#476 – Where is this going?
There are only 37 days until Christmas.
Where did the year go?
In tumultuous change (or the threat thereof) in consistent new normals and in the ‘new new’.
Anyway, it's a good time to be alive.*
There's been a lot going on around here, too.
I'm still cutting that Doc. We had two (IMHO) excellent recent issues of Cut/daily with a genuinely must-see short documentary on Joe Walker, ACE, and my (I had a good time) conversation with William Goldenberg, ACE.
Plus, Cut/daily launched three new apps into the wild, which you can still check out at a 50% discount with the code: BETABETABETA.
This week, we're putting our feet up with some more worthwhile videos to watch:
- Michael Cioni returns to answer Is this the End of Hollywood?
- Edit Rave is back for another year of free editing training
- Discover what a script supervisor actually does
- Watch a young person discover flatbed editing
I'm rounding them up in this gigantic and regularly updated list of deals, discount codes, and free stuff.
Now is the best time of year to invest for less!
*Apparently, humanity has never had it so good, historically speaking.
Is This The End of Hollywood - The Sequel
Strada CEO and industry prophet, Michael Cioni was back for a follow up talk to his (excellent) initial presentation earlier this year.
Folks, nothing that is happening to our industry right now is because of AI.
If AI is this enormous tsunami that's going to come and annihilate everything, it is still so far out to sea. I question we should be that worried about it right now. We got bigger problems that are here right now.
In Part 2 Michael shared further bracing, data-backed insights on the current state of the Hollywoood film and TV industry and the future-facing strategies for evolving and leveraging the “Hollywood brand”, that audiences know and love.
The first thing we need to recognize is that we need each other. Don’t think of the creator economy and Hollywood as enemies—think about where we can partner.
Each of you has a vocation and a resource, and you need to figure out how to pair that resource with what the creator economy lacks.
For example, we have infrastructure and legacy, while they have audience trust and greater agility; pair those together, and you'll create something new.
If you have cinematic craftsmanship, they have access to fans—pair those together. Or if you understand how to build franchises and scale things with supply chains, remember that they don’t have supply chain licensing, scaling, or merchandise.
These are just a few of the resources we can partner with, and many of you have links to the resources they need.
It's a fantastic talk that will leave you ‘forewarned is forearmed.’
Take This Further
Editing Isn't Dead?
EditRave is a two week series of free events aimed to training and inspiring the editorial community around the world.
The theme of EditRave 2025 is “Learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Sven told me the inspiration for this came from a line from Alvin Toffler:
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Toffler’s work centers on what he called ‘future shock’ — how rapid technological, social, and economic change hits us faster than we can comfortably adapt to.
Sven also said:
“The whole event is designed to celebrate editing and prepare ourselves for 2026, and I predict this industry will start revealing new opportunities none of us saw coming.”
So how do you get to hear from successful editors like Sinners' Michael P. Shawver or BAFTA winning editor Simon Smith.
Sign up for free here and join one (or many) of these sessions:
EditRave 2025 Schedule - All sessions start at 10 am PST for 1-1.5 hours
- Nov 20th — Opening Ceremony
- Nov 22nd — Narrative & Doc Editing: The Future
- Nov 24th — Editing Chernobyl with Simon Smith, ACE
- Nov 25th — AI Tools for Editors with Michael Kammes
- Nov 29th — Breaking into Editing Roundtable
- Nov 30th — Editing Sinners with Michael P. Shawver
- Dec 1st — YouTube: The Future of Editing? with Rachel Kisela
- Dec. 2nd — The Lowdown: Editing TV in 2025 with Patrick Tuck
- Dec. 3rd — Closing Event with Josh Beale, ACE & Misha Tennenbaum