THE MAGAZINE FOR FILM & TELEVISION EDITORS, ASSISTANTS & POST-PR ODUCTION PROFESSIONALS
THE AWARDS ISSUE 1
IN THIS ISSUE THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 HILLBILLY ELEGY DEATH ON THE NILE TENET TED LASSO AND MUCH MORE!
US $8.95 / Canada $8.95 QTR 4 / 2020 / VOL 70
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES INCLUDING BEST PICTURE • BEST FILM EDITING TARIQ ANWAR
“A CRITICAL KNOCKOUT, KINGSLEY BEN-ADIR ELI GOREE humanizing and celebrating ALDIS HODGE LESLIE ODOM JR. the four icons and all they A REGINA KING FILM stood for”
“A POWERFUL DRAMATIC WORK ABOUT FOUR OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FIGURES OF THE 20TH CENTURY. It takes these men and makes them feel fully alive again, and it makes their passions and beliefs feel relevant to today” FOUR LEGENDS. ONE LEGENDARY NIGHT.
ACE CINEMA EDITOR MAGAZINE Issue: FYC Due: 11/03/20 Street: 12/07/20 FIN
PROJECT: ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI — ACE—CINEMA EDITOR MAG 4C/FP TRIM: 8.50”w X 11.00”h TYPE SAFE: 8.00” X 10.50” FIN / 11.03.20 CLIENT: AMAZON STUDIOS ISSUE 12.07.20 JOB #: 38787:05 BLEED: 8.75”w X 11.25”h MECHANICAL: 100% CONTENTS CINEMAEDITOR 2020 4QTR
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08 EDITOR'S CUT What’s New! News & Announcements 04 A Message from 10 the Board Aspects of Editing Stepping Stones 37 BY JASON ROSENFIELD, ACE ACE Debuts EditFest Global 20 The new virtual event Tech Corner/ and online portal Where the World launched on Aug. 29 is Going BY HARRY B. MILLER III, ACE 42 ACE Internship 44 Program Cuts We Love Goes Virtual Super 8 BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON
FEATURES
26 28 30 Trial of the Chicago 7 Death on the Nile Hillbilly Elegy Alan Baumgarten, ACE, reteams Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE, James Wilcox, ACE, examines with Aaron Sorkin on the is at the scene of the crime family responsibility in Ron writer/director’s historical drama for Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot Howard’s biographical drama BY SCOTT LEHANE BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON BY SCOTT LEHANE
32 34 Tenet Ted Lasso Jennifer Lame, ACE, straps Melissa Brown McCoy and in for Christopher Nolan’s A.J. Catoline bring a kick time-traveling spy thriller of optimism to viewers BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON BY NANCY JUNDI
02 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Cover: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (L-R) Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong. Photo by Niko Tavernise. ©2020 Netflix. CRITICS CHOICE DOCUMENTARY 4 DOCUMENTARY AWARDS IDA AWARDS NOMINATIONS INCLUDING BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE BEST DIRECTOR GARRETT BRADLEY SHORTLIST 2020
“ONE OF 2020’S GREAT DOCUMENTARIES... a two-decades-spanning epic of love, devotion and perseverance”
“A MASTERPIECE... transportingly emotional, urgent work”
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FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES INCLUDING BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BEST FILM EDITING Gabriel Rhodes
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ACE CINEMA EDITOR MAGAZINE Issue: FYC Due: 10/30/20 Street: 12/07/20 FIN1 cmyk
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Welcome to the latest issue of CinemaEditor. must have aired between Nov. 2, 2019 - Dec. 31, 2020. ACE is pleased to release the 2021 ACE Eddie Awards The complete Eddies calendar follows, below. schedule, reflecting changes to the overall awards sea- ACE also continues to monitor how members are son calendar. As a result, you’ll see that this issue is adjusting to work during the pandemic, while staying themed “Awards 1.” The first quarter issue of 2021 will safe. We’ve recently sent out a new Best Practices – Work be renamed “Awards 2,” enabling ACE members to read from Home survey, and your responses are appreciated. about even more of the season’s movies. During this challenging time, keeping our community A few notes about next year’s Eddies: The presentation connected is more important than ever. To that end, we has been scheduled for April 18, though the format is want to gratefully acknowledge the speakers, sponsors still in discussion. Next, we’re happy to introduce a new and more than 800 participants in this year’s virtual category, Best Edited Animation (Non-Theatrical), which EditFest Global, which you can read about in this issue. will showcase animated series and other content released With the event, the EditFest Global website has been for TV and streaming platforms. launched and we look forward to sharing additional Please note that Eddie eligibility periods have been year-round content from the ACE community through revised. Eligible feature films must be released between this new platform. Please stay safe. Jan. 1, 2020 - Feb. 28, 2021. Television category entries –The ACE Board of Directors
