Maretha Ilves - Editor
Job title - Editor/ Head of Post
Experience - 5+ years
“Stay open to play. The process of editing often brings along endless options and pathways that lead to more options and pathways and you can’t always foresee what a couple of cutting decisions will take you to. We have to start with a plan, idea and brief but in order to discover something new that wasn’t originally planned or intended we need to allow space for play.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
I’m currently the Head of Post Production at a growing video production company called Eight Engines based in Manchester UK. As an editor I have been fortunate to have worked across a really varied range of projects over seven years - installation, documentary, promo, music video, short film, adverts - frequently focusing on narrative or cause led work. I have created work for Manchester International Festival, Manchester Art Gallery, IWM North, National Rail Museum, Elbow, Bluecoat, Liverpool Biennial & Minority Rights Group amongst others. I am happy that at Eight Engines the variety has continued and expanded my experiences. No month is the same and the work is divided between branded content, marketing & arts/ theatre. So we get to work on some really fun adverts with brand agencies or more serious ones like advocating safe driving for Transport for Greater Manchester, but also create EPKs for TV series for clients like Working Title and Universal International Studios or film and edit live shows for the likes of The Royal Shakespeare Company or the The Old Vic.
What does an average day look like in your post production working world?
My typical day starts with touching base with the rest of the team to share our daily goals and mark priorities. We usually have many projects on the go so unless I am working on a non scripted narrative edit which demands uninterrupted attention in the story phase, my standard day involves jumping between tasks. This can mean reviewing and giving notes on a project I am overseeing, problem solving creative or technical issues, planning ahead, working on various short edits, executing client / director notes or just dealing with the housekeeping and file management of the day to day post production life. We may also have client calls I need to attend. We have a lovely family feel in the office so a healthy amount of banter and ‘getting things off the chest’ sessions can’t be excluded from this list.
How did your career in post production begin?
My career began as an all around filmmaker - camera work, organising kit, sound recording, DiT and directing were all part of it. I was actually on a graphic design course and on a motion graphics pathway within that, we had industry professionals come to teach us modules and bring us all sorts of live briefs. In the second year we had to do a 15 second motion poster for an upcoming theatre production, later that year I did a 15 second ident for Vice (both were film briefs with some effects) and sometime after that, to my utmost surprise as a newbie, I was offered a placement with a film production company SoupCo in Manchester over the summer and I worked with the company many years after that. I still laugh that the 30 seconds got me the job. Of course, in reality, a lot of time, planning and effort went into making those 30 seconds count. I never ever thought of editing as a career option at the beginning. I eventually ended up doing it the most compared to other jobs like camera work, as it just seemed to come naturally to me. Having said that, I’ve always loved storytelling and performance and since I remember I’ve always been fascinated with human behaviour and editing provides a perfect platform for observation. I believe my background in music and performance (singing, classical piano, acting) as well as psychology studies definitely inform my editing practice, and vice versa, having the insight into how sequences are cut together is very useful as an actor. I think acting and editing make a very interesting and unique career combination.
What has been your career highlight?
We can produce all the incredibly cool and fun creative work in the world as artists but not all of it ends up being useful in a way that can influence attitudes, policy making, conventions and mindsets or at least have the potential to. So the projects which give art the layer of service are usually the most rewarding to me but also the most long living ones. I did a short documentary called ‘Section 298’ which unveils the realities of life for religious minorities - the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community under Pakistan's deadliest law. ‘Section 298’ of the Pakistan Penal code (also known as the Blasphemy law) openly allows prosecution, imprisonment and death for those who identify as Ahmadi Muslims and we see the world through the eyes of three persecuted female Ahmadiyya as they recount how they keep their families, community and traditions alive. This was by far the trickiest film I have ever worked on, I was dealing with a vast amount of information and material, harrowing images, some Urdu and the sensitivity of the subject matter meant that I had to approach the whole edit with a very diplomatic mindset to leave some things unsaid or hinted rather than obvious. The directors and I worked closely with the Minority Rights Group and the Pakistani production team (all had to remain anonymous) who decided how far they were willing to go with information. Sometimes I had to re edit sequences only because of a single word or expression that the Ahmadis are not allowed to say. So it was a question of how to tell an important story without telling everything you know, protect the subjects and still make sure the narrative had the necessary impact. The film has been shown at numerous film festivals across the world but I am most proud of its screening in the Houses of Parliament at the Freedom of Religion or Belief Ministerial 2022 in July.
Who are your role models in post?
I’d like to give a shout out to Amy E. Duddleston for her brilliant work on Mare of Easttown who, when called on board as an editor, was asked to restructure what was already cut and do it all during the pandemic. I think she’s done a fantastic job creating or releasing tension between scenes and highlighting the bits of comedy in this otherwise hard hitting narrative and ensuring you’re constantly on the edge of our seat, guessing until the very end. People generally don’t realise how many decisions are being made in the cutting room and that it is essentially the final draft of the script. Much of our job as editors is creating a feeling. We are like conductors of feeling & experience, making all the elements the audience sees, hears and feels when watching a film, play effectively together for every beat of the film. And when it’s done well, you don’t notice it, you’re just immersed. I must say that as a woman in the industry, positively, I haven’t felt held back and I’ve learnt most of what I know through direct experience in the field, growing through the process. At Eight Engines we have a 50/50 policy and I’m glad to say that all the editors are actually currently women.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start a career in post?
For someone just starting out or wanting to become an editor, I’d say, nourish the fundamentals of editing, which in my experience are organisation, understanding, communication and we can’t forget play. Learn to stay organised if it doesn’t come naturally to you - you’re often the only person who has the entire overview of the project files. Starting a project with understanding your brief, the client/director vision and subject matter is pivotal - you should be the most knowledgeable person on the subject matter in the room at the time of cutting something, whether the topic is plaster board production or persecution of religious minorities. This sometimes means taking initiative and putting in that extra time to undertake research. A big part of your job is making sense, translating and interpreting the information that has been given to you and trying to get to the very bottom of what is actually envisioned. Editing can feel very solitary but you’re part of a collaboration - communication is key to keep everyone happy and calm, and the more there are people having a say in the end goal, the greater is the need for communication. Try your hand at different genres and styles - cutting a two minute promo or a 30 minute documentary will expand your skills in different directions. Stay open to play. The process of editing often brings along endless options and pathways that lead to more options and pathways and you can’t always foresee what a couple of cutting decisions will take you to. We have to start with a plan, idea and brief but in order to discover something new that wasn’t originally planned or intended we need to allow space for play.