DP: Why did you decide to study at the SAE?
Thomas Richter: The origin of my passion for film and therefore also for choosing to study in this field goes back to my time in the sixth form at grammar school: at that time I decided to take part in a “P-Seminar Film”, a two-year practical seminar, at the end of which I had to finalise a 20-minute short film. We learnt the basics about camera, lighting, scripting and editing. The seminar was the trigger that made me want to turn my passion and hobby into a career. The decision to do this at SAE followed the motto: “Follow in your father’s footsteps”. He was already training to be a sound engineer when he was at SAE – and as he had good experience and a solid education to fall back on, it made sense for me to go there to study as well.
DP: What hardware and editing programme do you work with? What did you use to edit the animago trailers?
Thomas Richter: I’m more of a Windows guy. Whether laptop or stationary computer – I’m more familiar with the Windows interface. Nevertheless, Apple also has its advantages; I work a lot on Macs at university. But regardless of the hardware, I prefer Adobe Premiere Pro as my editing programme. Even if there are other options, Premiere is the fastest way to edit, which is why I use it for almost all my projects – including the animago trailers. For special motion effects, I used Adobe After Effects as well as Premiere.
DP: Which editing programmes did you use during your training? Which one convinced you and which one didn’t?
Thomas Richter: I’ve worked with three different editing programmes so far. My very first project, the 20-minute short film for the school seminar, I edited with Final Cut on an iMac. For my level of knowledge at the time, it was the best choice because it was relatively easy to understand. However, only the editing functions were important to me at the time and I didn’t delve any deeper into the software itself. I then edited my next projects with Adobe Premiere Elements, the light version of my current favourite Premiere Pro CC. It was fine to get started, but from today’s perspective, the Pro version is indispensable for my work. The colour grading mode in the new versions in particular makes me stick with Premiere. An additional practical component of the tool is its compatibility with Adobe After Effects. In addition to the Adobe programmes, I also really liked the Avid Media Composer. Although it takes a little longer to understand the interface, it is a very reliable and versatile programme that is particularly interesting for larger projects.
DP: Do you have a favourite camera?
Thomas Richter: No, not really; which model I use always depends on the area of application. In the documentary sector, I’ve already shot a lot with the Panasonic AG-DVX-200. I was very satisfied with the performance of the camera model and the recorded results, and I was also impressed by the handling without a rig and the overall ease of use. I’ve tried a few SLR cameras in the scenic area, but I had particularly good experiences with a RED Scarlet for my final university project.
DP: What is your final project?
Thomas Richter: The pilot episode of the self-created series “FreiHaus”, which I shot with my colleague Moritz Markulin. It’s about three female students and two male students who live together in a shared flat and have one thing in common despite their very different personalities: they enjoy the newfound freedom of student life to the full. I was able to write the script for the project, take on the sound and direction of the production and realise the editing and sound processing in post-production – so I was able to gain a lot of new experience in the course of this project.
DP: What criteria did you use to select the clips for the animago trailer?
Thomas Richter: Of course I did some research beforehand by looking at previous animago trailers – that gave me a few good ideas. Generally speaking, I sorted the clips or only parts of them into special categories. The big themes such as “human”, “animal”, “machine”, “nature” etc. or moods and feelings such as “optimism”, “fear”, “new beginnings” or “love” etc. came to mind.
DP: How did the epic music by composer Gordon Krei influence your editing style?
Thomas Richter: Gordon Krei’s music offers an editor a broad spectrum of possibilities: fast, rocky passages alternate with slower, more emotional sections; then there are happy or even threatening moments. Personally, I already had certain images, editing sequences and speeds in my head when I first heard the music – after that I “only” had to find the right images to go with it.
DP: What tricks do you know for adapting clips to music?
Thomas Richter: There are several ways to bring music and images together. In After Effects, for example, the music can be keyframed – so the beat or the base drum is already available as a guide. However, I’m not always a fan of when the images are cut to match the beat for an entire song. Offbeat cuts that are not exactly on the beat are sometimes allowed – how they are ultimately placed is a matter of feeling.
DP: How has the SAE helped you get off to a good start in the VFX and film industry so far?
Thomas Richter: The university supports us students in many situations and very individually: for example, with professional equipment that we can borrow for practice purposes. Through our lecturers and specialist speakers, we have the opportunity to gather ideas and make contacts or build bridges from the university to the industry. In my case, for example, I got into editing animago trailers via the SAE – a great opportunity for me.
DP: What are your plans after the animago?
Thomas Richter: The final phase of the university programme. In the Bachelor’s programme, the big, interdisciplinary final production is coming up and the Bachelor’s thesis also needs to be written. Once I have completed the SAE programme at the beginning of April 2017, I would like to gain experience as an editor in the working world. I don’t have a specific company in mind at the moment, but I would definitely be very interested in gaining experience abroad.
You can find more of Thomas Richter’s work in his showreel. All information about studying at the SAE can be found on the university’s website.
After the animago event – if you didn’t make it there in person – you can find the trailers and the event clip made by Thomas Richter on our animago YouTube channel.
Archive notice: This article was originally published on 2016-10-25. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
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