2021 ACE Eddie Awards Schedule
PLEASE NOTE: TV eligibility dates are different from Feature this year TELEVISION: Must have aired between Nov. 2, 2019 - Dec. 31, 2020 FEATURE FILMS: Must be released between Jan. 1, 2020 - Feb. 28, 2021
November 2, 2020 Submissions for Nominations Begin February 12, 2021 Submissions for Nominations End February 19, 2021 Nominations Ballots Sent March 8, 2021 Nominations Ballots Due March 11, 2021 Nominations Announced March 19, 2021 Final Ballots Sent March 19-26, 2021 Online Blue Ribbon Screenings March 26, 2021 Final Ballots Closed April 9, 2021 Deadline for Advertising To Be Announced Nominee Cocktail Party
Awards presented Sunday, April 18, 2021 (Location TBD)
04 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 RITI S HOI E DO UMENTARY AWARDS NOMINEE BEST POLITI AL DO UMENTARY
“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FILMS OF THE YEAR”
“A documentary of supreme relevance that has the e ect, at once CHILLIN AND ROUSING, of a political cautionary tale”
“The fi lmmakers bring the past alive with a passion and clarity that is RIVETIN”
FOR YOUR ONSIDERATION IN ALL ATE ORIES IN LUDIN AMAZON ORIGINAL MOVIE BEST DOUMENTARY FEATURE BEST FILM EDITIN Nancy Novack
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ACE CINEMA EDITOR MAGAZINE Issue: FYC Due: 10/30/20 Street: 12/07/20 FIN2 cmyk
PROJECT: ALL IN — ACE—CINEMA EDITOR MAG 4C/FP (FYC) TRIM: 8.50”w X 11.00”h TYPE SAFE: 8.00” X 10.50” FIN / 10.30.20 CLIENT: AMAZON STUDIOS ISSUE 12.07.20 JOB #: 38766-07 BLEED: 8.75”w X 11.25”h MECHANICAL: 100% Official Periodical of American Cinema Editors, Inc. Founded November 28, 1950.
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Edgar Burcksen, ACE Harry B. Miller III, ACE Andrew Seklir, ACE SECRETARY Lillian Benson, ACE CONTRIBUTORS TREASURER Carolyn Giardina is an award-winning journalist and The New Grammar of Stereoscopic Filmmaking (Focal Stephen Lovejoy, ACE author who serves as tech editor at The Hollywood Press, 2012) and his favorite film of all time is Gilda. Reporter, with responsibilities including its Behind the Screen coverage. She is also co-author of Exploring 3D: Jason Rosenfield, ACE,is a three-time Emmy® Award- The New Grammar of Stereoscopic Filmmaking (Focal winning film editor, producer, director and writer and Press, 2012). One of her first assignments at the start member of the faculty of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. BOARD OF DIRECTORS of her career was a feature story about editing – and she His narrative credits range from Robert Altman’s Come Anita Brandt Burgoyne, ACE has enjoyed covering editors ever since. Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean Jacqueline Cambas, ACE to improvisational TV comedy Free Ride. His work has Dorian Harris, ACE Nancy Jundi has been a contributing writer to Cinema- included Oscar®-nominated Blues Highway; R. J. Cutler’s Tina Hirsch, ACE Editor since 2006. She is the COO of DigitalFilm Tree, a Emmy Award-winning series American High; HBO’s Emmy post-production and entertainment software company in Award-winning doc Memphis PD; Dick Wolf's NBC cinema Maysie Hoy, ACE the Los Angeles area. verite series Crime & Punishment; Mark Jonathan Harris’ Bonnie Koehler, ACE Breaking Point: The War for Democracy in Ukraine; and Mary Jo Markey, ACE Scott Lehane is a freelance journalist who has cov- Jordan Peele’s four-part Amazon series Lorena. He has ered the film and TV industry for over 20 years. Michael Ornstein, ACE served as Associate Director of the ACE Board, three Sabrina Plisco, ACE terms as Governor of the Television Academy and almost Harry B. Miller III, ACE, is a feature, television and Kevin Tent, ACE documentary editor. His recent credits include Turn: two decades on the Academy’s Picture Editors and Washington’s Spies and The Predator. Documentary Peer Groups Executive Committees.
