Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Devaney.
Hi Patrick, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up, I was always drawing and doodling. When I was a kid, I wanted to be an animator. I got exactly one frame finished when I someone told me what “frames per second” meant and I quickly gave up that idea. Storytelling, however, was always something I wanted to do.
My dad loves telling the story that the first movie I ever watched was Casablanca when I was two days old, fresh back from the hospital, asleep on my dad’s stomach.
In high school, I discovered writing short stories. It was the first academic experience that felt truly fun and invigorating. I was obsessed with the internal thought process of characters and would put them in these heightened situations, only to write these massive internal monologues. To me, the story always flowed out of the characters.
When I transitioned to film, I was worried that my writing would not translate to a visual medium because my stories were so internal. Ironically, that has been the most helpful thing for me as an editor because I was able to ground my editing through the character and idea; dive deep into the character to help motivate the edit.
I went into undergrad thinking I wanted to be a writer but took to editing when I started to make my own films. I attended the University of Vermont where they have a small film program, and I took every production class they offered. Through UVM, I learned every aspect of filmmaking, including editing, and fell in love with the medium. I found that editing was very similar to writing but with image and sound. I fell in love with the playful nature of editing and have been pursuing editing as a career ever since.
I recently completed my MFA in Editing from American Film Institute Conservatory. There I was able to hone my craft, work with wonderful and creative filmmakers who challenged me and allowed me to become a better filmmaker while also building my connection pool.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Has it been a smooth road? Interesting question. Last year, I had just completed my MFA in editing from AFI and had found a Post Production Assistant job for an NBC Pilot. It was a great experience and I felt that I was starting to build momentum to work my way into the film industry.
Once the Pilot completed, I decided to celebrate by roller-blading with a friend. While roller-blading I fell and broke my femur. So, about a week after my Post PA job ended, I was lying in a hospital bed learning how to walk again.
Six months later, I had recovered, but I had lost all my momentum. Last December, however, I edited a limited soap-style web series called BIG BAD HUSBAND, PLEASE WAKE UP. I recently Assistant Edited on a scripted feature and a Feature Documentary. I am starting to find my momentum again, but this time with the help of a metal rod in my leg.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As an editor, I find that my storytelling is still very character-based. I love looking for unique performances in the dailies and playing with the footage to create the best version of the director’s vision.
My favorite aspect of editing is trying interesting ideas. How will it enhance the story we are trying to tell? Maybe that means holding on one character for the whole scene or maybe that means shuffling around the scenes to see if it enhances what we are trying to say.
With editing, I get to play the same way I did when writing or when I was a kid drawing one frame, trying to make a whole movie from a doodle.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
The role of luck. This is an interesting question. I think I have always been lucky. I was lucky to discover writing as something I loved. I was lucky to have the support of my parents to pursue art. I was also lucky to find Scary Cow.
When I graduated undergrad, I moved back home from the East Coast to my hometown, Oakland, and I had no ideas of where to begin my career. I was working at a country club as a lifeguard and felt very untethered from film.
Within the first month of being back, a friend reached out to me and told me about a screening for a local film collective in San Francisco called Scary Cow. I had no idea what a “film collective” was but attended the screening. It was at Scary Cow where I became an editor.
The goal of Scary Cow was to create a place for aspiring filmmakers to create and work on films, which would be screened at the Castro Theatre. Whereas before, I had done every aspect of filmmaking, here I made a name for myself as an editor and discovered what I loved about editing – by editing many, many shorts. I learned though editing, and through collaborating with wonderful filmmakers.
It was because of Scary Cow that I moved to LA to become an editor and it was shortly after I moved that I pursued a Master’s Degree in film editing at AFI Conservatory.
Luck has always helped me keep pursuing this medium that I love and I am forever grateful for it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: saint.paatrick
- Other: https://vimeo.com/219259889
Image Credits
Akanksha Shyam
