Harfun Li - Editor, Comedy
Job title - Offline Editor
Experience - 15+ years
“Receiving The BFE Chris Crookall Award for Breakthrough Editor was such an amazing surprise, and I’m ecstatic that my hard efforts has been acknowledged.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
I'm an Offline Editor who cuts Unscripted comedy or entertainment shows for broadcast clients, such as Channel 4, BBC etc. I'm also now getting into Scripted productions which meant going back to Assisting and working my way up again.
What does an average day look like in your post production working world?
Working in Unscripted and assuming I'm not working from home, I tend to get into my edit a little before anyone (e.g. edit producers or other clients) and that's simply to make sure that everything turns on and works! I've learnt that sometimes the smallest thing can take the longest time to troubleshoot, no matter how insignificant it seems. I don't want a situation where the client is sitting waiting! Normally everything is fine and that just gives me extra time to go through my previous day's edit and do any further touch ups and/or smoothing, especially if I have a viewing in the morning. If there are new rushes, I'll begin to view them, either assembling a timeline or making notes as I go along. I'll also start collaborating with the Edit Producer to craft the story.
Once the foundations of the story has been found, I'll normally be left to finesse - adding B-roll, archive if necessary, picture and sound effects etc. At the same time, my Edit Producer will also script and add Guide voice over into my timeline, and it's important this is spoken at a similar speed/pace to the eventual talent otherwise there may be problems later in the sound mix. Composed music may already exist in a Bin, and sometimes other tracks will come from a Music Library. I always find editing music takes a lot more time to get right, so I will always try to request a day just to finesse these if necessary. If not, then I will always caveat any potential odd sounding edits if someone is viewing! If I'm assisting on a scripted production then I'll normally begin my day syncing, grouping and re-speeding the rushes, preparing the bin for my editor, checking the Script, the camera reports and any other paper work. Plus chasing any missing footage or getting clarification from the Script Supervisor.
Depending on the editor, I will either hand over the scenes one-by-one as I do them, or I'll hand them over in batches, including any notes (e.g. from the Script Supervisor, Director etc) either within the bin (e.g. in a column) or in a email. Again, this depends on how the editor likes to work. As I've spent years developing my own style of working, I find it fascinating knowing the workflow of another editor. Along the way, I'll need to troubleshoot out of sync clips and liaise with the Script Supervisor if any shots need clarifying. The dailies will also be exported and sent out. If the editor wants me to help with anything else, then I could be doing anything from sourcing music/sound effects to tweaking sequences to cutting episode recaps. If I'm turning over then I'll spend the day prepping locked sequences, putting burn ins onto them, exporting AAFs, WAVs, QTs for various vendors. Keeping on top of the paperwork is where this becomes very important, otherwise it's easy to get lost as there's so much to do! I may sometimes be asked to cut something, for example opening titles, re-caps or assemble a scene, which is great!
How did your career in post production begin?
I was an in-house Edit Assistant for companies like the BBC and IMG, and eventually was given an opportunity to become a Junior Editor. However, there was a catch! I was given 2 weeks to train myself up on linear (tape to tape) editing decks, vision mixers and sound desks - and then I would be put into a room with real clients for a job. I was absolutely delighted but incredibly daunted. I must have read through all the manuals! But I also can't give enough thanks to the number of people who gave me their time to help - broadcast engineers, my fellow assistants and other freelance editors who I happened to meet along the way. Maybe I looked confused enough for them to pity help me ha ha!! One editor advised me that if I got stuck in the edit, not to panic, but to pretend to go to the toilet and look something up on my phone or find someone to ask. I think my first client thought there was something wrong with my bladder!! But overall, I think I survived my first 'proper' edit!
What has been your career highlight?
I have found this the most difficult to answer as each highlight has been so important in my career. So apologies for listing not one, but three! The first one was being part of the team who won a Children's BAFTA in 2019 for 'Play Your Pets Rights' in the Best Entertainment category, the next was getting my first scripted editing credit on an episode of Hullraisers (series 2) which I'll forever be grateful to Fable Pictures (@fablepicsuk) for giving me the chance. And also receiving the BFE Chris Crookall Award for Breakthrough Editor this year! Receiving the award was such an amazing surprise, and I'm ecstatic that my hard efforts has been acknowledged. I also felt like I was sharing it with my boyfriend who has put up with last minute cancellations, late nights coming home and other sacrifices but has always understood and supported me so much throughout my career.
Who are your role models in post?
I've always been influenced by Nigel Williams' incredible work which inspired me to follow the path of comedy, and recently he became my mentor which I am absolutely over the moon about! Comedy editing is a difficult beast to handle so I feel extremely lucky. I also admire people who are champions of diversity and inclusion like Christopher C.F. Chow (@drchowman - founder of #BEAMNetwork) and Jasmin John (@_jasminjxo - founder of @blackwomeninpostproduction) who are not only amazing editors in their own right but do so much to help underrepresented voices in post, which is so important for giving new voices and nuanced storylines in the edit. There are also so many amazing female editors and non binary people that I have come to know in recent years - I wish I could name them all - and they have been a pillar of support in my continuing journey.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start a career in post?
I think it's important to look after your mental and physical health which sounds obvious, but burnout is such an easy trap to fall into so it's worth staying conscious about it. The energy and excitement is so great when starting out in the industry that sometimes it's easy to keep going and going, eventually losing sight of simple things like eating healthy food and taking screen breaks. It's the long term goal that you need to keep in mind!