Adrian Pennington is a journalist, editor and marketing John Van Vliet has worked in animation and visual ASSOCIATE BOARD copywriter whose articles have appeared in the Financial effects for more than 32 years. Although his involvement Times, British Cinematographer, Screen International, The on bad pictures far outnumbers the good ones, all Kate Amend, ACE Hollywood Reporter, Premiere, Broadcast, RTS Television have provided raw material for his drawings – for which Dana Glauberman, ACE and The Guardian. He is co-author of Exploring 3D: he’s grateful. Mark Helfrich, ACE Andrew Seklir, ACE SUBSCRIPTION, ADVERTISING & CONTACT INFO
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DIGITAL ADVERTISING QUESTIONS ACE WEBSITE QUESTIONS the American Cinema Editors Peter Zakhary [email protected] Kate Higgins [email protected] are to advance the art and science of the film editing profession; CinemaEditor Magazine is published quarterly by American Cinema Editors. The views expressed in this peri- odical do not necessarily reflect the views of the Board of Directors or the membership of ACE. Reproduction to increase the entertainment in whole or part without written permission is prohibited. ©American Cinema Editors, Inc. All rights reserved. value of motion pictures by attaining artistic pre-eminence STAY CONNECTED and scientific achievement in the creative art of film editing; Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Instagram to bring into close alliance those American Cinema Editors (ACE) @acefilmeditors @acefilmeditors film editors who desire to advance American Cinema Editors website the prestige and dignity www.americancinemaeditors.org of the film editing profession. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES INCLUDING BEST PICTURE BEST FILM EDITING JAMES THOMAS • CRAIG ALPERT, ACE • MIKE GIAMBRA
“SACHA BARON COHEN’S BEST MOVIE TO DATE... THIS BRILLIANT, VULGAR PLEA FOR A BETTER WORLD CUTS DEEP AND HIS SEARING BRAND OF HUMOR HAS NEVER FELT MORE ESSENTIAL”
“HERE, SHOT AND DELIVERED AMID AN UNPRECEDENTED GLOBAL PANDEMIC, IS A STAGGERING ACT OF COMEDIC REVOLT”
ACE - FP AMA2542 ISSUE DATE: DECEMBER 14, 2020 DUE DATE: OCTOBER 30, 2020 FINAL 11/2/20 3:40M LJ MECHANICAL SIZE BLEED: 11.25"H X 8.75"W TRIM: 11"H X 8.5"W LIVE: 10.5"H X 8"W WHAT'S NEW! NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
CONGRATULATIONS WELCOME The 2020 Creative Arts Emmy® Winners for Editing American Cinema Editors would like to welcome new ACE members: OUTSTANDING SINGLE-CAMERA PICTURE OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM ACTIVE Succession “This Is Not for Tears” Apollo 11 Isaiah Camp, ACE Bill Henry, Editor Todd Douglas Miller, Editor Sam Citron, ACE Venya Bruk, Additional Editor Julie Cohen, ACE OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING Rachel Cushing, ACE OUTSTANDING SINGLE-CAMERA PICTURE FOR A STRUCTURED REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM Cameron Dennis, ACE EDITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Mark Eckersley, ACE Insecure “Lowkey Trying” RuPaul’s Drag Race Andrew S. Eisen, ACE Nena Erb, ACE, Editor “I’m That Bitch” Jim Flynn, ACE Lynarion Hubbard, Additional Editor Jamie Martin, Lead Editor Andrea Folprecht, ACE Michael Roha, Editor Mollie Goldstein, ACE OUTSTANDING MULTI-CAMERA PICTURE Paul Cross, Editor Justin Goll, ACE EDITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Michael Lynn Deis, Editor Ryo Ikegami, ACE Benjamin Massoubre, ACE One Day at a Time “Boundaries” Ryan Mallick, Editor Cheryl Campsmith, ACE, Editor Joseph Matoske, ACE Masayoshi Matsuda, ACE OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING Paul Millspaugh, ACE OUTSTANDING SINGLE-CAMERA FOR AN UNSTRUCTURED PICTURE EDITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES REALITY PROGRAM LaRonda Morris, ACE OR MOVIE Cheer “God Blessed Texas” Stephanie Neroes, ACE Watchmen “A God Walks in to Abar” Steven Nevius, ACE Arielle Kilker, Supervising Editor Kyle Schadt, ACE Henk Van Eeghen, ACE, Editor David Nordstrom, Supervising Editor Kate Hackett, Editor AFFILIATE OUTSTANDING PICTURE EDITING FOR VARIETY PROGRAMMING Daniel McDonald, Editor Marcos Horacio Azevedo Last Week Tonight With John Oliver Mark Morgan, Editor Anderson Boyd “Eat Shit, Bob!” (segment) Sharon Weaver, Editor Andrew M. Cohen Ryan Barger, Editor Ted Woerner, Editor Mengle Han Liam Johnson James M. Martin
ADVERTISER INDEX
IFC Motion Picture Editors Guild 01 One Night in Miami 03 Time 05 All In 07 Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
