To the many of you who may not have heard of the term ‘shreditor’ before, it is a recent name used to describe filmmakers who are responsible for shooting, editing and producing their own projects. A shreditor is an individual with skills in various aspects of production; they’re someone who acts as a one-man-band in creating videos and someone who brings the DIY ethic to professional filmmaking.
With filmmaking technology becoming more accessible and more affordable, filmmakers are now presented with the chance to explore all fields of production. It has given prosumers the power to do it all on their own and eliminate the need for large production crews. Today, there seem to be an abundance of shreditors, but this is not a role to be taken lightly. Those who take on the multifaceted role of the shreditor will need to be masters in multitasking, possess an array of shooting and editing skills, and have their own workstation and gear.
Roles of a Shreditor
Producer
A producer is present throughout the entirety of a project; they’re a necessity from pre-production to post-production. As a shreditor, the many tasks of being the producer include, but are not limted to; liaising with clients, establishing expectations, launching creative concept, scripting, storyboarding, budgeting, organising talent and props, scheduling dates, and sharing edits with clients.
Shooter
The ‘sh’ in shreditor refers to the shooter, also known as the cinematographer or director of photography (DP). The cinematographer is responsible for capturing all necessary footage and is in charge of framing shots, lighting scenes and operating the camera.
Editor
Editing as a shreditor means piecing together all of the hard work done in producing and shooting, to deliver a final product that the clients are happy with. Editors are required to work with the footage captured and provide the video with a voice and dress it with creative detailing.
Though it may seem stressful to take on so many roles, working as a shreditor can be very rewarding. It allows you to work directly with clients in all aspects of production, and there is no room to be let down by uncooperative crew. Certain smaller video projects such as corporate videos, event videos, documentaries, vlogs and short films lend themselves to shreditors.
These days, getting experience in all aspects of production goes a long way, but before beginning your career as a shreditor, it’s best to dig deep into the responsibilities of a shooter, editor and producer to make sure you have what it takes.
Gabi Miles is a Producer at Sydney based video production company, Rocket Productions. You’ll find more useful articles on our blog.