Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sir Ken Robinson

I've been a fan of Ken Robinson for some time. I've even heard a talk of his in person. He and his message are such that he could be identified as his own brand. His manner of speaking, his message and his enthusiasm is very recognizable. In the talk, Ken explains how we, as a mostly global society, are trying to mass produce education; and we're failing miserably at it. This sort of TED talk really applies to everyone, no matter the business they're in. What Ken is saying is that future of our children is in jeopardy. This is important because we will need the right workforce to maintain and run our businesses at some point. Also, these people will be our customers, clients and targets of our brands. So, this lesson is two fold. First, it's a lesson about life. Secondly, it's a lesson on branding because Ken does have a certain sense of celebrity, and his brand is at stake whenever he speaks.

Ken comes from the UK where he has been knighted, and is known as a leader in education reformation. He is a very articulate speaker, knows his subject well and is very good at getting people's attention. I invite you to watch this talk, as it's much more than just someone on a stage. This video is animated, illustrating his talk.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

American Cinema Editors (ACE)

The American Cinema Editors (ACE,) which was established in 1950, is an honorary group of professional picture editors. Large components of the group are education and furthering the art and science of editing.

As mentioned above, education is a focus of the group. Two of the programs that they employ are internships and a visiting editors program. The internship program allows for 6 weeks of intense learning. Each intern has the opportunity to learn from and work with panels and ACE members who mentor the intern. This program helps further the causes of education and the ACE itself. They also host an editing competition for students. Winning a contest like this would not only garner a prize, but also more importantly, potentially start a career in editing.

The visiting editors program from ACE connects ACE editors and schools. If a school that teaches editing wants to have come and talk, ACE can arrange it. These ACE editors can do some demonstration, put together a presentation, do Q&A and many other things. This outreach also promotes the association.

This group is prestigious amongst the film community members. If you watch the credits of a feature film or episodic television, you may see member of these types of groups. Have you ever seen ACE, CSA, MPSE, BSC or ASC? These are professional groups present in film and TV.

I’ve been slowly working on getting into this association. It’s a long process and it takes patience. I’ve received my invitation to their annual EDDIE awards, the precursor to the Academy Awards. The awards votes come from the membership of ACE. This group is not a union. The Motion Picture Editors Guild is the group that operates as a union. They likely have some of the same membership, both having different causes and purposes.


http://ace-filmeditors.org/about-2/education/
http://ace-filmeditors.org/about-2/http://ace-filmeditors.org/about-2/ace-intern-program/