Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker

by Jeff Betancourt | Published February 3, 2007

Beth Colt and Chris Weitz star in Chuck & Buck, one Jeff Betancourt's three features with director Miguel Arteta.

Cut anything and everything you can.

If someone wants to be an editor, I would tell them to cut anything and everything that they can—whether it’s their parents’ wedding videos or a music video for their friend’s garage band. Just get in and cut as much as possible.

You never know.

You never know when that one thing—that one project or video or anything—is going to be the thing that catapults you. Or the one you find your voice with. Or the one where you make that connection with that director.

Find those relationships.

Find those relationships where you have a kinship to someone else. My becoming friends with Miguel Arteta, and coming to the point where we work together a lot, has become invaluable. Just find that relationship and look for those people that you have a connection with in terms of the material you like.

Trust your instincts.

Really trust your instincts. Maybe it’s not the most high prestige project or what you expect to be doing, or maybe you’ll have to sacrifice some other part of your life to be a part of it. But just trust that voice.

Don’t underestimate your comfort level.

The shorthand and trust [you have with a director] really can’t be underestimated. One of the biggest jobs I feel like I have as an editor is to sort of be the eyes and ears while the film is being shot—to sit in the editing room and be able to give the director feedback.

When you’re working with someone new, they may not have the trust level there; and you may not have the comfort level to call them up and say ‘Hey, you know that last scene would have been really great if we could have gotten this shot. Is there any way we can try and get that?’ When you work with someone like Miguel, he’s constantly asking “How’s it going? Am I getting everything?” So I feel very comfortable and he trusts me and trusts what I see. That comfort level is really a great thing to have.

Filmography for Jeff Betancourt

Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
The United States of Leland (2003)
The Good Girl (2002)
Get Over It (2001)
The Girls’ Room (2000)
Chuck & Buck (2000)
Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss (1998)
Star Maps (1997)

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