Long-time Editor, First-time Director
Jon trying to figure out how to get his Director’s cameo.
I’m Jon, an editor here at 3angrymen. This year, for the first time, I’m directing a short doc. How did that happen? Well, for starters, I discovered that my sister’s good friend Kayleigh is a wigmaker.
As in, she makes wigs. Makes wigs. That is her job, to make wigs - incredible.
As you can probably tell, I was instantly and utterly fascinated.
But even more than that, I think I was ready to stretch my legs a little, to give this directing thing that everyone goes on about a bit of a go.
I love being an editor. I love getting to work with the creative raw materials a director gives me, to fashion them into a beautiful finished product. But I’d always liked the idea of having the vision that produced those raw materials in the first place - to create my own film and guide its evolution from start to finish.
So when I happened upon not one but two people who make wigs, a subject I was already drawn to, I took it as a sign that I should take the reins and make this film happen with myself directing.
No doubt about it, I immediately found directing a much more vulnerable process. Just from proposing the idea for the film in the first place and putting myself forward to direct, I felt like I was really going out on a limb. Working on pre rather than post-production really for the first time, I suddenly felt the pressure of telling a story without a safety net. In a shoot, if you don’t get it right and you don’t capture what you need, that might well be it. No shutting down the edit suite for the evening and hoping for a brighter day tomorrow.
Jon informs Joe and Georgia of his plans for worldwide directing domination.
And so I worked hard to plan out everything. Researching, coming up with a broad structure, asking questions, brainstorming, writing questions and trying to think of the shots that might work with the answers that might come out.
In hindsight, I think I over-planned. I was so set on capturing the moments I had already planned, I was in danger of having tunnel vision on the shoot. At certain points this meant I couldn’t see those extra shots I could have grabbed, those extra questions I could have asked. Next time around I will leave at least a little more room for creating on the spur of the moment.
But thankfully I had a team around me who helped make sure we still made the most of our shoot days.
Being a first-time director, again, I felt the pressure when getting crew on board. Thankfully, Georgia, a producer who I work with daily at 3angrymen, bought into both the story and my directing it, immediately. She was so helpful in the early stages, guiding me, throwing references at me, always ready to hear an idea, tell me it was rubbish and then reassure me that the project was on track. She also helped me convince our Director of Photography, Joe Gainsborough, to come on board.
Joe is, frankly, brilliant. We’d shared his work around the team before (check this out) and I couldn’t quite believe he was up for meeting me, let alone working alongside a first-time director. But he was totally undaunted by the prospect and helped settle my nerves so much. I think it really helped that I didn’t feel like I had to pretend I knew it all - he listened to what I was trying to capture, bounced ideas around and ultimately I knew I could trust him to get on with it and not worry if I had a new thought or idea to share.
A Black Magic and a Bolex, what more could you possibly want?
Back in my usual territory, in the office with the rushes, I suddenly found myself with a challenge I’d not really considered - how was I going to find directing another editor?
Giving up your specific area of expertise to someone on a project you love is definitely a challenge - not least making sure to avoid grabbing the mouse to make a few quick adjustments myself (to all directors I’ve ever worked with - I feel your frustration now!). It’s made me really reassess what I value in that relationship with a director, what I crave when I’m editing.
The main thing has been articulating what I’m hoping to make, what I want the film to do, as clearly as possible, at the same time as being open to suggestions. It’s not easy but thankfully, I’ve sat next to Becca (another 3angrymen editor) for a little while now, so we’ve already had the chance to forge a relationship, to develop a short-hand language for what we do and don’t like. I just keep reminding myself: I’m a director, not a dictator and ultimately that’s what I’d want as an editor too.
That’s all for now, look out for updates as the project moves along.