I re-designed my website! Check out the new dwryan.com. it's basically the same info and videos as  my old site but now in shiny new HTML5 so you iPad users can actually see it! And for you iPhone and android users,  go to my mobile site at m.dwryan.com!

Never be irreplaceable! If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.

I must be doing something wrong. This year marks 10 years in post-production as an assistant editor. The average assistant (it seems) does it for 2- 5 years before making “The Jump.” to editor. I have my circumstances, in one aspect I was fortunate to have a staff position with health benefits which was vital due to family health issues. But it was also a trap as every time it seemed I might get a promotion I was either told they needed me doing what I was doing or the company was on the verge of collapse and if I wanted a job at all, I should sit tight. I realized that the only way I could get a what I wanted, was to leave.
It was a tough decision but, with family health issues and my daughter about to turn 2 plus a job market left reeling by the writers strike, we decided to move back east with her family in New Jersey (but that's a whole other story). Fast forward two years later and I have been able to find work here and there in New York, and made some new friends and connections. I took what was supposed to be a few days on pilot at a very low rate and I was quickly moved to another show and I became the only assistant on the series (still at the low rate of course). I busted my ass to keep up with the shows fast turn around and sometimes massive amount of footage, doing my best to make it easy for the editors. I was handling it until I got an email that an editor was having problems with some grouped clips I prepared .
I went to my post-producer and asked what the problem was. He said that an editor wanted me to make sure that when I multi-group clips that the A camera is at the top of the bin so the multi-group will use the A cam audio. I said all that you had to do was select the audio by right clicking the audio track in the time-line. He said he knew that but the editor couldn't do it and didn't seem able (or willing) to learn how. On hearing this, my blood pressure shot up and I was like WHAT?! Here I am busting my ass and someone who gets paid twice my rate doesn't know how to run the damn machine and I have to go extra steps to make sure he doesn't have to do a basic skill. It would be like a pilot who can take off but doesn't know how to steer and refuses to learn! I snapped a little and told my producer exactly how I felt and how frustrated I was with my career. I think it may have helped because today he offered to have me cut some clips for the net.

This was also short lived as my work load was to much to have time to cut very much at all. Then, I was told I only had two weeks left on the show. So much for that.

I had only a few weeks off and I was fortunate to find a string of gigs at a much better rate that carried me through the winter. I'm still working as an assistant but I've had some recent interviews that are very promising. More on that soon.