‘The Emergency’ Editor Charlie Pennell Shares His Creative Journey

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Charlie Pennell is a young and talented videographer, video editor, and audio engineer based in London, UK. Specializing in video editing and graphic design, combined with high-level qualifications in music production & sound engineering, he places creativity at the forefront of everything. Most recently, Charlie Pennell edited the short film The Emergency by Australian director Mark Vegar in collaboration with Twin Paws Productions.

Charlie Pennell
Image @ Charlie Pennell

Q & A with Charlie Pennell

Charlie, you work both sound and video. Which one did you start with and how did you stretch out to include the other in your creative journey?

Since I was a young age I’ve always had some avenue of creativity in my life, beginning with simple drawing and artwork. Video editing later became a hobby, but it was music production/sound engineering that really fascinated me due to my general passion for music.
After completing technical professional qualifications in that field, I began my freelance business. However, within a year, it was the video projects that were bringing in more work and I soon progressed in that industry. Video/Film Editing – as well as Videography – is now the main focus of my business, alongside multiple secondary services such as Graphic Design, Audio Production, and Photography.

What software do you use for video editing and why do you choose it over others?

For the majority of my professional journey I have used Adobe Creative Cloud as my main base of software. Premiere Pro exclusively for editing, After Effects for more advanced motion graphics work and Photoshop for the most design projects. For any advanced audio mixing for video projects I will use Logic Pro, as I would for traditional music production. Similarly, for larger scale colour-grading I will use DaVinci Resolve, as the features and detail possible is supremely beneficial for projects.

What was working on editing The Emergency like and whether you enjoyed it or learnt anything new in the process?

Although I didn’t necessarily cut the project in the traditional editing sense, working on The Emergency was another new experience. I don’t often get the opportunity to work on projects that require green screen editing, so it was a pleasure to be able to do so again on this occasion. I was also able to pick up extra details of knowledge in that process. The overall project was great to be a part of, and Ernest was a pleasure to work alongside throughout.

The Emergency was an international collaborative project? Have you done other projects that were based outside of Britain?

Absolutely, all the film based projects I’ve worked on have actually been outside of England and located in the US. The first was editing a trailer for an independent film called Dolly Deadly by director Heidi Moore. The trailer itself later won Best Horror Trailer at a New York based Film Festival.
I later worked with Heidi again on a feature-length documentary as sole Editor, about the Horror film industry. It explored many production insights but also physiological aspects including “Why do people enjoy watching Horror?” Other international projects include film poster design for filmmakers/actors Scott Hamm and Kipp Tribble. This includes a recently finished project ReBroken that starred Tobin Bell.

What is more entertaining in your of line work – film editing or music videos?

I’ve yet to produce work for either on a truly consistent basis but that is the current focus, to tunnel in on working on films and music videos, as they both tie in perfectly to my passions.
That being said, film editing is the big interest and major goal in my career. The full storytelling nature of film and working with emotions as well as really creating a narrative is something that I am passionate about doing in my work, regardless of the subject matter.

Do you also create your own music?

As previously mentioned, music production is where I started out, professionally at least, and I have produced my own material in the past as well as recording my own music in studios.
My musical interests are extremely varied and I enjoy many genres from Soul to Metal, R&B to Swing and almost everything in between. Although I don’t currently have anything to share, I hope to get back to creating music in the near future.

What are some of your current projects and ambitions?

The film poster I mentioned that I designed for the new independent movie ReBroken was my most recent work, and was the third official poster that I created for Kipp and Scott.
Again, ambitions going forward are all mainly focused on navigating my way deeper into the film industry and working on large scale film editing projects.

To learn more about Charlie Pennell and his work, visit him online at https://www.charliepennellproductions.com/.

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Alan Gray

Alan Gray is a business writer and a graphics hacker who loves to craft interesting stories and pair them with descriptive images that he creates on his Mac. He used to be a Windows freak, but after Vista destroyed his enjoyment by crashing 2-3 times per day, he decided that it was time for a change. He says he never wants to go back.