Got an email a few days after I finished working at my internship from the head editor of the company.
Turns out he quit less than a week after I left. Can’t say I’m surprised.
The workplace culture of fear there was just backwards and irrational- he was overworked, largely ignored, and constantly treated like shit by the owner of the company.
While I was there he mentioned quitting once or twice- he daydreamed about telling the boss to shove it and just walking out the door, and watching everybody panic when nobody knew how to pick up the pieces and the network collapsed. Then they’d be sorry.
But the reality of the situation was, the head editor’s job was a stable staff position a rarity in the world of post-production. Most post jobs end as soon as the show’s season is over, or the show is cancelled. Some shows barely make it through a few episodes. Most shows don’t last a season. So every few months, the majority of editors go back to being unemployed, waiting for the next gig.
That’s the reality of the profession- work yourself to exhaustion for a few months at a time, then be unemployed. Rinse and repeat.
The staff position on the other hand, was a stable 10-6 gig where the head editor was salaried, (almost) never worked weekends, and pretty much ironclad job security. So while the job had its downsides, the stability of a steady paycheck usually outweighed the negatives. At least that’s what he told me.
For things to have gotten so bad he quit….I don’t know WHAT happened. I’ll check in with him later and update the post after I have a solid answer.