I’ve always enjoyed editing. I’ll never forget using Steenbeck flatbed editors during a summer program before my senior year of high school with the New York Film Academy on UCLA’s campus in 1999.
Cutting your own reel comes with its share of challenges and frustrations, but over the last few weeks I got into a rhythm—creating four new reels and updating two existing ones.
Billing changes at Premium Beat partially motivated me to get them done quickly. When I changed the song for my reel two years ago, they sold tracks individually (I paid $49). When I recently revisited their site, I learned they’ve moved to a subscription model. To my delight, I discovered I could download a wide range of songs—and the licenses remain intact after canceling.
While I recognize this shift isn’t great for the artists on the platform, it’s undeniably helpful for filmmakers. Having access to stems makes it incredibly easy to tailor a track. I can’t imagine cutting a reel any other way.
A few months ago, I considered building a documentary reel around David Crosby describing the formation of Crosby, Stills & Nash, cutting into Suite: Judy Blue Eyes. After testing it, I ultimately leaned toward using licensed music that I could safely post on Vimeo and social platforms without worrying about flags or takedowns.
I’d love to hear your feedback on any of them.