Jeffrey Ford is an American film editor born in California. He graduated from USC and began his career as an assistant editor in 1994. His first solo editing job was on The Yards in 2000. Ford is best known for editing many of the Avengers films for Marvel Studios. He believes the most important part of editing is making characters seem human to emotionally connect with audiences. Ford takes regular breaks to remain focused while editing and works at a standing desk for health and creativity. He emphasizes the importance of teamwork in film editing.

1. Jeffrey Ford
FILM EDITOR PRACTITIONER RESEARCH FILE

2. Background
Jeffery Ford is an American film editor born in Novato
California. He graduated from the University of Southern
California School of Cinema-Television in Los Angeles with a
degree in Cinema-Television Production. From there he
began his career in the filmmaking industry, in 1994 he
worked as an editorial assistant in 'Little Odessa', and
continued to be an assistant editor in several other films.
He got his first job as an apprentice editor with director
James Gray and editor Dorian Harris. In the year 2000
Jeffery Ford had his first solo feature as an editor of 'The
Yards' and continued to edit in the following years all the
way up until now, mainly editing for the well-known
avenger's films.

3. His work
Jeffery Ford has editing in several successful films, the Avenger's
films being the ones he's most notorious for. At Marvel Studios,
Ford co-edited “Captain America: The First Avenger” (with
Robert Dalva), “Iron Man Three” (with Peter S. Elliot), “The
Avengers” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” (both with Lisa
Lassek), co-edited (with Matthew Schmidt) “Captain America:
The Winter Soldier,” “Captain America: Civil War”, “Avengers:
Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.” His most recent work is
"Let Him Go" (with Meg Reticker) from 2020. He has been very
successful in the filmmaking industry and continues to be now.

4. "There's so much technology and you can realize all this great
imagery. But, at the end of the day, the human component is what
people will always connect to."
Something that Jeffery Ford is a big believer in when it comes to
editing is making characters seem human as it’s the emotional
parts that the audience will connect to. The emotional
connection is key in an edit, regardless of the budget being big
or small. “When audiences are really taken with a character,
that’s when they’re really plugged into the movie. And that’s
you can have these incredible emotional reactions that people
have to these films,” and a big part of making room for that
emotion and 'real moments' comes down to the editing. It's all
about building a scene around the emotion.

5. How he works
In an interview, Jeffery Ford talks about the difficulty of
remaining focused when trying to edit. You must sit in front
of a screen for a long period of time which can influence
your work and your focus 'if you just stare at something and
keep hammering at it, you're not going to get very far'.
Jeffery Ford tends to take 3 – 4 breaks a day minimum
where he might go for a walk or eat out, 'go do something
else that changes your rhythm and your focus so that when
you come back, you can have a degree of objectivity'. It
him remain focused on his work throughout the day and
taking breaks is very healthy for a productive workflow. He
believes that the longer you sit in front of your screen
without moving, the more it inhibits your objectivity and
relationship with your audience. Extreme focus is required
to edit a film.

6. His work space
Ford has got a standing desk to remain active, he's stated
that it's become a huge part of his life and he can't work
without it. Ford has said that it's become an enormous
benefit to his creativity when trying to edit for a film, so
much so that he can't work without it. It is also significant to
have a good working environment, he says a good working
environment provides daylight, space, and amenities to
maintain health and well-being. In terms of his editing
team, taking care of yourself is seen as a strength, not a
weakness, as when working it is easy to forget about your
own health. Take care of your physical and mental health!

7. Teamwork
Jeffery Ford states that teamwork is very important
when it comes to editing, it’s a group effort and you
need to be able to work as a team. 'Film Editing is not a
solitary pursuit at all. It's always a team effort. And
being able to be a leader and a follower on a team are
crucial skills for making the film.' Ford believes that
teamwork is an integral part of filmmaking and you
must be able to work together with those around you in
a collaborative effort. It's good to divide the workload
between more people working shorter hours to stay
creative and productive as well as sharing ideas with
each other.

8. Conclusion
Jeffery Ford is a successful editor in the filmmaking industry
and has learnt several things whilst making his way. Creativity
and focus is important so its significant to take care of yourself
and well-being for a productive workflow. Teamwork is
integral! Going to university taught Jeffery Ford the importance
of teamwork and how working together keeps projects creative
and productive! You must remain focused and work with those
around you for the best possible result. Making connections
with people in the industry can also be quite significant as it
can be difficult to get into the filmmaking industry.