08 Feb Staff Profile: Will Richter

Today we’re profiling our recent Douglas College Print Futures student, Will Richter. Will has been our go-to script editor since 2005, working with Leslie Foster to produce post production scripts of all descriptions and complexities, from the simple to the beyond micro-detailed. He is a hugely valued team player and accomplished writer and editor in lots of genres. If you’ve had any dealings with our script department in the last eight years, Will has likely worked on your show!

Job title: Script editor.

Years at Line 21: Seven.

What you did before Line 21: I got this job right out of university, so my previous jobs were typically of the odd job/seasonal variety—harbour master, server, boat washer, that kind of thing.

Favourite part of the job: There are so many things to like about this job—first and foremost the great people I work with every day. In terms of the work itself, it’s always a pleasure to be able to write and edit continuity for a quality show. It’s basically an extended descriptive writing exercise, so there is a creative element to it that I like.

Favourite project(s) you’ve worked on: One of my favourites was a documentary called Surfwise, which is about a doctor who quit his practice to avoid a nervous breakdown, got married, bought a van, and spent the next 30 years traveling from beach to beach with his enormous brood of children, teaching them to surf. I wouldn’t call him wise necessarily, but I would certainly call him memorable. There are many, many others that I could name, but that one stands out.

Best memory/story about working at Line 21: At Line 21 everyone is always wearing headphones and listening intently to make sure all the stutters are right for captioning, so it can be a quiet place. This means that if you’re working on a funny show, it might be disruptive if you’re laughing out loud the whole time. Some of my best memories are of laughing silently while tears are rolling down my cheeks. That’s a good day at work.

Favourite Vancouver restaurant and why: There are too many good restaurants in Vancouver to really choose one based on taste or ambience or any of those things. I’m a big fan of becoming a regular someplace and getting to know the owner and the people who work there. Before it changed ownership, for a long time that place for me was Chez Faye in Yaletown, where I was known as “Mr. Will” and invited over to meet the owner’s baby. For me, my favourite place is wherever feels like home at the moment, and that changes over time.

Favourite place to travel: Madrid, easily. It’s the only place I’ve been to where people spontaneously dance at lunch. Enough said.

Funny travel story/Best travel memory: Sometimes you go someplace to see the cathedrals and end up getting more out of the laundromat, but those kinds of experiences don’t necessarily lend themselves to good stories. For example, one time I got lost in Verona after arriving before sun-up and spent the entire day wandering around, flagging down locals and pointing at a map, then listening as they directed me emphatically in Italian (which I don’t understand) and pointed around in seemingly random directions. That was fun. Another time I got into Munich during Oktoberfest, couldn’t find a place to stay, and ended up waiting for a train in a small Munich bar with a bunch of locals who all hated Oktoberfest (and me as well until they found out I also didn’t like it, at which point they were the best friends I ever had). Sometimes when you feel lost or out of control of the situation, you find yourself having the best time.

Great profile, Will! Check out more Line 21 staff profiles here.