Bio
IN 1981 MICHAEL ELLIOT STARTED HIS CAREER IN BROADCAST TELEVISION AS A POST PRODUCTION COORDINATOR FOR MAGAZINE AND MUSIC PROGRAMS IN LOS ANGELES. DURING THE PRODUCTION OF 4 – 90 MIN SPECIALS DOCUMENTING THE US FESTIVAL IN 1983, HE BEGAN HIS EDITING CAREER.
AFTER A COUPLE YEARS OF EDITING VARIOUS MUSIC PROGRAMS, HE WAS HIRED BY BLUE LINE VIDEO TO EDIT PREVIEWS AND COMMERCIALS FOR ALL THE DISNEY AND TOUCHSTONE RELEASES. WHILE AT BLUE LINE HE WON SEVERAL KEY ART AWARDS, MOST NOTABLY THE TRAILERS PROMOTING “THE COLOR OF MONEY” AND “WHO FRAMED RODGER RABBIT.”
HE STARTED EDITING IN THE COMMERCIAL FIELD IN 1988. MICHAEL SPENT THE LAST 20 YEARS EDITING TELEVISION COMMERCIALS, FEATURE FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES. HIS WORK IS DONE PRIMARILY FOR DIRECTORS ALTHOUGH OFTEN HIRED DIRECTLY BY THE ADVERTISING AGENCIES. HE HAS WORKED FOR VIRTUALLY ALL OF THE MAJOR AD AGENCIES IN THE US AND EUROPE.
THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER HE’S COLLABORATED WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF DIRECTORS INCLUDING: TONY KAYE, BOB RAFAELSON, ANDREW DOUGLAS, JAN DUBONT, GRIFFIN DUNNE, MARK COPPOS, NADAV KANDAR, ALBERT WATSON, BRETT MORGAN, PAM THOMPSON, ERROL MORRIS, AND JOE PYTKA. HE’S RECEIVED AWARDS FOR EDITING FROM MOMA, MOBIUS, CANNES, CLIO, EMMY, AND VARIOUS OTHER TRADE ORGANIZATIONS.
AFTER NEARLY 25 YEARS OF EDITING HE HAS MOVED FROM FILM TO TAPE AND NOW INTO THE DIGITAL/NON LINEAR WORLD. HE’S VERSED IN ALL THREE FORMATS AND FLUENT IN AVID AND FINAL CUT (ALTHOUGH STILL PREFERS AVID). HE USES AN ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY TO PREP A FILM FOR EDITING; A PROCESS THAT ALLOWS THE FILM TO BE “DISCOVERED” WITHIN THE FOOTAGE SHOT BY A DIRECTOR. THE PROCESS OF EDITING HAS ALWAYS BEEN A JOURNEY FOR MICHAEL. IT’S THE JOURNEY HE LOVES MOST ABOUT EDITING—THE PROCESS OF DISCOVERING THE FILM, WITHIN THE SCRIPT AND THE FOOTAGE.
MICHAEL STUDIED FILMMAKING IN COLLEGE AT HUMBOLDT STATE UNIVERSITY, RECEIVING A BACHELOR OF ARTS DEGREE IN THEATER ARTS (WITH AN EMPHASIS IN FILM). WHILE IN HUMBOLDT, HE WAS EXPOSED TO A GREAT DEAL OF FILM HISTORY AND CRITICISM: THIS FOREVER SHAPED HIS VIEW OF EDITING, STORY STRUCTURE, AND GAVE HIM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE CRAFT. WHILE AT HSU HE ORGANIZED THE 13TH ANNUAL HUMBOLDT FILM FESTIVAL, WHERE HE CONTACTED AND SECURED 2 JUDGES WHO WERE BOTH FILM EDITORS OF CONSIDERABLE SKILL—WALTER MURCH AND RALPH ROSENBLUM. ALTHOUGH HE HAD NO IDEA EDITING WAS HIS FUTURE, IT WAS A CLEAR INDICATION OF HOW HIS CAREER WOULD EVOLVE.
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