Film Editor Mark Keefer: All Work Is Admirable And Honorable (Guest Column)

Mark Keefer is a five-time Emmy-winning and three-time Golden Reel-winning film editor whose credits include “The Garfield Movie,” Netflix’s “Over the Moon,” Disney’s “Planes,” and the “VeggieTales” franchise. Recently, Mark penned a social media post about a temporary job that he has taken to tide him and his family over during this exceptionally slow period in the animation industry. The post has gone viral, resonating with many film and tv industry workers who are experiencing similar situations. In the interest of furthering the conversation around this important topic, Cartoon Brew is sharing Mark’s story here with his permission. Over to Mark…

I’m a film editor.

At least that’s what it says on my resume. My IMDB page has lots of evidence to prove it as well, along with some other sound credits and minor accolades.

The attached selfie is of me right before walking into work at Trader Joe’s for my first shift on Dec 9th, 2024. So, why post this photo? I’ve worked in the film/TV industry for about 28 years now, and I’ve been out of work a few times. You get through it and something usually opens up at the right time.

The industry is either feast or famine, but with COVID, then the agonizing SAG and WGA strikes in 2023, and then in 2024, my union and 13 others nearly went on strike — thank God those strikes were averted last July.

This perfect storm of setbacks for the industry has made most studios gun-shy to green light new projects, so as people finish their current projects, they’re not finding anything to roll onto. The rate of new projects right now is a frustrating trickle.

When The Garfield Movie ended for me in March of 2024, I found a few projects to help out on, but found no new films looking for a lead editor. (I’m still looking)

Then, in November, with the holidays coming up, and still with no new film jobs in sight…

I made a decision.

I did something I haven’t done in over 30 years. I applied for a non-creative job. Don’t get me wrong, there are ways to express creativity at TJ’s – just not what I was accustomed to. Thankfully I was hired, and when I rolled off the show I’d been working on for 8 months after Garfield, I put on the name badge and walked into the store.

At first, I felt a little embarrassed, wondering if any of my editor colleagues, recruiters, potential hiring producers, or anyone, would find out and see this as a defeat. Not gonna lie — it was extremely humbling.

Then, and pretty quickly, I realized I was surrounded by extremely awesome and creative people. Musicians, actors, writers, artists, you name it. And if you’ve ever been in a Trader Joe’s you see how hard they work — and they actually work much harder than you think they do.

When I finish a shift there, I’m spent — it’s like an 8-hour workout. But it’s a good tired. I know I laid it all out there to get the job done, and to continue to feed my family until I can move onto the next film. I’m so thankful for this TJ’s crew.

The reason for sharing this now, is I want to tell all of the other out-of-work film people, it’s okay to go find something to do to make your month work. It’s admirable. It’s honorable. It’s respectable. Do not ever be ashamed of taking care of you and yours, even if it’s temporarily taking you out of your comfort zone.