EDUCATION:High School Grad Can't Get Film Editing Career Rolling

Edgar Andres was so eager to go into postproduction that he started looking for work right out of Santa Monica High.A promising job working under a professional lasted only eight weeks

Edgar Andres caught the movie bug when he was 16 years old,after a filmmaker came to his high school to talk about the craft.Soon after,the teen joined a couple of programs,the Urban Oasis Film Academy and Inner City Filmmakers,which teach urban youth the basics of filmmaking.

For Andres,who prefers classics such as "Casablanca" and "The Godfather",the programs were a chance to see how movies were put together.He was so eager to get started on his career that when he graduated from Santa Monica High in 2009 he decided to look for work immediately.

"I had been looking into college and film classes,but it all seemed like stuff I could learn more quickly from a professional,"Andres said.

His first real break came this pass summer,through a film editor he had met a year earlier.The editor was working on two low-budget films and wanted to set up an editing studio in his home office.He offered Andres $10 an hour to help.

Andres jumped at the chance.He helped set up the computer and video equipment and learned the editing software.In the mornings,Andres was there to receive the film footage from production assistants,load up audio files and handle all of the paperwork and reports.

"I got to work on two films.I was learning from a professional. I got to watch and learn all of his tricks,"Andres said.

The dream lasted just eight weeks.With no other films lined up,his boss had to let him go.

"He said I was young.He told me to just get out there.Those were his exact words,"Andres said.

But it's not easy without a Rolodex full of contacts or even a working cellphone.Andres is so broke that he sometimes can't afford to keep his mobile stocked with minutes.He knows he may be missing callbacks.

In the meantime,he trolls the Internet constantly for job leads and drops by postproduction houses at least twice aweek to inquire about openings.It's always the same refrain.

"'We're already fully staffed.'They'll tell me I'm not experienced enough.They want someone with two years of experience.They will tell me they already have the team they want,"Andres said.

Then there is the familiar Catch-22,involving the Motion Picture Editors Guide.

"I have to have a union card to get a union job,and I need a job to get the union card. That is one of the biggest barriers right now,"he said

In the meantime,he cadgets odd jobs here and there,mostly doing photography or video for special events.A typical gig pays $50 to $100 cash.A big payday came recently when he earned $350 to shoot a cousin's birthday party.As is his custom,he gave a portion to his parents.

Andres' mother is a nurse.His father works in building maintenance.He said they're supportive of his artistic bent.But they want him to keep moving forward and not get stuck.

"My parents aren't pressuring me,but at the same time,they are expecting me to find a job soon or to figure out a way to go back to school,"Andres said.

He's now looking for work at supermarkets,clothing stores,art supply stores,bookstores and other retailers with the goal of saving for college.His plan is to spend two years at Santa Monica College,then transfer to UCLA,where he'd like to study computer engineering.He figures it would give him a leg up working in postproduction.

"The better you know a computer,the better you can fix a problem," Andres said.

To keep his film skills sharp and earn a little extra money,he's been making video tutorials for How-To.com on such subjects as building a box kite and making "the perfect water balloon".

"I just have to keep getting out there and trying as much as possible.Something will came a long,"Andres said."But if feels like I'm not living up to my potential."

WORD:

1, retailer ['ri:teilə]

n. 零售商；传播的人

2, expect [ɪk'spekt; ek-]

vt. 期望；指望；认为；预料
vi. 期待；预期

3, Edgar ['edgə]

n. 埃德加（男子名）

4, postproduction [,pəustprə'dʌkʃən]

n. （电影或电视的）后期制作

5, andres

n. 安德烈斯（人名）

6, right out of

right out of: 走出

7, promise ['prɒmɪs]

n. 许诺，允诺；希望
vt. 允诺，许诺；给人以…的指望或希望
vi. 许诺；有指望，有前途

8, last [lɑːst]

n. 末尾，最后；上个；鞋楦（做鞋的模型）
adj. 最后的；最近的，最新的；仅剩的；最不可能…的
vi. 持续；维持，够用；持久
vt. 度过，拖过；使维持
adv. 最后地；上次，最近；最后一点

