Meet Brian Gee | Film Editor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brian Gee and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brian, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Ever since I started doing freelance work as early as 2015, I’ve over booked myself in favor of making new contacts and impressing new filmmakers. In 2022, I still over book myself; but I’m trying to make a better effort to turn work down now that my network has expanded.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I remember deciding that I wanted to study film when I was a sophomore in high school shortly after watching Oliver Stone’s “The Doors” and finding out that Jim Morrison went to UCLA’s film school. My parents and many of my friends repeatedly told me how competitive the film industry was and how difficult it would be to break in and get my foot in the door; but that just made me want to pursue a film career even more. I entered my film studies major at UCSB thinking that I wanted to be a writer & director; but half way through my time there, I decided that I preferred film editing. Probably what I enjoy most about filmmaking is the adventure of navigating my way through the film business and all of the people that I have met and collaborated with along the way. After studying film theory and helping out on a few student made 16mm film projects and one alumni made digital film project, I moved to North Hollywood in 2005 to pursue my dream. In addition to working some internships, editing my alumni friends’ indie films, and banquet serving at the Hilton, I worked at Fotokem Film & Video in Burbank. Over the course of 11 years, I serviced clients, signed film & video elements in and out, moved film from the lab to telecine, transferred film to video, dubbed tapes, and eventually transcoded digital dailies. As the industry slowly transitioned from shooting predominantly on film to shooting primarily on digital, I continued to adapt and evolve in my career. Probably what helped me advance most during my time there was my willingness to do what the person next to me wouldn’t. I also learned how to work with people of all types of personalities, how to work under pressure (especially during the graveyard hours under tremendous fatigue), and the importance of meeting deadlines. What you get out of any work experience is also reflective of what you put into it; which is something else that I learned first hand. In 2017, I left Fotokem and became completely freelance where I would be a DIT on film sets, edit independent projects, and also assistant edit. Even with all of my knowledge, skills, and major titles on my IMDb, I was still shocked by how hard it was to get noticed when applying for freelance jobs. After having worked on major studio movies like Fast Five, Little Fockers, & Taken 3, I was essentially having to pay my dues all over again on low to no budget indie projects; but I was happy to take on the challenge. I’ve had some wonderful collaborations with some very talented filmmakers on indie shorts & features and the production quality continues to improve. To quote the first two parts of the Boy Scout law, trustworthy & loyalty have probably helped me more than anything with building relationships with filmmakers of all departments. The gains that I’ve made in this business far exceed the setbacks that I’ve had. I enjoy the experience of working on film sets; but it is attending color grade & sound mixing sessions that I live for, especially when I’ve created all of the turnovers for those sessions and I get to sit in a professional suite with surround sound, large color calibrated screens, and talented artists! Even at age 41, I’m excited at the thought that I’m still at the beginning of my career.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Between 2006-2010, my best friends came out to visit me in LA on three separate occasions. We spent all day at Universal Studios Hollywood and then watched a Clippers game at Staples Center (I refuse to call it by its current name). We ate nachos at Poquito Mas which they all still rave about. The next time they came out, we watched the filming of a TV sitcom on the Warner Bros. lot and then had dinner at Big Wangs (which may not be around anymore). We also went to Disneyland and had a brief stop at the Commerce Casino on the way home. And the third time they visited, I took them on a hike at Vasquez Rocks which they recognized from numerous TV shows & movies. At other times, when my friends come to visit, I like to take them to comedy clubs like The Comedy Store. We’ve seen “Point Break Live” at The Dragonfly, eaten French dip sandwiches at Philippe The Original, and hiked Runyon Canyon. I sincerely hope that someone will purchase and re-open the Cinerama Dome!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my mom, dad, brother, & wife for always supporting me and believing in me. I want to thank all of the filmmakers that I’ve met along the way who took a chance on me and trusted me with their material and continue to rely on me and my skills.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2958221/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bgee1760/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-gee-1b751989/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bgee1760

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brian.gee.733

Image Credits
Photos taken by Sean Crowley. Director Andrew Burton, Director of Photography Rebeca Duran, Actors: Matt Fling, Dora Kiss, Jessi Mechler, Olivier Riquelme, Simone Attenni