Amanda Rivera is an editor at Avocados & Coconuts, a San Francisco-based production and post company. She works on traditional 30-second and 60-second spots, long-form and short-form narratives as well as brand content. “Basically, I’m editing a wide variety of content,” she says, adding, “Our job is to make an edit feel so real that you forget the editor was there in the first place.”
Let’s find out more from Rivera…
What’s your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part of the job is when I get to cut content that’s emotionally charged. Something that has a real message behind it and makes the viewer feel something and, more importantly, think.
Ancestry
What’s your least favorite?
Syncing audio with footage that was never properly slated is my number one least favorite thing about being an editor.
Searching for stock that you know doesn’t exist is a close second.
What is your most productive time of the day?
Mornings! It can be hard to wake up early and start jamming away at an edit, but I personally find those hours to be the best time when I’m trying to solve an issue.
How has the COVID shutdown affected the way your studio has been working? Can you talk about transitioning to a work-from-home workflow?
Luckily, post production is one of those industries that runs perfectly fine in a remote setting. Granted, of course, that your editor, motion graphic designer, colorist or finishing artist has the proper work setup at home.
The only downfall is that details can fall through the cracks when communicating. Communication is key when you’re working from home. If anything, you may need to over-communicate with your producer or your assistant just to make sure the project is going smoothly.
Ancestry
If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
TV writing. If I wasn’t telling stories with moving images, I’d be telling them with words. It’s what I do part time outside of my editing gig.
Why did you choose this path?
It’s something that chose me more than I chose it, but I’m glad it did. After being an assistant editor for a long time, the only viable next step was to become an editor. I thought editing would be a great opportunity for me to really learn how to construct a story. All types of stories. It has helped me immensely in all other facets of my creative endeavors.
Do you put on a different hat when cutting for a specific genre?
Totally. For example, cutting a trailer would require a completely different plan of action versus cutting a 30-minute interview. Every edit calls for a different style, pace, tone and emotion. I usually nag clients for references before cutting so I can get a good sense of what they’re looking for. It’s really all about imitating a specific genre to the best of your ability when cutting something “genre-focused.”
You work on Premiere. Have a favorite plugin?
I’m not big on plug-ins, but Red Giant Universe does come in handy once in a while. If you’re adding quick motion to your clips and don’t want to keyframe every other clip, it’s a pretty good plug-in for that.
Are you often asked to do more than edit?
Yes, but it’s still within the realm of post. If someone asked me to cut and produce, I’d walk out the door and find another gig.
Sometimes I am asked to do conforming and minor compositing clean-up work. Since I started off as a conform assistant a decade ago, I knew exactly how to finish my edits and create masters/final deliverables. However, I did come from an old-school New York post world where everyone’s job was compartmentalized. If you were an editor, you only edited, and if you were a conform artist, you only did conform. Times are changing, and more and more, editors are not only asked, but required to know additional skills (color grading, motion graphics, finishing, compositing, etc). You can’t possibly be an expert in all, but having additional skills is necessary to stay competitive. Editors need to be masters of storytelling first and then be a jack-of-all-trades for everything else.
Can you name some recent projects you have worked on?
I cut one of the most recent episodes of Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man featuring the Petaluma Police Department. I also recently cut a spot for Ancestry.com called Sam’s Story.
What is the project that you are most proud of?
Definitely Uncomfortable Conversations. That episode debuted a couple months after the George Floyd/Breonna Taylor protests started. The entire point of the episode was to spark a real conversation among viewers about police brutality and anti-blackness in America.
Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man: Petaluma
Once the episode was released, I found out the show was being played in several schools across the country. That really opened my eyes to how immensely important the series is. Just by me being in that editor’s seat and putting together that interview, I was able to contribute (in my own way) to change. To me, that was powerful and something I’m very proud of.
Name three pieces of technology you can’t live without.
An Apple TV, a keyboard (I have terrible handwriting) and the internet.
What social media channels do you follow?
I’m actually taking a break from social media, but when I return, I’ll probably check up on the latest astrology forecasts and maybe dip my toe into the TikTok vortex.
Do you listen to music while you work? Care to share your favorite music to work to?
When I’m doing stuff that doesn’t require my full attention, I love listening to Kaytranada, Lykke Li and Azealia Banks.
What do you do to de-stress from it all?
A deep tissue massage. They’re the best!
