"The Bourne Ultimatum" and a man called Brechin
A FILM-MAKER called Brechin has told "The Advertiser" of his role in movie classics like "The Deer Hunter", "Total Recall", "Basic Instinct" and, more recently, "The Bourne Ultimatum".
Derek Gordon Brechin, an exiled Scot whose roots are firmly in Angus, spoke of his love for all things in the town he shares his name with, despite the fact he lives thousands of miles away and has carved out a highly successful career in the film industry in the heart of the world's movie-making capital.
Derek explained: "The Gordon comes from my grandfather, who was from the Angus area, but that is my nearest link to Brechin for the name.
"I was actually born and raised in Glasgow and left there at the age of 16 when my parents decided to start a new life in California.
"At first I hated it and missed my friends and Glasgow Celtic, but got used to it after a while and have not looked back since.
"My sisters have both visited Brechin recently. I was there as a youngster but don't remember much about it really.
"One thing I have always checked is the Brechin City score from Glebe Park and I still do to this day.
"I did not always work in the film industry. It's a long story really.
"After completing high school I attended college for a couple of years and was not sure what I wanted to do.
"I then left college and got a job in the printing business. I was playing football (soccer) for a local Scottish club in Santa Monica, California, and met a fellow Scot named Ed Malone. His older sister was married to a film editor and we became best friends.
"I was always a film fan and fascinated by the business. One day Ed arranged for me to go to 20th Century Fox studios to meet his brother-in-law, get a tour and hang out in his editing suite to get an idea of how things work.
"About a week later the film editor called me back and ask if I was interested in a job at film editing.
"I was completely taken by surprise and jumped at the opportunity. I asked him why he was giving me this chance,and his answer was that, by the questions I had asked during my visit he had a sense that the field of film editing might be something that I could be good at.
"I had never really considered film as a career, but it just shows you how life's cards are dealt.
"By the way, that film editor's name is Frank J. Urioste. Frank went on to get three Academy award nominations.
"He took me under his wing and taught me all he knew. Frank retired this year after spending ten years as VP at Warner Brothers.
"As an interesting side-note, Ed Malone asked me If I would take his sister to a new year's dance, and, to cut a long story short, we got married two years later - 34 years on and still going strong.
"I have lived in the States since 1969. In 1979 I bought a house in Glendale, California - near Hollywood and the Dodgers Stadium. It made sense to move there as most of the major studios are closer to the Glendale area.
"Without going back and counting them all I would say I have worked on around 40 movies.
"The very first was "The Deer Hunter", which was a great way to start.
"My role is the film editor. As each day's footage comes in, myself and the director discuss what he wants from the scene, what we think the best performances are, etc.
"I then cut the scene together and it just goes along like that day by day until we have what the industry calls a rough cut.
"Many weeks are then spent in post production, weeding through each scene bit by bit, taking out what we think is not needed and trying to find the right pace and attitude for what remains.
"I have seen rough cuts of up to and over four hours long and shown to the studio ten weeks later running at 90 minutes. It all depends on how well each movie holds up.
"Once the film editor and director are satisfied we then show the film to the producers or to the studio and then we might spend a few more weeks or days doing whatever changes they ask for.
"It might even involve putting back scenes that we might have decided to eliminate or it may turn out that they would like the movie to be even shorter.
"It's never the same. Each movie has its own soul and lots of times the final decisions are not made until we show the movie to a sneak preview audience and get their feed-back.
"Once a final version of the movie is settled on it's then turned over to music composers for a sound-track - also to sound editors, dialogue editors etc.
"I have worked as an assistant editor on "Total Recall", "Basic Instinct", "Cliffhanger" and "Dune" and as an Editor on "Stargate", "Breakdown", "Deep Blue Sea", "Romeo Must Die", "The Bourne Ultimatum" and many others.
"It's a very satisfying career. Each movie is a new challenge so there no time to get bored.
"The role has also taken me to many places in the world - Rome, Malta, Prague, China, Hong Kong, London and Bangkok, as well as many areas in the USA, Canada and Australia, as movies are filmed all over these days.
"All films differ. Some can be a huge problem and the final result can be very satisfying.
"Others just never work, no matter how much time or effort we put into them."
Talking about life in the USA, Derek adds: "I still miss Scotland and the food, which we try to copy in California sometimes, not with great success."
Any advice for anyone who wants to get into the film industry?
"I have been asked this question by lots of people mostly film students," he continues.
"Find your niche, it might be camera, prop making, sound recording, building sets, music, special effects, make-up, or the dozens of other jobs in the industry.
"You just can't apply and say I would like a job, any job. That won't fly.
"Once you have decided what path to take it's a matter of letter-writing, sending resumes out, constantly annoying people, showing your enthusiasm, sometimes even volunteering your services.
"In the end the ones who really want it shine through and potential employers can pick up on the people with a true desire and others that just want a job with no real interest in what they are doing.
"As far as I am aware I have never come across another Brechin or even another "Brechiner" in all my years making movies, but I am always hopeful."
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Friday 25 May 2012
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