Big-5 Personality Traits & Film/Photo Editorial

Upon hearing some lectures on cognitive ability in working adults while using the Big-5 personality traits (including the research accompanied by it), I went along the path of thought that is leading to this blog post today. Please note, that my thoughts are quite surface level, and based on anecdotal evidence thus far in my career. I hope this will be a long-form conversation. I acknowledge my thoughts may change over time.

For those who may not know, the "Big Five" personality traits consist of the following: extroversion, agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism. Each trait represents a continuum, meaning there is a progression of values in each area represented by a whole. So there is by no means a distinctly perfect person with any of these traits. For easier to understand language, I will use the term "spectrum" to represent this continuum. Individuals can fall anywhere on the spectrum for each of the traits. Research shows that these traits are relatively stable throughout one's life.They are shown to be influenced by both genes and the environment, with some amount of heritability to be up to as far as 50%.They are also known to predict certain important life outcomes such as education and health (Lim).

To keep things simple for the sake of the blog, I will be using the "vs" imagery to define each of these five traits, and then I will look at where I feel I fall on each spectrum, and how that has impacted my job performance as someone in film post-production and photo editing. I also will suggest where I think people should be on the spectrum to what I perceive to be high success outcomes for post-production professionals.

Openness

(Imagination, Feelings, Actions, Ideas)

In low scoring openness, one may see practical personalities, conventionality and people that prefer routines. In high scoring openness, one may see curiosity, wide range of interests, and some level of independence. I like to phrase it as open-minded vs. closed minded but that is too simplistic for this. It also includes experiences; so openness to experiences vs. closed off to experience as well.

In this area, I fall slightly to the high scoring level, but close to the middle. I have the difficulty of narrowing my focus because of my wide area of interests. (My non-fiction library can attest to that). However, I tend to apply all of these interests into one key area: editing film, video, or photography. Everything seems to always come to that, and personally I like knowing that I can have interests in other things. It's comforting that I get paid normally to do one thing. That bit of routine has helped me greatly in staying focused on building a skill to a higher competency than stretching myself too thin with too many interests.

I would say personally, that success in post-production would entail needing to be right in the middle of the spectrum in openness. An editor needs to be comfortable with a routine, because editing can seem very mundane at times and also tedious. Also, it is important to have a curiosity, creativity, and a wide range of knowledge. The more an editor knows about the craft of film, the more creative the edits can be. It is freeing to be knowledgeable as an editor. An editor also needs to be comfortable with being independent, must be able to think abstractly, but not be surprised in conventionality or a routine in the edit room.

Conscientiousness

(Competence, Self-Discipline, Thoughtfulness, Goal Driven)

In low scoring conscientiousness, one could seem impulsive, careless, and disorganized. In high scoring conscientiousness, one could seem hardworking, dependable, and organized. Some people have described it this way which personally I like better; conscientiousness vs. lack of direction.

In this area, I score high in conscientiousness. I am at most times, organized, goal driven, hard working, disciplined, self-aware, thoughtful, and for the most part dependable. However when I am in a state of high stress, my body and mind want to tend towards the middle to low end of the spectrum, so I try very hard to protect my mental health as conscientiousness is the first thing to go for me. And the self-awareness is coming out! Ha!

I think an editor needs to score high in conscientiousness for a multitude of reasons. Editing is a highly detail-oriented field. There needs to be a high level of competence for noticing, and being thoughtful of the little things. I'm not saying editors need to be perfect. Noticing the little things takes time and can be trained. But by far editors need to be very hard working, dependable and organized. If you are graced with an assistant, they definitely will help with this as the creative side will at times combat with conscientiousness. That's why a great assistant is so valuable, and at times grossly under-looked and unappreciated.

Extroversion

(Sociability, Assertiveness, Emotional Expression)

In low scoring extroversion, one can seem to prefer solitude, reflective, and reserved. In high scoring extroversion, one can seem, sociable, excitement-seeking, and outgoing.

