Debbie Hattingh
- Editorial Department
- Visual Effects
My first job in the industry was at the Post Production house called DGP (Day Gardner Productions) located in London Soho. I started working as a runner. As I was very proactive and applied myself, within 6 months I was promoted to an Edit Assistant and I started the process of being trained to assist editors, colorists and all clients. My training was very technical and specific. This is where I started to specialize in editing. I had to learn how to patch edits to play out their work; create dubs and transfers; manage media; and perform conforms. I also had to know above-average IT skills to assist editors. In this time I worked many different shifts including day shifts and night shifts. I was rostered on as much as possible as I was very eager to learn and do well. During my time at DGP I had in-house training from experienced editors, and I attended an Avid Editing course which I passed.
In 2008 after a successful time as an edit assistant and MCR operator at DGP, I moved on to Clear Cut Pictures. It was a much bigger facility with a lot more to learn and work to do. Here I worked days, nights and weekends, moving my way up in the MCR (Machine Room/Master Control Room) where I assisted multiple suites at the same time and performed many hours of dubs and work for all teams. The type of work we were doing was of a high technical level and high quality. It allowed for very little errors and needed one to be very fast, multi-task and provide quality technical services to many people. I excelled in this role, and after a time, I became an MCR supervisor, where I was leading a team during the week and weekends. I became very good at my job, and began training the younger new starters. In 2009 I was working very closely with the full time editors, and that was when I was introduced to Color Grading. I found something I was truly passionate about. I signed up to receive in-house training and to attend as often as possible to learn the skills required. I began to assist the in-house Colorists. I started to apprentice to the online editors and colorists and finally received a promotion to Junior Online and Assistant in 2010. I managed to get this job due to my hard work, technical ability and color grading skills. I proved myself to the full time editors and they agreed to me for this position alongside my other assisting duties. Along with my assisting job, I would use my very little spare time to come into work to learn and progress. I used many days and weekends off to train and apprentice. At this time, all of my trainers and mentors were male, and I was one of the few females to perform this role at Clear Cut Pictures.
Finally I started being given small online editing roles and color grading roles. In 2011 and 2012 I colored and finished a number of shows with clients, which was a huge achievement. I had come from a small town in South Africa, and worked incredibly hard to achieve this. I had studied, put off many relationships, and spent hours and hours of unpaid overtime and days off to learn the highly specialized skills needed to do this type of job. Understanding color science, editing, and the technical and creative requirements of a show, is learnt with experience, and certainly a huge achievement. In 2012 I moved on to CAN TV where I was their in-house online editor and colorist for a short time, however I was then re-interviewed by Clear Cut Pictures, and was then re-hired by them, where I worked for another year as an online editor and colorist.
By the end of 2012 I decided to leave the UK for Australia, where I started working on a show called "I'm a Celeb get me Outta here". It was a British show, filmed in Australia. While in Australia I interviewed at a company called Shine. And in 2013 they hired me to work as the First chair (Senior) Online Editor and Colorist on "The Voice". It was a huge show, and had the highest ratings at the time. Working in this role on that show became a huge achievement for me. I worked many hours day and night and weekends. It required a lot of technical ability to run a show of that magnitude and color grade it to a professional level within the deadlines we were given. I was one of only a few female colorists and finishing editors at the time. After my performance working on The Voice, Shine decided to sponsor me from the UK. And I was sponsored by Shine in 2014. It was a 452 Highly Skilled Visa for video Editors. At Shine, which then became Endemol Shine, I brought a wealth of knowledge with me from the UK. I was a DaVinci Resolve specialist, which is a type of grading suite, and I helped roll it out in the company to be used on all their shows. I provided training, and I was one of the first to use DaVinci Resolve on their shows. I led the way in implementing the tools and software to others and for all their shows. This was another very big career achievement.
I worked for Endemol Shine Australia from 2014 to 2019. Here I hit many highlights in my editing and grading career. I moved from being sponsored and working contracts, to being hired full time as a Senior Online Editor and Colorist. This role meant that I was the Lead on the shows I worked on. I was also part of their training plans to train new junior staff members. I trained and mentored many aspiring colorists who are now working as seniors too. I also had many highlights working on award winning shows including: The Voice which was a huge local success and highest rating show; Australian MasterChef, which is one of the most purchased series in the world; "Old People's Home for 4 year Olds" which won an Emmy award and LegoMasters which won multiple awards in Australia. My role can be considered the behind the scenes unseen hero, and up to this day, there is still no awards category in the Australian Television industry for my role as online editor and colorist. What I do is both technical and creative, and requires a lot of knowledge, understanding, ability and client facing qualities. I have worked hard for my career and have always strived to perfect my craft and work to be better as a colorist and finishing editor, while achieving all of this as one of very few women who do this type of work. Most of my colleagues have been men, and it is rare to be a woman working in this field and breaking stereotypes while performing this type of highly skilled work.
