A Newbie's Look at EditFest LA
Hillary Lewis February 29, 2024
0 Comments
Originally published on August 17, 2017
Presented by Blue Collar Post Collective and Professional Development Accessibility Program
Inside the auspicious event and a weekend with BCPC
Editor's Note: The Blue Collar Post Collective is a 501c3 non-profit organization that seeks to support emerging talent in all areas of post production. BCPC does this through free meet-ups and events, and a financial aid program called the Professional Development Accessibility Program (PDAP). Applications were accepted from individuals meeting income and employment requirements to provide one member flight, accommodation, and a ticket to EditFest LA. A BCPC committee chose Hillary Lewis, a short-form editor three years into her career in Indianapolis, to receive this aid in order to open up geographically limited opportunities to those who would not be able to take part in them otherwise.
Oh. my. God. They picked me .Holy crap! They PICKED me!! I couldn't believe it. Sitting there staring at the email a thousand thoughts went through my head. I pictured myself amongst legendary editors in a beautiful city I've never been to on the Disney Studios lot of all places!!
It was surreal and immediately made me anxious. Could I accept this? Did I deserve it? Could I do this all by myself? The answer, of course, was yes to all the above .how could I say no? So I took a deep breath, spiffied up my website and LinkedIn, and packed my bags.
To be honest, I didn't know what to expect. My worst fear was stepping into, what I had heard to be, the LA lion's den. A room full of competitive, out-of-this-world talented people who had no reason to take me seriously. Who had been exposed to more tech, more content, and more workflows than I had ever been exposed to in Indiana. Being an editor from the midwest with a background in short-form commercial work and no film/TV (scripted or unscripted) experience, I would have nothing in common with that world or so I thought. I admit I fell into one of the biggest misconceptions about LA, that it's a dog-eat-dog world. And while that may be the case in other industries in LA (I have no idea), I'm happy to say my experience with the post-production industry and BCPC was far from it. Let me tell you why.
The Build-Up Even before leaving for LA, Blue Collar Post Collective's team was incredibly accommodating. They scheduled my flight, hotel room, conference ticket (as a guest of the incredible film historian Bobbie O'Steen), and introduced me to an array of people to ensure my trip started out on the right foot. Right away I knew their team was extremely organized and passionate about their mission, and I would be well taken care of.
I arrived at Bob Hope airport early on Friday morning and walked out of the plane onto the tarmac like a celebrity my Snapchat was lit. (Exiting a plane without a gangway isn't a common occurrence where I've flown.)
I arrived at Portofino Inn in Burbank shortly after landing, and from there, on the recommendation of Kylee Pena (BCPC's President and my point of contact in LA), I immediately walked over to Frank's Coffee Shop (attached to the lobby of the Inn). Frank's is a classic American diner and has been featured in several movies/TV shows in the past. Larry Crowne, Parks and Rec, CSI, etc. Nothing overly special about the establishment itself besides the cinematic history but if you're a local in LA it's worth the stop-in! Great classic breakfast, good classic coffee.
Shadowing After my historical breakfast I headed down to Hollywood for a day full of shadowing, graciously scheduled for me by Kylee Pena.
Viacom was my first stop shadowing Assistant Editor Noah Diamond doing a ton of digital and episodic content for Spike TV and Comedy Central. Viacom also owns MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, BET, CMT, etc., and had recently moved to their current location in January. The facility was modern and tech-savvy, with motorized desks and a plethora of editing bays.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning their workflow for social media and digital content. From shooting certain content in-house as horizontal AND vertical 4K video to re-purposing all content for every social media platform's dimensions (9:16 Snapchat, 16:9 Youtube, 1:1 Instagram etc.) This workflow resonated the most with me because of similarities that are used in my current job while creating short-form video. I enjoyed seeing Viacom taking their workflows to the next level!
I then took a short trek to shadow Kylee, Workflow Supervisor at The SIM Group, Bling Digital being her place of work and one of the MANY divisions under the SIM Group umbrella (I couldn't name them all if I tried ).
I was given short tours in the production/camera rental department, workflow dailies department, and offline/online editing departments. The building workflow was very efficient. You could try out cameras and equipment downstairs in the rental department, set up a test shot, send your test footage upstairs to the editing department, play with stylizing and color until your shots looked just right, and then take your final choice equipment out to shoot. I was pleased to meet both offline, online, and workflow dailies editors, and got a taste of each of their jobs as well.
I consider myself lucky to be exposed to both companies in the short time I was there, and was encouraged by how much more I understood than I originally thought I would. Coming from a job where the editors are expected to be a complete one-man-band, we ingest, we cut, we color, we create graphics, we add effects, we export deliverables.
Comparatively LA seems to thrive on having one specific set of skills at an expert level. It was refreshing to see you don't have to execu
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
27/03/2026
Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Sage Alerting Systems (SAS), in cooperation wit...
27/03/2026
Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway Brian and Dayna Lee BM '13 met and fell in love at Berklee, and now their production companys first Broadway debut i...
26/03/2026
Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...
26/03/2026
SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...
26/03/2026
LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100).
The C-Ban...
26/03/2026
The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...
26/03/2026
The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...
26/03/2026
Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...
26/03/2026
FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...
26/03/2026
CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...
26/03/2026
Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...
26/03/2026
Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...
26/03/2026
DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...
26/03/2026
Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...
26/03/2026
Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...
26/03/2026
Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...
26/03/2026
Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month
Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...
26/03/2026
Friday 27 March
Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...
26/03/2026
Includes four separate instruments
Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...
26/03/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...
26/03/2026
By Matt Klein
Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...
26/03/2026
Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
New graphical configuration tool and...
26/03/2026
Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton March 26, 2026
0 Comments
Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/03/2026
Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...
26/03/2026
2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton March 25, 2026
0 Comments
DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...
26/03/2026
Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...
26/03/2026
Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...
26/03/2026
Thursday 26 March 2026
Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...
26/03/2026
Wuppertal March 26, 2026
CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...
26/03/2026
Back to All News
The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...
26/03/2026
Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...
26/03/2026
Open the report
Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...
26/03/2026
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
A Newbie's Look at EditFest LA 
