Meet Ted Beck

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ted Beck. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Ted with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

A big portion of my work ethic comes from rowing, something my parents were relieved I enjoyed. They’d signed me up for plenty of ball sports when I was little, but I never stuck with any.

Rowing hit differently. Since the sport relies so little on strategy and coordination, it was much simpler for me to convert raw effort into improvement. Whatever I put in, I got out, and once I’d realized those gains, it only motivated me to put in more.

My boat mates did that, too. I’d guess most athletes have experienced — or at least witnessed — the deep shame associated with letting your team down, be it arriving late to practice or not giving your all in competition. When you’re in a position where others rely on you — others you care about — you’re more willing to do hard things, like waking up before dawn and training past exhaustion. A couple years in that mindset and tenacity becomes second nature.

And though I’ve since redirected my work ethic to film, the incentives are virtually the same. I still enjoy those daily rewards of improving my craft and I’m as mindful of supporting the film as I was my boat mates. Given the amount of time and effort a production crew risks just to tell a story, I think giving them anything less than my best would be disappointing.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Depending on the gig, I’m either an editor or an assistant editor. An editor pieces together footage in an order and rhythm that maximizes a story’s immersion and emotion. An assistant editor provides technical support for that, like organizing and maintaining assets so the editor can navigate the project. I’ve been an assistant editor for TV shows and features and an editor for ads, music videos, and short films — one of which, Neither Donkey Nor Horse, recently won a Student Academy Award and is now in its campaign for Best Live Action Short at the 97th Academy Awards.

I didn’t understand the power of editing until I had my first hands-on experience with it. I was editing a scene where the script called for two characters to feel a deep attraction to one another. When I played back my first pass, I realized I’d accidentally made the characters repulsed by one another — and a swap of a couple takes was all it took to achieve the original goal. Same script, same footage, yet different cuts could yield polar opposite stories. That’s when I realized how malleable a film’s story can be just with editing. I couldn’t get enough.

Assistant editing can also be exciting — if you’re a bit of a techie like me. An edit project with a clean, intuitive folder structure is like a well designed supermarket. You can find everything on your list with zero guidance. I’m jazzed up just writing about it — since most edit projects I’ve seen have atrocious organization. They’re like the supermarkets that have you wondering why the Trix are next to Drain-O.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

I’m still getting to where I want to be, but I think what’s kept me on an even keel has been passion, reliability, and receptiveness.

Being passionate is almost a requisite for working in this industry, as there are much more lucrative ways to make a living. Passion is what keeps you going, makes you come back, and motivates you to turn “good enough” into something beautiful.

Being reliable is one of the best ways to fortify your network — and network is everything here. If you’re the person who can always deliver on time — or is at least communicate when you can’t — your name will get around and people will want you on their projects.

Being receptive to feedback can only strengthen your craft. Some artists think this means sacrificing your vision to cater to the masses. But feedback isn’t to see if the audience got what they wanted from your story. It’s to see if they got what you wanted to give them — and if not, what you need to adjust to make it so.

Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?

I see merits to both, but I’d suggest being more well rounded. As someone who has a passion for filmmaking and a background in engineering, the latter has always been quite useful. Even if I were the best at editing, I can’t control the job market. So if business is slow, it’s nice to be able to step aside in the interim and open doors in another industry.

I’d also suggest being well rounded within your industry, as capability in another role might enhance your abilities in your primary one. For example, while I have no aspirations to make a career of it, I do like writing in my downtime. It strengthens my understanding of story, gives me a different perspective on filmmaking, and sharpens my communication skills, which are paramount when collaborating — especially in the cutting room.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ted-beck.com