Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Bryan Ricke & Melissa Vitello. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Bryan Ricke & Melissa Vitello, first a big thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and insights with us today. I’m sure many of our readers will benefit from your wisdom, and one of the areas where we think your insight might be most helpful is related to imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is holding so many people back from reaching their true and highest potential and so we’d love to hear about your journey and how you overcame imposter syndrome.
We’ve both overcome our imposter syndrome by doing the thing and putting in the hours so that we are confident in our process and the final outcome of our work. It’s also important to remember every part of the filmmaking process is a group effort and that we don’t personally need to be an expert in all things. In the post-production world, Bryan’s better at sound and getting super picky with cuts, Melissa’s better at translating the client’s vision, timeline, and budget into reality and bringing their film across the finish line. For other parts of our work, we lean on our friends and network of post production professionals and filmmakers.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
We own Looking Glass Post Production (www.lookingglasspostproduction.com) and love working with independent filmmakers who are ready to hand off their project after finally getting production completed. As filmmakers ourselves, we know how difficult it is to write, develop, and shoot the film and how valuable it is to be able to hand that off to trusted and talented creative professionals who can share the load and carry it for little while.
Every client and every film is different, so we like to work one-on-one and see what the project needs. Some already have an editor, and need help taking their sound mix to the next level, others need help sourcing vfx, or organizing dozens of vfx shots from several vendors, others use us as a one-stop shop for everything from syncing footage, editing, revisions, sound design, foley, color grading, vfx, and final deliverables for their distributors.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Patience is very important in editing. It’s putting together a massive jigsaw puzzle. It can be very rewarding, but at times it’s incredibly tedious!
Communication is also critically important. We’re here to serve the filmmaker’s vision of the project, so it’s important for us to listen and to ask follow up questions to make sure we’re on the same page – their page.
Technical skill with editing software, audio software, codecs, color spaces, and deliverables is of course part of the job. Also, learning to be even more picky has been an important lesson. Even when we feel it’s perfect, it’s best to come back to it with fresh eyes and ears and go through that revision one more time.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Write it down and stay organized!
I always loved the scene in Harry Potter where Dumbledore used a Pensieve to store his memories, as if all of the knowledge and responsibilities in his life would cause his brain to collapse if they were all included at once. I definitely identified with that scene and through the use of spreadsheets, Trello, emails, calendars, and good old-fashioned post-it notes, we’re able to stay organized and free up our limited brain power on the task at hand. It’s hard to worry about mixing the perfect amount of reverb into a sound effect when you’ve also got 30 vfx shots at various stages.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lookingglasspostproduction.com
- Instagram: @lg_postproduction
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lookingglasspostproduction
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-vitello-64012537/
