Rick Ponte, Trend Hunter (INTERVIEW)

With Video Editor Rick Ponte's life-long obsession with film-making, it's no wonder he was drawn towards stop motion animated shorts, especially Stoopid Buddy Stoodio's 'Micro Mayhem.' When he isn't browsing the internet for the coolest new films, Ponte edits a ton videos for Trend Hunter while working towards achieving his childhood dream of becoming the next Steven Spielberg:

1.Which trend do you find most fascinating?

The trend I find most fascinating is ‘Stop-Motion Action Movies.’ It’s basically these guys that literally built this entire miniature set. They had their own cameras rigged up like little arms, and shot this cool movie of micro cars racing and fighting each other. That’s what I did when I was younger, so that’s why I found it fascinating.

2.What did you do before coming to Trend Hunter?

Before Trend Hunter, I was shooting a lot of music videos. I enjoyed that a lot, but I wanted to do something different, so I decided to apply to Trend Hunter.

3.How would you describe the open-office environment at Trend Hunter?

It’s always been a dream of mine to work in an open-office environment, just so that you can bounce ideas off of each other, and if someone needed help, you could just give a shout. At Trend Hunter, that’s pretty much how it is, so if I get stuck somewhere, or I need help, or if someone shoots an idea at me and I like it, I’ll try to incorporate the idea into something I’m working on, or try and help someone else.

4.Describe your editing process. How do you go about editing a video?

It starts, for me, with getting everything organized, so that I know where everything is. Then I go through the footage and decide where I should make cuts.

5.What’s the most important thing you’ve learned at Trend Hunter so far?

The most important thing I’ve learned at Trend Hunter is to do the interviews right, while I’m shooting. I have a mental list, that helps me think about specific shots and angles, I make sure all that sound is working…it helps me to produce something amazing.

6.What has been your favorite filming experience?

My favorite filming experience was definitely the Disaronno event. It was basically a mixology competition. It was really interesting to see these guys make drinks and come out dressed as different characters.

7.What did you want to be when you were younger?

When I was a kid, basically I wanted to be Steven Spielberg. So my mom got me this LEGO studio, Steven Spielberg edition set, and it was like a home movie maker set. So I started making films when I was a little kid with LEGO characters.

8.What has been your greatest accomplishment so far?

My greatest accomplishment so far has definitely been finishing my first music video. It was quite a big deal…I was very happy with it, the artist was extremely happy with it, so that was a really big accomplishment in my life so far.

9.Do you have any last thoughts on the Trend Hunter experience?

If you really like writing, that’s cool, but I’m more of a visual-type guy, and if you love doing video stuff, Trend Hunter is perfect for you. You get to experience a whole bunch of cool and interesting stuff, and meet some awesome new people.