OT - the "murch-esque" stand-up desk...

ok, i read a few months back where walter murch said that he edits movies standing up. which made good sense to me because i find that often, if im stumped creatively, if i stand and walk around i tend to solve the problem...

so i did this to my desk.



at first ii loved it! for editing and general print layout it was great, but i found that when i had to do intense flash or after effects work it was significantly less comfortable than sitting.

i dont know exactly why specific tasks would have an effect on comfort, but it seemed to...
at least for me.

just thought it was an interesting experiment...

I do the Murch technique when I'm not cutting. When my director and I have a scene pretty well done, or if we're very stumped, I stand up to watch the cut. In my case it's to prevent me from making any changes right away. By forcing my hands off the keyboard, I force us to really watch what we have rather than critique every little thing. Keeps us grounded to the fact that we're cutting a scene, not a bunch of little shots -- the whole is much more than the sum of the parts. Likewise, I usually get better ideas on how to improve a scene by burning a DVD or outputting to tape and watching at dinner time, away from the editing setup.

Never with clients, though. Too weird-looking to them.


www.derekmok.com

Nice room Wayne. You might want to try editing laying down. That is how Perry Como would of done it had he been an editor.

Perry Como was a really relaxed guy.



Michael Horton
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Mine does both!

Down:



Up:



I keep it down when clients are around. I have cable-wrap hoses somewhere. After the dissassembly for the carpet install, I haven't quite made time to neaten things up. (is that even a word?!)

deb

So this is where you are composing our groovy music for the SuperMeet?

Michael Horton
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sweet desk deb! where'd you get that? and how easy is it to adjust (not considering wiring slack nightmare)

Wayne,

I dig the repurposed "car jacks" to lift up the "upper deck". However, what's up with the mixer? Can you really work with it like that?


There's plenty of companies that make "adjustable height" workstations. If you want it motorized, it can be expensive. The manual versions are much more reasonable. I think that's really the best option... to have it both ways.

Mark

That funny because I do the same thing, get up, watch from the doorway, sit on the floor and watch an entire film (I do this a lot.) Anything to refresh the eye. Makes a big difference. But cutting standing up? It's interesting because I find that I do far more talking about a scene than actual cutting. Executing the concepts is always fairly easy. Generating them is a different story. Often that is done sitting on a couch or at least leaning back in a comfortable chair...

yeah mark. this whole thing was more or less an experiment as i wasnt sure id like it or not.

i wanted to keep the costs down, so i just walked the aisles of the nearby lowes and found 4 jackstands $40. already had the supporting 1x8 boards and the glass desktop. so it only cost me $40 out of pocket to test - AND NOW I HAVE JACKSTANDS! and im sure they will come in handy one day...

the mixer is just to control monitoring sources, so not a lot of fader-flying going on...

Mine's from Ikea. It's motorized. It works with the push of a button.

The motor itself was $800. I consider it worth it for many reasons, not the least of which I don't ever whack my head getting under it.

We looked into the non-motorized ones as well, but with the weight of the gear, the motor made sense. I don't regret the cost one little bit.

Now, if I had to buy them for an entire staff...I might have to seriously think about alternatives....

But one, for me....worth every penny!!

deb

Why, yes, yes it is, Mike! (although I'm pretty certain I can't call it "composing". That talent is squarely in the camp of the musical geniuses at SmartSound!!)

My current project is scheduled to end on Wednesday. (it had better, the event is on Thursday!)

My plan is to get crackin' on the music for the SuperMeet Thursday and Friday of this week.

Are we expecting any additions or changes to the sponsor roster? Knowing will help me when considering the timings!



deb

Chris should have all sponsors. Hope he does anyway.

Michael Horton
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Chris has what Dan has, so I think we're set!!

Thanks!

deb

Just FYI, Murch's desk is tilted, like an artist's desk (or whatever those are called, can't remember atm.) Two monitors peak over the top at about the eye-line. And he puts two small construction paper cutouts of people near the monitors to remind him of the scale of final projection.

It's think it's great when anybody thinks outside the box about how to approach an NLE. Just because we put our monitors on standard desks and use then like we would any other program, doesn't necessarily mean that's the best way. At least not for everyone.

- Justin Barham -

I shall consult with Dr. Tiki regarding my next standup desk.