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About
The Film Editor - Janelle Ashley Nielson
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When
cutting a difficult scene, it helps to have a brick
wall nearby |
Welcome
to my site! This page is a little synopsis about what influenced
and inspired me to pursue film editing as a career. My love
for films, TV and computers came in my early childhood years.
At the tender age of 5, my babysitter took me to see "Tommy"
on its premiere night at the local theater. This was the first
"big people" film that I had ever seen, and I will never forget
Tina Turner's head of snakes and the giant pinballs glimmering
in the sun. I became obsessed with knowing what was outside
of the frame/screen that I couldn't see, and how the images
were showing up on the screen. I wanted to know everything
about how movies were made, and I wanted to make them. After
that, going to the movies was always a treat and I always
saved up my allowance to catch at least one movie a week.
I think I saw E.T. a total of 16 times in the theater the
summer it came out. As far as television was concerned, I
was a latch key kid and watched a LOT of TV after school.
Ricardo Montalban, Jaclyn Smith, Carol Brady, Rod Serling;
these were my dutiful babysitters. I was fascinated by film,
and would sit with my View-Master and try to figure out how
each frame was designed and how it created the story on those
little tiny reels. My love for computers began after playing
Pong and other VERY simple games on my dad's Texas Instruments
Computer, and after taking computer programming classes in
summer school. I also was an avid reader and wrote hundreds
of my own plays and stories during elementary school, and
I was determined to become the next famous child writer. Creativity
was a daily activity for me.
I
decided that I wanted to be a Film Editor in high school,
when I stumbled upon my mother's old 8mm video projector and
several of our old family films. I took the reels, "spliced"
them together, made a music mix cassette tape to match the
action, and presented it to my family for Christmas. The following
year, I was babysitting for a sound mixer who happened to
have a tape-to-tape editing system in his house, and I was
allowed to practice editing while I was there. After a few
hours cutting on the system, I knew that I was meant for this
career. I then pursued a degree in Film Studies at the University
of California, Irvine, where I learned the basics of film
language; story, production and theory.
After
college, I moved to Los Angeles where I have since been working
in the Film Industry. Visit my resume page for my credits.
People always ask, "How can you sit in a dark room all alone
for hours on end, watching the same footage over and over
again?" Well, my answer to that is that I LOVE Film Editing.
To be able to create moments between two people that may have
never existed during filming, to bring about emotion or laughter
with the right music, to tell a story that can only be told
with the eyes, these are all things that I love doing on a
daily basis. I sometimes catch myself with a huge grin on
my face or getting teary eyed while cutting a scene, and hours
can pass before I realize what time it is.
If
you want to know more about me, then you're just gonna have
to get to know me! ;) To find out how I became an Editor
and how I got into the editing "biz", click
here .
For
a list of questions and answers sent to Janelle about film
editing, visit
Ask
the Film Editor
Janelle
Ashley Nielson is a Film Editor in the Motion Picture and Television
Industry.
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