In 2019 I left Endemol Shine, and started working as a Freelancer in Sydney Australia. During my freelance career I worked for Tracks Post Production, Fremantle, Endemol Shine Australia, Beyond and Warner Bros. Being skilled to move forward as a contractor and gain contracts in the trade was the main goal of going freelance, as well as gaining more clients In December of 2019 I moved to South Australia. During the pandemic of 2020 to 2023 I invested in the technology required to perform color grading and finishing/online editing remotely. I worked remotely and was part of the first remote online editors and colorists to perform work for Endemol Shine and Warner Brothers in Sydney, from home. This was rare before the pandemic, as it required a good amount of capital investment, and also companies liked to bring skilled workers into their facilities to use their larger expensive suites. I performed color and editing for Endemol Shine, Warner Bros, ITV, Fremantle and Soul Pictures. All this work I performed on my remote workstation and became skilled in running myself as a business, keeping up with computer updates and IT skills, software and hardware upgrades and upskilling, as well as networking to gain contracts. I also worked closely with an accountant to consistently keep up with the finances of my working from home business.
In 2021 my mother sadly passed away during the pandemic and my grandmother passed away in 2023. During this time I took some breaks from work to get through the grief. Once the borders were open, I spent a lot of time traveling to family to see each other after the loss and grieve together. I had a few breaks during this time to focus on family and personal matters. After a break and family commitments, in 2023, I was contacted by ITV USA. A recruiter in Sydney had put me forward and I agreed to an interview. Since it had been a time of me working remotely and also having breaks for family, it was well received and I was incredibly excited to be offered the role of Playout Editor on Love Island. The job was based on site in Fiji, and with a full crew, and so for the first time in three years I took on work with colleagues on site and for a very big show. I worked on Love Island S5 and Game for ITV US, and the show went on to become a huge success. Love Island US was one of the most streamed shows on the streaming service Peacock, attracting over 30 million views. This was one of the most intensive and difficult jobs I have done, and with all my experience and knowledge gained over the years, my role was a huge success. ITV US will also be re-hiring me for the role in 2024 and possibly for the next few years.
In 2008 after a successful time as an edit assistant and MCR operator at DGP, I moved on to Clear Cut Pictures. It was a much bigger facility with a lot more to learn and work to do. Here I worked days, nights and weekends, moving my way up in the MCR (Machine Room/Master Control Room) where I assisted multiple suites at the same time and performed many hours of dubs and work for all teams. The type of work we were doing was of a high technical level and high quality. It allowed for very little errors and needed one to be very fast, multi-task and provide quality technical services to many people. I excelled in this role, and after a time, I became an MCR supervisor, where I was leading a team during the week and weekends. I became very good at my job, and began training the younger new starters. In 2009 I was working very closely with the full time editors, and that was when I was introduced to Color Grading. I found something I was truly passionate about. I signed up to receive in-house training and to attend as often as possible to learn the skills required. I began to assist the in-house Colorists. I started to apprentice to the online editors and colorists and finally received a promotion to Junior Online and Assistant in 2010. I managed to get this job due to my hard work, technical ability and color grading skills. I proved myself to the full time editors and they agreed to me for this position alongside my other assisting duties. Along with my assisting job, I would use my very little spare time to come into work to learn and progress. I used many days and weekends off to train and apprentice. At this time, all of my trainers and mentors were male, and I was one of the few females to perform this role at Clear Cut Pictures.
Finally I started being given small online editing roles and color grading roles. In 2011 and 2012 I colored and finished a number of shows with clients, which was a huge achievement. I had come from a small town in South Africa, and worked incredibly hard to achieve this. I had studied, put off many relationships, and spent hours and hours of unpaid overtime and days off to learn the highly specialized skills needed to do this type of job. Understanding color science, editing, and the technical and creative requirements of a show, is learnt with experience, and certainly a huge achievement. In 2012 I moved on to CAN TV where I was their in-house online editor and colorist for a short time, however I was then re-interviewed by Clear Cut Pictures, and was then re-hired by them, where I worked for another year as an online editor and colorist.
