Zeb Achonu - Editor
Job title - TV Editor
Experience - 10+ years
“Be confident in what you know, and what you can fake. ”
Tell us about your job role and the kinds of projects you work on;
I'm a freelance editor, working mostly in television, usually cutting obs doc or factual entertainment programmes, lately, it seems, mostly about dogs. I do also cut drama, like EastEnders or short films, so I get a bit of variety. I really enjoy going between documentary and drama and changing up my working pattern.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
If on docs I go through the story I'm working on with the edit producer and check the story diaries to see what the director thought would work, then start going through the rushes. Sometimes planned stories might not come across as well on screen so I'll be looking for other ways to tell the story or for other stories that come through.
On a fast turnaround continuing drama like EastEnders I have to hit the ground running to keep up. So I'll group or sort out my rushes and work with the script and script supervisors notes to cut the scenes, before building up the atmos with music and fx. I mostly work alone until the weeks episodes are assembled and the director comes in to see how their vision has been interpreted. Then we'll work together to craft the best programme we can. I really enjoy seeing how a different perspective or slight tweak can change the mood of a scene.
My days can be very long and quite intense, but as I've gained more experience and because I have 3 young children, I value rest time, so I do set time limits for myself where possible, although hard to stick to when I'm enjoying myself.
What’s been the highlight of your career so far?
I've had a few... being selected for the Women in Film & TV mentoring scheme gave my career a new lease of life, and brought the most amazing women into my life. Also two programmes I worked on won Children’s BAFTAs in the same year - no award for me but I'm proud to know I contributed. But for actual work highlight, I would say cutting EastEnders. After 16 years in the industry, I had forgotten that EE was my original dream job, but after the mentoring scheme, I refocused and went for it. I still have my rose-tinted glasses on whenever I arrive in Elstree at the start of a block, for the first few days at least!
How did your career in post-production begin?
I was one of 8 successful applicants on a BBC Post Production Trainee scheme in 2000. I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go in, I assumed sound because I sing and had always been in bands, but I followed a path to editing. I spent 9 years with the BBC, enjoying flitting between various genres - children's, sport, entertainment, factual - before taking redundancy, going freelance and moving to Paris for a couple of years. On my return to London I continued editing, having to find new clients, unsure of what I really wanted in a changing landscape, where you had to pick your genre and stick to it. While pregnant with my 2nd child in 2016 I was selected for the WFTV Mentoring scheme, and that reignited my passion for my career choice and felt a bit like restarting my career. It was brilliant for my confidence, resetting goals and pointing me in the direction I'm in now.
Which women in post do you admire?
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle. I met her at the 2017 WFTV Awards, when she won the Technicolor Creative Technology Craft Award for Three Girls. It was well deserved and I was fascinated. I met her again, actually shared a table with her at the 2018 Awards, when the fantastic Selina MacArthur (who I also admire greatly) won, and we had a casual chat about motherhood and the job, especially as my daughter was only 4 weeks old at the time. It's wonderful to see women in similar positions to me do so well and encourages me to keep striving.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
Be confident in what you know, and what you can fake. Know your worth and try to stick to it.
Tell us about your favourite pieces of your work;
I really enjoyed working on The Dog Rescuers Africa Special (Channel 5), partly because I have spent a bit of time in Malawi where it was filmed and partly because I really enjoy working for Middlechild Productions. They are such a nice company with a good understanding of work life balance. I also really enjoyed working on, as yet unreleased, French Hip Hop feature doc, "Born in New York, Raised in Paris" with Producer & Director Victoria Thomas. I love hip hop, and have a soft spot for French hip hop, plus it gave me a chance to brush up on my French while listening to the insights of some great artists.