart will always lie within AVID Media Composer. But as long as I’m not editing on a laptop, or photos on Instagram, I’m happy.
Sean continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible with video every day. With the creativity and technical skills to tackle any challenge, Sean is truly a boon to the DHD Films studio. Are you interested in what Sean or any of our other editors can do for your project? Contact us, and find out how we can take your project to the next level.