DeLAND, Fla. – A’sia Horne is a graduate of DeLand High School and Florida A&M University.
If you watch the new blockbuster hit “The Woman King” you will see her name in the credits as an assistant editor.
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She said it all started in high school in a TV production class with Coach Lowe.
She said she cut a music video with Final Cut Pro and then didn’t think about it again until she went to FAMU. She was pursuing a degree in broadcast journalism, where she got to work with editing software more, but she was still interested in the film industry.
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Horne said it was that passion and those skills that eventually led to a call from the editor of “The Woman King” and she was ecstatic to be part of it.
“Being able to read that (script) and then you are in the office, you are seeing that footage as it comes, an assistant editor we are organizing, we are prepping everything for our editor,” said Horne.
But, it’s so much more than that. Horne said the editors also value her opinion.
“What’s amazing about working with Gina Prince-Bythewood and Terilyn Shropshire is that they (offer) a collaborative environment,” Horne said. “If you have an opinion, they want to know that... to be able to give input on a movie like this, I’m so grateful for that.”
“It’s very important for there to be diversity in front of and behind the scenes” she added. “You can be a post-producer, you can be a supervisor, as far as post-production is concerned, you can also be over visual effects, you can be a visual effects editor, you can work as a visual effects supervisor, there are so many different categories that you can make a great living, and also be connected to something that is such a great profession and it’s something fun.”
Horne said while she is proud of the education she got at FAMU, it is not a must.
“College is definitely important to me and definitely an experience I am so grateful to have, but you don’t necessarily have to have a college degree to work in my field,” she said. “The biggest thing you need to have are the skill sets that are necessary meaning you understand the software, having a certification is great, especially coming in entry-level, and then being someone who is enthusiastic and really want to learn.”
To get a head start Horne recommends that aspiring editors go online and check some of the free resources on YouTube.
“Do a couple tutorials, start learning Davinci Resolve, that’s a free software, doing whatever you can do to get your hands on the software and the skillsets is the best thing to do,” she said.
Horne said a little bit of curiosity and commitment can save you a lot of money.
“Preparing yourself in a way where you don’t necessarily have to have student loans and get to have the same career path is a great option,” she said.