By John Janitz
Layout Editor
Mastering the skills of a craft doesn’t always happen in the classroom. Sometimes you must take the initiative like John Lyden, who has already been employed as a video editor an entire year before graduation.
Lyden was born and raised in Rensselaer, NY. He is 21 years old and is a junior at The College of Saint Rose. He is majoring in Communications with a concentration in Film and New Media. While enrolled in college, he lives and works from home as a video editor for The University at Albany.
The university hired Lyden in August 2012 to edit video footage from the college and work on any projects they have in progress. His most recent project was a half hour documentary film about two mummies at the Albany Institute of History and Art. He started his work on this project in July 2012 and finished in January 2013.
Lyden said he feels the pressure of being both a full-time student and a video editor.
“It’s definitely a balancing act,” said Lyden. Typically, he puts around 10 hours a week into editing and usually has deadlines every two weeks.
Lyden has also done personal projects. One film he worked on was a half hour documentary entitled Stepping Toward the Lion. The film, which took four years to make, depicts how a Muslim boy overcomes bullying. A successful Kickstarter campaign was created on Dec. 2, 2012 in the hopes of funding the post production and distribution of the film. It will be released in April 2013.
“He works hard and perseveres at the things he wants to accomplish,” said Harry Collins, a fellow filmmaker and friend.
Khalafalla Osman, who helped Lyden with his documentary, said that he had a good experience.
Lyden “is a really sincere guy and you could tell that from the message he tries to portray with his film,” said Osman. “I can honestly say is it was a real pleasure working with him.”
Lyden enjoys editing video and sees it as a possible career. He would also like to work on other parts of production such as filming and script consulting. When he edits, he uses professional editing software called Final Cut Pro.
After he graduates from Saint Rose, Lyden may head to Toronto, Canada for graduate school. “I visited there back in August and just loved it,” said Lyden. “There’s a lot of film history up there.”
When he is not working on projects, Lyden enjoys playing basketball, running, and working on screenplays.
By working for the university Lyden benefits both financially and with valuable experience. “It is work, but I’m looking to build up my portfolio,” he said. He hopes to be able to put a demo reel together before he applies to a graduate school.
“I love film work and editing because it is a terrific way to express yourself,” said Lyden. “You can forget about your troubles and become immersed in a story.”
