Leanne Belgiorno - Editor
Job title - Commercial Editor
Experience - 10+ years
“Be adaptable. I always tell editors, you won’t always love the content that you are working on. If you love editing, you will grow to love whatever the subject matter is.”
Tell us about your job role and the kinds of projects you work on;
I’m a video editor at The Mill and work with a variety of clients including Starbucks, Avocado Mattress, Mac, Cigna, Cartier, and many more. I help put together mood edits and storyboards for pitches/concept visualization and edit footage according to treatments and creative direction.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
While I feel like every day is truly different, a typical day when starting a project consists of me gathering and loading footage and notes from the shoot (I love organizing footage) and putting together initial edits based on boards, the treatment, or whatever direction I see in my head. Over the course of time, I will have shared edits with the director and clients for feedback. We usually go through a few rounds of feedback using calls or emails then eventually the edit is locked and I prep my timeline for color grade and 2D compositing.
How did your career in post-production begin?
Growing up, my sister and I would always use my dad's VHS video camera so I guess I always had it in me. Then my high school offered a TV production class. I remember walking to a shoot one day in 9th grade deciding that this is what I wanted to do for my career. I grew to like editing more throughout high school and was ready to take the plunge when I started college. I completed internships with the Antiques Roadshow at WGBH and a closed-circuit TV studio at a retirement home, then was hired as an editor for fishing shows that aired on broadcast television. I learned a great deal there but then moved onto being the Senior Editor at a weekly TV show in Boston. Both of these jobs paved the way for me to move to NYC where I have worked at places like Vox Media, Left/Right, and now, The Mill.
Tell us about a career highlight;
My favorite part about my career is that every day is a new and interesting task. When I look around and see the talented people that I am surrounded with, I am inspired and honored to be able to collaborate with them (and damn well thankful I don't sit in a cubicle working on spreadsheets every day haha). It's rewarding to work on campaigns such as Avocado Mattress and the AT&T "It Can Wait" campaign that send impactful messages.
Which women in post do you admire?
All of them! Specifically my amazing colleagues, current and previous. My dear friends Charlotte Carr and Rachel Greco are creative editors that I admire for their out-of-the-box thinking and I always aim to take a page out of their book.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
Be adaptable. I always tell editors, you won't always love the content that you are working on. If you love editing, you will grow to love whatever the subject matter is. As previously mentioned, my first job was editing fishing shows for a sports network. I didn't have much interest in or know anything about fishing but I took the first place that would hire me. It ended up being one of my favorite jobs. I learned so much about how to craft a story from scratch and my experience from there opened so many doors. And of course, the cliche piece of advice but will always be true, don't forget to be your own advocate.