Since quite a while I experiment with the editing-workplace, for reasons of ergonomy and creativity. My current realisations: you don’t need a desk! and: the flexible the better.
Most editing rooms differ hardly from a normal office: a big desk close to a wall, some displays on that desk, and above, on the wall, a big TV-Set, which only can be watched at well from the couch on the opposite wall. Though, our work is not on the wall or on the desk. It’s inbetween: between the pictures, between the computer and us, and, first of all, it’s in the discussions between me an the director/writer/producer.
So, I got rid of the desk. All the displays are on stands and there’s only a small table for keyboard and mouse. In fact, everything is now so flexible, that I can change the setup in an instant from sitting to standing, or, let’s say, to a screening situation for up to 8 people.

vs.  vs.

so, I switched from Avid Media Composer to Final Cut Pro a while ago. It’s not common in the realm of fiction features and honestly: I don’t understand why not. It suits the creative needs of us editors a lot more than other NLEs. It’s modern approach to metadata and timeline-management is unprecedented, even 10 years after it’s initial launch. well, collaboration (between editors) is a thing … but not a really high stake to conquer. It seems to come down to the point that the “industry” hardly changes the workflows they developed during the transition from analogue to digital – ignoring obvious flaws and only patching broken bits. Strange, although the film industry is known to drive innovation in cameras, lighting, VFX, (at least in Germany) it seems to be lacking innovation in workflows and standardizing data-exchange and metadata. Don’t change a running system, they say. But if you have to deliver would you choose the 1980 beetle or a Tesla Model S? Both can do the job – with different style and comfort. I’d choose the Tesla, even if I had to charge close to the destination.

coming soon: thoughts about the swiss-army-knife called DaVinic Resolve