Paul Shields

Instinctive, Passionate and Lightning Fast Editor

I have a natural instinct for drama and comedy. I see my role as being to mine as much emotion, character and humour as I can from every script and performance - while preserving a clear and involving narrative. I have strong editorial skills developed over the years and going back to reading English at university. I have worked in offline and online, scripted and unscripted but my passion is scripted offline.

I am used to working to a deadline and have cut material featuring performers of all ages and experience. I am highly skilled in Avid effects meaning I can quickly come up with solutions to continuity problems where a clever split screen can often save the day. I have also worked with VFX artists creating previsualisations of effects in the cut. I love working with music and pride myself on my attention to detail.

I have worked as an editor in broadcast post production for over 25 years. I held staff positions at two large post houses followed by a busy 12 years as a freelancer. I bring a wealth of experience in editorial, craft and finishing to every project with in-depth knowledge of Avid editing systems including working with multicam. Lightning fast but thorough with a creative eye for detail I am at home at any stage of the edit from offline through to online.

I live within easy reach of MediaCity but have ultra fast broadband to work remotely. I can also run Avid locally on my own system – downloading rushes and uploading viewing copies quickly as required. And I have a car so can easily be located wherever you are!

"It was a joy to work with Paul in edit. He has brilliant instincts when it comes to telling a story and his attention to detail second to none! He throws himself into the story and is a pleasure to work with. I look forward to working with him again!”

David Crowley, Director “Hollyoaks”

"I worked with Paul on Hollyoaks and I can honestly say we wouldn’t have got through without Paul’s methodical and pro-active diligence. We had an extremely tight window for our edit due to illness when filming. When it came to my time to fine cut with Paul (also considering it was the first time I’d worked with him) the episodes were in a fantastic place, giving us time to finesse with remarkable comfort. Paul will be a great asset to any production lucky enough to snap him up.”

Seán Healy, Director “Hollyoaks”

“Paul was my editor on Hollyoaks for episodes 6236-6240 . He was very communicative and always happy to show me scenes that he'd put together ahead of our edit time, which made a refreshing change! Paul is a very instinctive and diligent editor, and that combined with his cheery disposition makes him a joy to work with. I also had the fewest notes back from viewings on the episodes he did for me. I really enjoyed working with Paul and wouldn't hesitate to work with him on other projects. He is an asset to the team.”

Chantelle Kayll, Director “Hollyoaks”

“Paul is an editor who really understands story, rhythm and pacing. He's very easy to work with and never afraid to give insightful thoughts and suggest creative solutions. He'll also strive to craft the very best performances from an actor which for me is paramount. I've worked with him on both Hollyoaks for Channel 4 and Hope Street for the BBC and will definitely be working with him on future shows. I would highly recommend him as a great asset to any show.”

Sean Glynn, Director “Hope Street”, “Hollyoaks”

“I would highly recommend Paul.  I first worked with him on Series 1 of Biff and Chip where he was responsible for the offline edit of half the 25 episode run.  He came back for Series 2 and 3 and offline edited all of my 25 episodes.  He was a joy to work with. He is very experienced in many areas of post including as an online editor so he has a strong sense of story and structure but also has the technical ability to push the boundaries in the offline. He is passionate about his work and takes complete ownership of his episodes but is always happy to adapt, sometimes working to a complete detailed cutting order and sometimes cutting scenes with only continuity notes from the floor. We had several very happy months working as a team – sometimes hard to stay ahead of him as he’s also very fast!”

Dirk Campbell, Director “Biff & Chip”

For availability enquiries please email paulshieldseditor@gmail.com