The last couple of years have been rough for everyone and it’s no different for those in the entertainment business. Film and TV productions were stopped because it was too risky for people to work closely with each other out of fear of falling ill from the pandemic. A lot of people were put out of work and lost their jobs. Raghu Gudiveti, the film editor from Hyderabad, India, feels that he was quite fortunate because he was able to work on shows that had already been shot well before people had been on lockdown.
He was lucky enough to have made many connections several years ago when he attended New York Film Academy and then made a lot of contacts the first couple of years after graduating also. Those friends and industry contacts helped him get editing work while most production people were not able to come to a studio or set or office because of social distancing rules. He landed a food documentary show and several reality TV shows to edit. He also was hired at a YouTube social media content production company and that job lasted for eight months.
For over a year he has been working from home. He has an editing station set up where he can cut his footage and it has been amazing. He does like working at home but he also likes the camaraderie that comes with working with filmmakers face to face. He is, he says, certainly willing to give that part of it up if it means that he can have a job, no matter where it is, his home or an editing bay in an office.
Since moving to L.A. in 2016, Raghu has had a blast, as he will tell you. He started working immediately after he got his degree from NYFA and he hasn’t slowed down since then. Editing has made him a better person, in that he says that you must have faith in something bigger than yourself and then what is on your canvas. Art is how you express it, but the idea has to be bigger than yourself. One of my favorite spiritual quotes is, “I know not where he leadeth, but I know who is my guide.” You cannot be a good editor in the long term without a constantly renewable source of inspiration and support. So believe in something that will give you a foundation no matter what successes and failures, triumphs and heartaches land at your door.