By the end of 2012 I decided to leave the UK for Australia, where I started working on a show called "I'm a Celeb get me Outta here". It was a British show, filmed in Australia. While in Australia I interviewed at a company called Shine. And in 2013 they hired me to work as the First chair (Senior) Online Editor and Colorist on "The Voice". It was a huge show, and had the highest ratings at the time. Working in this role on that show became a huge achievement for me. I worked many hours day and night and weekends. It required a lot of technical ability to run a show of that magnitude and color grade it to a professional level within the deadlines we were given. I was one of only a few female colorists and finishing editors at the time. After my performance working on The Voice, Shine decided to sponsor me from the UK. And I was sponsored by Shine in 2014. It was a 452 Highly Skilled Visa for video Editors. At Shine, which then became Endemol Shine, I brought a wealth of knowledge with me from the UK. I was a DaVinci Resolve specialist, which is a type of grading suite, and I helped roll it out in the company to be used on all their shows. I provided training, and I was one of the first to use DaVinci Resolve on their shows. I led the way in implementing the tools and software to others and for all their shows. This was another very big career achievement.
I worked for Endemol Shine Australia from 2014 to 2019. Here I hit many highlights in my editing and grading career. I moved from being sponsored and working contracts, to being hired full time as a Senior Online Editor and Colorist. This role meant that I was the Lead on the shows I worked on. I was also part of their training plans to train new junior staff members. I trained and mentored many aspiring colorists who are now working as seniors too. I also had many highlights working on award winning shows including: The Voice which was a huge local success and highest rating show; Australian MasterChef, which is one of the most purchased series in the world; "Old People's Home for 4 year Olds" which won an Emmy award and LegoMasters which won multiple awards in Australia. My role can be considered the behind the scenes unseen hero, and up to this day, there is still no awards category in the Australian Television industry for my role as online editor and colorist. What I do is both technical and creative, and requires a lot of knowledge, understanding, ability and client facing qualities. I have worked hard for my career and have always strived to perfect my craft and work to be better as a colorist and finishing editor, while achieving all of this as one of very few women who do this type of work. Most of my colleagues have been men, and it is rare to be a woman working in this field and breaking stereotypes while performing this type of highly skilled work.
In 2019 I left Endemol Shine, and started working as a Freelancer in Sydney Australia. During my freelance career I worked for Tracks Post Production, Fremantle, Endemol Shine Australia, Beyond and Warner Bros. Being skilled to move forward as a contractor and gain contracts in the trade was the main goal of going freelance, as well as gaining more clients In December of 2019 I moved to South Australia. During the pandemic of 2020 to 2023 I invested in the technology required to perform color grading and finishing/online editing remotely. I worked remotely and was part of the first remote online editors and colorists to perform work for Endemol Shine and Warner Brothers in Sydney, from home. This was rare before the pandemic, as it required a good amount of capital investment, and also companies liked to bring skilled workers into their facilities to use their larger expensive suites. I performed color and editing for Endemol Shine, Warner Bros, ITV, Fremantle and Soul Pictures. All this work I performed on my remote workstation and became skilled in running myself as a business, keeping up with computer updates and IT skills, software and hardware upgrades and upskilling, as well as networking to gain contracts. I also worked closely with an accountant to consistently keep up with the finances of my working from home business.
In 2021 my mother sadly passed away during the pandemic and my grandmother passed away in 2023. During this time I took some breaks from work to get through the grief. Once the borders were open, I spent a lot of time traveling to family to see each other after the loss and grieve together. I had a few breaks during this time to focus on family and personal matters. After a break and family commitments, in 2023, I was contacted by ITV USA. A recruiter in Sydney had put me forward and I agreed to an interview. Since it had been a time of me working remotely and also having breaks for family, it was well received and I was incredibly excited to be offered the role of Playout Editor on Love Island. The job was based on site in Fiji, and with a full crew, and so for the first time in three years I took on work with colleagues on site and for a very big show. I worked on Love Island S5 and Game for ITV US, and the show went on to become a huge success. Love Island US was one of the most streamed shows on the streaming service Peacock, attracting over 30 million views. This was one of the most intensive and difficult jobs I have done, and with all my experience and knowledge gained over the years, my role was a huge success. ITV US will also be re-hiring me for the role in 2024 and possibly for the next few years.