9, bug [bʌg]

n. 臭虫，小虫；故障；
vt. 烦扰，打扰；装
vi. 装置；打扰

10, filmmaker ['fɪlm,meɪkə]

n. 电影摄制者

11, craft [krɑːft]

n. 工艺；手艺；太空船
vt. 精巧地制作

12, teen [tiːn]

n. 青少年（等于teenager）；愤怒；悲哀
adj. 十几岁的（等于teenaged）

13, Urban Oasis

14, academy [ə'kædəmɪ]

n. 学院；研究院；学会；专科院校

15, urban ['ɜːb(ə)n]

adj. 城市的；住在都市的

16, oasis [əʊ'eɪsɪs]

n. 绿洲；舒适的地方；令人宽慰的事物

17, Casablanca [,kæsə'blæŋkə]

n. 卡萨布兰卡市（摩洛哥西北部港市）

18, godfather ['gɒdfɑːθə]

n. 教父
vt. 当…的教父

19, career [kə'rɪə]

n. 事业，职业；生涯

20, graduate ['grædʒʊət; -djʊət]

vt. 授予…学位；分等级；标上刻度
vi. 毕业；渐变
n. 研究生；毕业生
adj. 毕业的；研究生的

21, stuff [stʌf]

n. 东西；材料；填充物；素材资料
vt. 塞满；填塞；让吃饱
vi. 吃得过多

22, break [breɪk]

n. 休息，中断；破裂处
vt. 打破，弄破；中断；弄坏；削弱
vi. 突变

23, jump at

欣然接受；跃向；急切地接受

24, equipment [ɪ'kwɪpm(ə)nt]

n. 设备，装备；器材

25, footage ['fʊtɪdʒ]

n. 英尺长度；连续镜头；以尺计算长度

26, audio ['ɔːdɪəʊ]

adj. 声音的；[声] 音频的，[声] 声频的

27, handle ['hænd(ə)l]

n. [建] 把手；柄；手感；口实
vt. 处理；操作；运用；买卖；触摸
vi. 搬运；易于操纵

28, paperwork ['pepɚ'wɝk]

n. 文书工作

29, trick [trɪk]

n. 诡计；恶作剧；窍门；花招；骗局；欺诈
vt. 欺骗；哄骗；装饰；打扮
vi. 哄骗；戏弄
adj. 特技的；欺诈的；有决窍的

30, line up

排列起；整队

31, exact [ɪg'zækt; eg-]

adj. 准确的，精密的；精确的
vt. 要求；强求；急需
vi. 勒索钱财

32, Rolodex ['rəulə,deks]

n. 名片盒

33, contact ['kɒntækt]

n. 接触，联系
vt. 使接触
vi. 联系，接触

34, cellphone ['sɛl'fon]

n. 蜂窝式便携无线电话；大哥大

35, broke [brəʊk]

adj. 一文不名的，破产的
v. 打破，断掉（break的过去式）

36, afford [ə'fɔːd]

vt. 给予，提供；买得起

37, meantime ['miːntaɪm]

n. 其时，其间
adv. 同时；其间

38, troll [trəʊl; trɒl]

vt. 轮唱，使转动；放声高唱；拖饵钓鱼
vi. 参加轮唱；宏亮地唱；拖饵钓鱼
n. 轮唱；钓鱼

39, lead [liːd]

n. 领导；铅；导线；榜样
vt. 领导；致使；引导；指挥
vi. 领导；导致；用水砣测深
adj. 带头的；最重要的

40, stock with

使备有；使藏有

41, callback ['kɔːlbæk]

n. 回收；回叫信号

42, refrain [rɪ'freɪn]

vi. 节制，克制；避免；制止
n. 叠句，副歌；重复

43, staff [stɑːf]

