A New Phase in the Digital Revolution by Steve Cohen In our last issue we focused on some of the technical challenges we’re all facing as we move into the new millennium. This month we decided to change channels and focus on issues of creativity and aesthetics. Our feature article asks the Academy nominees in picture editing, sound and sound effects editing, to talk about their creative process – what was most interesting to them about the shows they were nominated for and why. Our congratulations and special thanks to all the nominees for their participation. We’re also trying to open up our pages to the many new voices who are now a part of our Guild. Both of our interviews this month evolved out of that goal. We asked Leslie Shatz, a respected mixer and sound effects editor in his own right, to take on the task of interviewing one of the greatest mixers of all time, Buzz Knudson. The result reads like an intimate chat between colleagues. And Board Alternate and editor Damian Begley has interviewed NY-based editor Andy Mondshein, who recently finished 'The Sixth Sense'. We hope you’ll find these interviews as interesting as we do. We’ve had lots of great feedback on our millennium issue. One of the things we heard most frequently was, "Well, it sure isn’t a newsletter anymore." With that in mind, we’ve decided to rename our publication. We’ve thought at length about this, rejected a great many cute or not-so-cute plays on words and ended up with what you see here, 'The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine'. With the name change we have officially left our newsletter roots behind. We are entering a new phase in the digital revolution. Editing systems no longer need to be big, expensive and monolithic. They don’t have to run on specialized, dedicated hardware. No one yet knows for certain what this means for us, but one thing seems clear. If we are to survive we have to come out of our studios and present ourselves to the world. We are a national organization with a modern, focused agenda. We have to make sure that every new editor and mixer, all over the country, sees Guild membership as a goal rather than an obligation. This magazine and our web site are the best ways we know to get that message out.   Steve Cohen is an editor, Guild Board member and editor of the Guild Magazine. He is currently cutting '15 Minutes' for New Line. He can be reached via email   Reprinted from The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine Vol. 21, No. 2 - March/April 2000   Guild Home | Magazine Home | Top of Page   Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved by The Motion Picture Editors Guild, IATSE Local 700