In this area, I score on the low end of extroversion. I am at most times reserved, and it takes a lot of energy for me to be social. In the workplace I need a bit more time in the morning to prep before work, so oftentimes I get up early in order to unwind and prepare for socialization. I don't do well with last minute socializing or socializing thrust upon me. Overtime I have gotten better with this, but I am definitely introverted.

I would say a good editor is in the middle of the two. Editors need to be comfortable working alone and not socializing with people for a period of time. However, there are many social situations as it comes to being an editor, and knowing how to do this effectively with dramatically increase your job prospects. People love highly social editors with a lot of charisma. Being socially awkward and/or reserved may be an endearing trait, but not something many crew members will tolerate for long periods of time. Knowing this in advance, introverts can prepare for their social activity and when necessary, vocalize the need for setting meetings in advance, etc. to curb the unwanted behavior of forced socializing when the introvert is energy depleted.

Agreeableness

(Cooperative, Trustworthy, Good-Natured)

In low scoring agreeableness, one could seem skeptical, demanding, stubborn, unsympathetic, and a show off. In high scoring agreeableness, one could seem forgiving, straightforward, helpful, compliant, empathetic, and modest.

In this area I think I score in the middle leaning towards the high end of agreeableness. There are times where I assertively draw the line with people and ideas which may seem stubborn at times. I am skeptical at first for a lot of interactions, but overtime I learn to trust and usually I am very compliant. In the edit room I may feel skeptical of something, but I am always willing to try it, even if I have doubts of its effectiveness. Depending on the collaboration structure, I may be highly compliant, although that does not come without assertive issue presentation.

I think a good editor needs to be somewhere close to the high scoring area. In most cases having to be stubborn is minimal unless there is a massive issue. So for the most part, it is important to be very agreeable in the post-production field. However, being honest about what you know and what you don't know is very important here. You can't just say, "yes" and not know how to execute. You can say in that instance, "I hear what you are asking of me. I'm not quite sure how to execute that, but I will definitely find out for you" and follow through. Being forgiving of being treated like crap is also an important skill, as editors are oftentimes the punching bags for the issues that come from production.

Neuroticism

(Tendency towards unstable emotions)

In low scoring neuroticism, one may seem very emotionally stable, calm, confident, and resilient. In high scoring neuroticism, one may seem anxious, irritable, stressed, shy, vulnerable, and experience dramatic shifts in mood.

Before I state where I am on this spectrum. I want to say that on average most artists tend to be more neurotic than not. This is not necessarily a bad thing. There are many high functioning adults who have higher levels of neuroticism. The important thing is that there needs to be conscientiousness in order to curb the negative effects.

I would say I am right in the middle of the spectrum. Depending on my workload, difficulty of an edit, and my social relationship circle at the time. I can be anywhere emotionally. I try to do my best at being as non-neurotic as possible, but when I am thrown a curve-ball, at first I tend to be a bit reactionary and irritable. The good news is I know this about myself, so I am working towards being as careful as possible to how I respond, and a lot of my neuroticism is internally worked out before I speak and act, so a lot of it isn't presented in the workplace.

I can say that confidently because the cultural and political climate is the most stressful it can be at the moment, and so far I am attempting at handling my ability to be neurotic under stress perfectly fine. Covid-19 doesn't have a thing on me.

I would say a good editor needs to be on the low-end of neuroticism. The editor needs to be the stable rock for the entire post team. There will inevitably be issues with any production, and it is important to anticipate them and handle them with grace. As artists it isn't uncommon to want to be neurotic at times, but it is important to control that energy and put it into the work instead of expressing it outwardly.

Conclusion

Hopefully this post helps a lot of you out there to get an understanding of the kind of personality that thrives in post-production and maybe this exercise may help you as well figure out the areas in your life that you can improve on to be a higher functioning editor in your life.

Happy Editing.

Source

Lim, A (2020, June 15). The big five personality traits. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/big-five-personality.html