Convincing People You Can Do The Job (When You Don’t Have the Credits) | with Chris Patterson

When editor and 1st AE Chris Patterson reached out to me earlier this year, he was stuck trying to figure out how to convince his colleagues he was ready to edit. He knew he had the skills, but he didn’t have the experience (or the credits) such that people were willing to take the chance on him. Not even six months later after working with me in the Optimizer coaching & mentorship program he posted this in the #wins channel in our Slack community:

Editor Chris Patterson has spent much of his career as the lead 1st AE working with some of the biggest names in editing & directing. A short list of the features he's worked on includes Ready Player One, The Post, Royal Tenenbaums, Zero Dark Thirty, The Town, and Analyze That. And Chris has worked with editors such as Michael Kahn, Dylan Tichenor, Billy Goldenberg, and many more.

But when Chris decided it was time to make the transition into the editor’s chair, he hit more than a few roadblocks:

One of his biggest fears was “bothering people” in his outreach.

Another fear was “selling himself” without sounding egotistical about his level of skill and experience in the industry (I mean c’mon...he’s worked with Spielberg!).

And ultimately he didn’t know how to address the “elephant in the room” that he didn’t have enough editing credits for someone to take a chance on him.

When the pandemic hit and Hollywood shut down, Chris recognized that he was ready to make the transition to editor. Yet his fears of bothering people and asking for help left him feeling stuck and unsure of how to make the change. That's when he joined the Optimizer community and learned some valuable lessons and tools which led him to getting a job editing his first feature.

In today's conversation, Chris talks about the challenges he faced with networking, the mindset shifts he made, and the a-ha moments he had to get him unstuck and moving to the next level of his career. And in the later half of the interview you'll hear me put Chris on the Hot Seat as we prepare him for how to confidently sell himself as a capable editor that any producer would hire for his next project.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• How Chris got his first job working with Michael Kahn
• Explanation of the two traps that keep you stuck in a career you have outgrown.
• What practical questions you need to ask yourself when making a career transition.
• The final straw that got Chris to say no to the assistant jobs and risk going for an editing gig.
• The most valuable lesson that you don't learn in film school.
• Chris's strategy for convincing people that he can be an editor.
• The lessons he learned by working with the best editors in the business.
• The key takeaway Chris got from my Advanced Networking class.
• An exercise anyone can do to sell yourself with confidence.
• How to structure your story so that your skills sell your ability when your experience doesn’t yet.
• Set realistic expectations to set yourself up for success and not failure.
• Chris’s advice to anyone trying to succeed in their career.

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Optimizer Coaching Program

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Guest Bio:

Chris Patterson began his editing career in New York City, coming up as an assistant & associate editor under Andrew Mondshein on such films as Analyze That and Casanova. After moving to Los Angeles,he worked under such luminaries as Michael Kahn and Dylan Tichenor on such movies as Ready Player One and Zero Dark Thirty. He is currently editing Sean Patrick Flanery’s feature film directorial debut Frank and Penelope.

Show Credits:

This episode was edited by Curtis Fritsch, and the show notes were prepared by Debby Germino and published by Glen McNiel.

The original music in the opening and closing of the show is courtesy of Joe Trapanese (who is quite possibly one of the most talented composers on the face of the planet).