Resumes for Film Editors, Lighting Technicians, and Set Designers

If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes one to produce a seamless film, theatrical production, or televised piece.  Behind-the-scenes personnel including film editors, lighting technicians, and set designers perform indispensible functions in transforming a story concept into a finished production.  In creating resumes to secure employment, these people must be equally adept in conveying their skills, experiences, and accomplishments in manners distinguishing them from their prospective job market competition.

At their most fundamental, the responsibilities of film editors entail the editing of film and videotape in order to insert music, dialogue, and sound effects as well as to correct errors.  In complying with the theme, intent, and specified length of the piece as dictated by its script, film editors must view the work in its entirety to determine and select the best scenes with respect to entertainment value and story continuity. They must then trim film segments to specified lengths, reassemble the segments in logical order on screens and monitors, and make corrections to ensure the highest quality. 

The role of the lighting technician is to control flood lamps, strip lighting, and spotlights, either from the projection room or from front and backstage areas of the theatre to cast light upon actors in stage or film productions.  The technician maneuvers the lighting to illuminate the performers, in accordance with cue sheets that map the movements of the actors.  He or she may also change the color of the lighting, integrating it with as well as enhancing the sound and appearance of specific scenes.  

Set designers must develop complete designs for theatrical, film, and television productions, consistent with the mood and time period in which the unfolding story takes place.  Such a position demands the preparation of scale drawings of sets, including floor plans and scenery, as well as the construction of scale models.  Set designers are compelled to research, select, and negotiate the purchase or lease of a broad range of furnishings, including furniture, rugs, lamps, and other props, such as faux trees and automobiles, that will help to establish the mood of specific scenes within the piece.  Those who carry this job title must also direct the activities of workers charged with construction and decoration of the sets.

Inherent in the positions of all of these employees is the necessity to adhere to production budgets, schedules, and quality standards, which are in the entertainment industry, often synonymous. While it is difficult to define accomplishments with job descriptions of this nature, it is imperative to list, perhaps in a keyword summary, the type of equipment and/or software in which the job applicant is well versed.  Additionally, it can be advantageous to list the particulars of the productions, such as the names of the actors (if recognizable), the playwright or screenwriter, the director and producer of the pieces, and the dates and places of the productions’ premiers.