Paul Shields

Manchester based editor with 25 years experience in broadcast television

I have worked in offline and online, scripted and unscripted. I am instinctive, passionate and fast with strong editorial judgement.

I love 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 a natural instinct for drama, comedy and music and enjoy being at the centre of the collaborative process of post - realising the vision of everyone in production and offering creative solutions to problems. I take ownership of every project I work on, overseeing the programme’s journey from assembly to final cut.

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 and can quickly come up with solutions to continuity problems where a clever split screen can often save the day. I love working with music and pride myself on my attention to detail.

I live within easy reach of MediaCity and central Manchester and have a very fast internet connection for remote working. I can log into your system but also have a full Avid at home to download rushes, edit and upload viewing copies quickly. And I have a car so can easily be located wherever you are!

TESTIMONIALS

"As a director, it is pleasure to work with Paul. He is a creative, hard working and thorough editor, who knows instinctively how to tell a good story from the material he is given to work with. It is a joy to sit in an edit suite with him as he is charming, collaborative and cares passionately about the episodes he has worked on. The executive was very happy with the end results and I would happily work with him again.”

Neil J Wilkinson, Director “Hollyoaks”

"Paul is a smashing editor. He has a fantastic editorial instinct, is a natural storyteller & delivers a strong uplift from the material given. He communicates really well, works collaboratively, and adapts to his director’s needs, whilst understanding the balance of the producers’ needs. His personality is warm and enthusiastic, a joy to work with and really safe pair of hands.”

Sarah Kendell, Director “Hollyoaks”

"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