Editing Personal Statement

When I was in fifth grade, my school had a media arts class. Since that day, I have been interested in editing. However, once I reached high school, there was no comprehensive film class. To compensate, I would try to make as many film projects for assignments as possible. If that was not a possibility, I seeked my own opportunities to create videos. I have created promotional videos for a local theatre, a couple short documentaries, and some comedy sketches. But most of these projects have been solo endeavors. Not only has that limited what I have been able to create, but I also knew I was not gaining a realistic perspective of what working in film was like.

When looking for the right school, I knew I wanted a few things. First,

Columbia has allowed me to sit down in front of a computer right away, doing the things I like to do. But they allowed me to pursue my passion while also allowing me to explore other aspects of filmmaking. For example, I’m learning a lot about sound design and the importance of color in film. Columbia has provided me the opportunity to edit with AVID and Adobe Premiere, and work as a volunteer on set for Frequency TV. It’s clear to me that the opportunities Columbia offers will be crucial for my success, so I hope to take advantage of their Semester in L.A. program and making connections through friends and great professors. But most importantly, not only am I learning a lot about the collaborative process, I’ve realized how much I still have to

As part of my Cinema Foundation classes, I was assigned a group to create a silent fictional short film. I was really excited to finally edit a short film created in a class. Despite having edited many projects, this was the first time I have edited a silent film. The assignment really helped emphasize several concepts we learned in class, such as the importance of the eyes in editing. But the lack of communication between the group was clear from the very first day. No ideas were pitched during week one, our roles for the project were not even decided until week two, and I had a hard time contacting my group through email. I ended up writing the script for the project without planning to, which ended up being a fairly educational experience by itself. But I was afraid nothing would get done until it was too late. After a brief meeting with our group and a discussion with our teacher, we were finally able to get on the same page. Overall, while the experience was a little rough at first, it was an extremely educational one. The importance of teamwork really shined through with this assignment, and the process from beginning to end gave me a better understanding of the amount of effort every team member contributes to a