Online Video Editor
I feel like it’s only appropriate to begin this with a warning: I am not a writer. I hardly even consider myself a reader. I do not keep up with current events, and I consider the nightly news a logical substitute for warm milk and counting sheep. So considering I have absolutely no business writing this, why am I?
Because despite my complete lack of interest in journalism, I contribute to Ball Bearings quite a bit. Well, maybe “quite a bit” isn’t the right way to put it. I do more than the guy who sits in the back and never says anything. Yeah, I definitely do more than him. Why does he even come to the meetings anyway?
I am the Video Editor for Ball Bearing Magazine. That means that while I have no interest in news or current events, I bring a level of expertise to a field that otherwise would be lacking.
It also means that in a room full of journalist, I just don’t belong.
While I have never been interested in news, I have worked mainly in documentaries. It’s a wonderful medium, and I oddly really enjoy doing it. The process is long (at least if you’re doing it correctly). You often go long periods of time between projects, and you don’t have the same level of creative freedom that you do other fields.
That’s exactly why I was moving to fiction-film making. It was in the middle of this venture that I decided to interview for the position at Ball Bearings. It felt like a good opportunity to create content on a regular basis, and a nice opportunity to diversify my portfolio.
I don’t remember much about the interview, but for some reason one part sticks out in particular. I explained that where my background was, but that I was trying to move more towards short films. The online editor at the time smiled and replied, “Oh that’s good, because our content is usually only a couple of minutes.” I still don’t know if she knew what I was talking about.
Obviously I ended up getting the position, which has ended up being a surprisingly fun experience.
I get the opportunity to create content I would have otherwise never thought of. I had the opportunity to recruit and train our video department. I am in charge of quality control for the content we produce. I have grown as a filmmaker and as a professional.
This is a position that I take very seriously. No, I do not fit in with a room full of journalist. I have a different set of skills and perspectives, but that’s exactly why I should be there.
Neil Hausey,
Online Video Editor
