Lexi Hiland - Commercial and Film Editor
Job title - Editor
Experience - 10+ years
“You will fall in love with the feeling of presenting a project to a client who is happy with your work. Once you do that a couple times, just keep doing it and then do it again. And again. And keep challenging and shaping your edits until you find your own unique style and voice. ”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
Since I’ve started my career, I’ve been very fortunate to work with a wide array of clients and subjects. They range from athletes, to music, to trailers, to documentary subjects, social media content and short & long form narrative pieces. My job is to take the footage from the production and splice everything together. I use a combination of mixed media and really focus on how sound and image work together. Building out SFX tracks and working on music composition within the edit has been vital to my creative process as an editor.
What does an average day look like in your post production working world?
Once I'm up and running I typically sift through e-mails and tackle any outstanding work. If I'm booked on a project for a set number of days, I'll usually hear from a client or producer early in the AM with notes/revisions to work on. I typically break up my day in between edits. I'll take a walk, bike ride, call a friend, work out, or get some groceries and return to my desk hopefully with some new way to tackle the project. I also really enjoy the business side of commercial and narrative filmmaking - negotiating work, marketing, selling projects, meeting new people in the industry - so I’ll usually read up on other aspects of filmmaking and art that I find interesting. I’m currently really fascinated by AI in the filmmaking community, so I’ll typically tinker around with new AI tools in my free time.
Technically speaking I have 1 wide curved horizontal monitor, 1 vertical monitor, one desktop monitor and an iPad + studio speakers. A lot takes up my desk, but I love my set up. It took me a long time to find what works for me & it's always evolving.
How did your career in post production begin?
I studied film as an interdisciplinary degree in Liberal Arts at Purdue University. Post college I worked at an agency as a jr. producer., did freelance for a few years and then in 2019 I got my first full-time editor role at a post house where I was able to work on high level client projects that really launched me into the projects I cut today. I’m a big proponent of a mentor/mentee relationships and have been lucky enough to have mentors throughout my whole career that guided me along the way. Once I knew the editor role combined all my favorite things (music arrangement, sound design, working with beautiful imagery, story shaping and technical computer skills) I was able to dedicate most of my time to that one aspect of filmmaking. It’s been a long and windy road, but I always knew I would be involved in the arts in some way. I just love the art of film.
What has been your career highlight?
I’m really proud of a commercial I edited for Cadillac that was played during the 2020 Oscars ceremony which featured Regina King and her continued rise as an actress. Watching that live with people on my team (Outpost editorial) was incredible. Another highlight was going back to Colombia where I was born to film the story of my adoption. I created a short film when I was 23 after raising money via Kickstarter to travel back to where I was born with a small crew and that launched me into the world of filmmaking. I still have plans to finish a full documentary on that story one day.
Who are your role models in post?
My biggest inspiration is Jennifer Lame who cut Oppenheimer, Marriage Story, Hereditary, Manchester By The Sea, Francis Ha., to name a few. Her work as an editor is truly so fun to watch and learn from. Once I discovered she was behind those films, I really started to pay attention to all of her work. I also really enjoy Michael Kahn’s work (Steven Spielberg’s main editor). I think the director/editor duo is really interesting so I like to look up how those relationships work and see if I can model that on my side.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start a career in post?
Start learning what aspect of post you love and then start tinkering around with the programs used to do the role you want. Go be on set, ask questions, find mentors, and get out and meet people who are doing the work you want to be doing. You have access to hundreds of YouTube videos to learn about your craft, so learn to hone in the skills you need to improve upon. Get to know both the technical and creative side of editing and become proficient in both as much as you can. You will fall in love with the feeling of presenting a project to a client who is happy with your work. Once you do that a couple times, just keep doing it and then do it again. And again. And keep challenging and shaping your edits until you find your own unique style and voice.