Episode Details

Kelley Dixon is the Emmy-winning editor of such iconic shows as Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Shameless. She has been nominated for an editing Emmy every single year since 2012 (winning in 2013 for an episode of Breaking Bad), she has been nominated for an Eddie Award seven out of the last eight years, and she has received numerous nother nominations as well. Needless to say, Kelley is a film editing badass. In our conversation today we dive as deep as I’ve ever gone into all of the steps necessary to climb from the bottom of the ladder to the top in Hollywood. We go over all the details of Kelley’s “overnight success story” where it took her just short of 20 years of being an assistant editor before exploding onto the scene with Breaking Bad. We chat about the mindset necessary to persevere, how to build relationships with producers, directors, and your editors so you put yourself in a position to be promoted when the time is right, how to develop your skills as an editor even if you're buried with assistant work, and most importantly we talk about the importance of playing chess with your career and making the right strategic moves rather than always chasing after the next shiny object and playing a game of checkers.

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Here's What You'll Learn:

• How to know when you're ready to transition from being an assistant
• Kelley's long and twisty path to becoming an emmy-winning editor
• Building good relationships in the industry
• The art of being a good conversationalist
• What to do when it's "your time" after being an assistant for two years
• The importance of reminding yourself that there is no one way to make it
• Finding good editing mentorship to learn more as well as recognize your own style
• The danger of moving up the career ladder too quickly
• Honing your editing craft by discussing subtext

Useful Resources Mentioned:

Kelley Dixon

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