Biography
Damon Claussen has been editing for 25 years, but had his hands on the family 8mm film camera since the age of 7. If he wasn't re-creating stop-motion scenes using his bendable Gumby toys with a sickened plot twist, he captured the essence of Stomper 4x4's climbing through carved trails in the front yard planter boxes. Mom wasn't pleased with his film endeavors at the sacrifice of her plants. Soon he was introduced to Betamax in the early 80's. Strangely enough, while in high school, he steered clear of the Audio Visual Department, because he found too much fun in "making fun" of those AV nerds bringing the 16mm projector into the classroom.
Fast forward four years... in college finishing up on his BS in Graphic Communications at Cal Poly State University, San Luis Obispo, the AV department turned him to the dark side. Damon became the thing he feared most, an AV nerd. He didn't have to deliver equipment... but was sentenced to stay in a dark room and edit video, and......he liked it.
After years of CMX based linear editing, he moved into the Non-linear world of AVID in 1997, his life hasn't been the same since. Damon has enjoyed working on shows for: Warner Home Entertainment, Disney Channel, Smithsonian Channel, Discovery Channel, TLC, Military Channel, National Geographic, History Channel, NBC, AT&T U-verse, KQED, and other content providers. Documentary and unscripted original stories, short form promotional including sizzle reel and pitch reels, co-branded, corporate and industrial.
Damon rides the creative/nerd line, relying on quick wit and sense of humor in the edit bay to accent the creative flow. More than a button-pusher, Damon is a preditor that can take volumes of footage and start building. Don't let his love for story fool you... He's as much of a technical nerd too with a stronghold on numerous software (Avid, Premiere Pro, Final Cut, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve, Cinema 4D) and codec workflows.
A creative storyteller, strong relationship with technology, and most of all, a diverse skill set in managing projects and working with a variety of client personalities.