n. 职员；参谋；棒；支撑
adj. 职员的；行政工作的
vt. 供给人员；给…配备职员
vi. 雇用工作人员

44, experience [ɪk'spɪərɪəns; ek-]

n. 经验；经历；体验
vt. 经验；经历；体验

45, familiar [fə'mɪlɪə]

adj. 熟悉的；常见的；亲近的
n. 常客；密友

46, involve [ɪn'vɒlv]

vt. 包含；牵涉；使陷于；潜心于

47, union ['juːnjən; -ɪən]

n. 联盟，协会；工会；联合

48, barrier ['bærɪə]

n. 障碍物，屏障；界线
vt. 把…关入栅栏

49, cadge [kædʒ]

vi. 乞讨；骗得白食；行乞；贩卖
vt. 乞讨；行乞；贩卖

50, odd [ɒd]

adj. 奇数的；古怪的；剩余的；临时的；零散的
n. 奇数；怪人；奇特的事物

51, gig [gɪg]

n. 旋转物；鱼叉；轻便双轮马车
vi. 乘轻便双轮马车；起绒；叉鱼
vt. 使…起绒；用鱼叉叉；记过处分

52, shoot [ʃuːt]

vt. 射击，射中；拍摄；发芽；使爆炸；给…注射
vi. 射击；发芽；拍电影
n. 射击；摄影；狩猎；急流

53, cousin ['kʌz(ə)n]

n. 堂兄弟姊妹；表兄弟姊妹

54, portion ['pɔːʃ(ə)n]

n. 部分；一份；命运
vt. 分配；给…嫁妆

55, maintenance ['meɪnt(ə)nəns; -tɪn-]

n. 维护，维修；保持；生活费用

56, supportive [sə'pɔːtɪv]

adj. 支持的；支援的；赞助的

57, artistic [ɑː'tɪstɪk]

adj. 艺术的；风雅的；有美感的

58, bent [bent]

n. 爱好，嗜好
adj. 弯曲的；决心的

59, stuck [stʌk]

v. 刺（stick的过去式）
adj. 被卡住的；不能动的

60, stick [stɪk]

vt. 刺，戳；伸出；粘贴
vi. 坚持；伸出；粘住
n. 棍；手杖；呆头呆脑的人

61, pressure ['preʃə]

n. 压力；压迫，[物] 压强
vt. 迫使；密封；使……增压

62, figure out

解决；算出；想出；理解；断定

63, supply [sə'plaɪ]

n. 供给，补给；供应品
vt. 供给，提供；补充
vi. 供给；替代

64, goal [gəʊl]

n. 目标；球门，得分数；终点
vi. 攻门，射门得分

65, figure ['fɪgə]

n. 数字；人物；图形；价格；（人的）体形；画像
vi. 计算；出现；扮演角色
vt. 计算；认为；描绘；象征

66, fix [fɪks]

vt. 使固定；修理；安装；准备
vi. 固定；注视
n. 困境；方位；贿赂

67, extra ['ekstrə]

adv. 特别地，非常；另外
n. 临时演员；号外；额外的事物；上等产品
adj. 额外的，另外收费的；特大的

68, tutorial [tjuː'tɔːrɪəl]

adj. 辅导的；家庭教师的，个别指导的
n. 个别指导

69, kite [kaɪt]

n. 风筝
vi. 使用空头支票；象风筝一样飞；轻快地移动
vt. 骗钱；涂改（支票）

70, perfect ['pɜːfɪkt]

adj. 完美的；最好的；精通的
vt. 使完美；使熟练
n. 完成式

71, balloon [bə'luːn]

vi. 激增；膨胀如气球
n. 气球
vt. 使像气球般鼓起；使激增
adj. 像气球般鼓起的

72, potential [pə(ʊ)'tenʃ(ə)l]

n. 潜能；可能性；[电] 电势
adj. 潜在的；可能的；势的