​The beauty of a busy facility

Ask your average editor if they enjoy being crammed into a shared office with three or four other edits and you’re likely to be met with more than just hesitation.

That seemingly chaotic environment, however, is one I swear by.

Back in 2014, in the early days of Woodcut Media, this setup was frankly one of necessity – little budget meant little office space, so we really had no choice in the matter as the new indie on the block.

As the new junior editor on the team though, I was surrounded by accomplished mentors such as company founder, Matt Blyth, and glancing around from my seat I could see the inner workings of a smorgasbord of projects.

Being a fly on the wall in an environment out of my depth quickly taught me to swim, if you’ll forgive the mixed metaphor, as did having other editors over my shoulder.

Nothing breeds confidence better than a passing “oh that looks cool”; nothing catalyses creative growth like “try adding this”; and nothing troubleshoots technical problems faster than being able to ask a guru without even glancing up from the screen.

Such an environment fast-tracks junior editors into cutting their own hours, and indeed taking control of their own series.

By mid-2016, I was leading the first edit on World’s Most Evil Killers. Two years previous, I’d never even opened After Effects, and here I was, designing the title sequence and graphics style that would still be going strong in its seventh series in 2022.

What feels like a lifetime of progress later, I’m proud to be in the shoes of the wise, seasoned editor, looking after a junior team of my own.

This isn’t about me though, it’s about Woodcut’s brainwave to throw young editors in the deep end with the essential life jacket of constant input from far more experienced peers.

A creative machine greater than the sum of its parts, every suggestion quipped in passing betters every series as a whole, without the necessity for a more long-winded back and forth notes structure. We even have a formal post-production graduate scheme now with Southampton Solent University.

Covid hit hard, of course. While the Woodcut machine kept on going, losing these collaborative surroundings hurt, and coming back to the office last year was truly a catharsis. We’ve all experienced big changes to our working routines in recent times, and as we finally return to our suites there may never be a better time to consider dropping some of the more outdated, arbitrary working conventions in favour of some fresh, progressive systems. Give it a try.

Andrew K Moodie is lead editor at Woodcut Media