BY JOHN VAN VLIET BY JOHN VAN 09 Small Axe 11 Sylvie’s Love 13 Uncle Frank 14 Blackmagic Design 15 The Boys 16 Amazon FYC 18 Amazon FYC 21 Palm Springs 23 Adobe 24 The Looping Group 25 Avid Technology, Inc. 36 Cutting It in Hollywood 39 Onward 40 EditFest Global 41 Soul BC Editors Recognition Petition SHORT CUT COMIC
08 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 “THE TACTILE INTIMACY AND GORGEOUS FLUIDITY OF BEST EDITED LIMITED SERIES THE VISUALS IS ENHANCED BY THE LOOSE RHYTHMS OF
THETHE HOLLYWOOD EDITING REPORTER ”
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ACE – FULL PAGE AD ISSUE: 12/14/2020 MATERIALS DUE: 11/3/2020 11 AM PST MECH BLEED: 8.75” X 11.25” COMP TRIM: 8.5” X 11” AMAZON FALL/WINTER 2020 - SMALL AXE - ACE FULL-PAGE SAFETY: 8” X 10.5” 05 06 XXXXXXX | 11.03.20 | AMAZON | AD | RC Stepping Stones BY JASON ROSENFIELD, ACE
The following is an excerpt from the memoir of Jason Rosenfield, ACE, Everything Has Meaning: Confessions of a Film Editor, Chapter 9, “Stepping Stones.” Rosenfield is a three-time Emmy® Award-winning film editor, producer, director and writer and member of the faculty of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. His credits range from Robert Altman’s Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean to Jordan Peele’s four-part series Lorena. This excerpt is reprinted with the permission of Rosenfield; a memoir publication date was not confirmed at press time.
Los Angeles, 1999. American High is my first time editing a the first time I’ve seen her angry … I search backwards, to true cinema verité – “truth cinema” – documentary, attempting the day before and the day before that. What pissed her off? to capture real life without narrators or interviews, just a couple Then forwards. Where might this go? of cameras following suburban Chicago high school seniors on A camera crew captures young Marjorie breaking up the cusp of adulthood. It’s a bold concept for a Fox TV prime- with a boyfriend. She throws something in his face – a note – time series – the most exciting project I’ve worked on in years. and marches away. Why? Do I look back a month for clues that If it succeeds, it could establish a new television genre. led up to this? Or does the breakup start her story arc – a catalyst Editing cinema vérité leaves nowhere to hide. No fancy that puts things in motion? Which is the stronger approach? montages, no explanatory title cards, nothing to save my butt Too early to tell. What about that teary close-up? Good, remember when I can't fill a hole in the story. Everything has to happen in it, but it may be too on the money. I’m basically writing the scene. But what an opportunity! For all their bravado and angst, script and sketching out rough scenes at the same time, because every senior is on a hero’s journey, preparing to confront the if I can’t make it work seamlessly on screen – if I have to over- fiercest of dragons – freedom. It’s not going to be compelling to manipulate and force shots to fit the scenario in my head – safely observe our young champions. I want the audience to feel the editing becomes a distraction, and all my story insights are the collision. Without them noticing what I'm doing. useless. Believability hangs in the balance. That’s a very seductive proposal. It’s easy to get antsy watching endless dailies. There’s the Along with co-editor David Tedeschi, I’ve scoured footage temptation to high-speed through, looking for the big bits – coming in from the field for eight weeks, looking for potential a fight, a kiss, a dance show. But big bits are a result of little bits characters and story beats, and stringing them into visual that precede them. And each big bit creates little bits that lead timelines – casting portraits for a handful of producers and up to the next big one. And so on. Whenever I’ve been tempted writers to assess. Some major events can anchor individual to skip past the minutiae, the story falls apart. episodes – a football game, a year-end musical, graduation. But Slow down. Be present. Subtext is nuanced by nature. Watch. I seek more than iconic moments. We need evolving story arcs Listen. And empathize. What does envy look like? Lust? Betrayal? that can play over multiple episodes. Zero in on the screen like an iris at the end of a silent movie, to At first, my explorations are based on hunches – hints of the exclusion of everything and everyone else. I’m good at that. something deeper, like spotting one half of a popular couple Just ask my wife and kids. holding someone else’s hand. I stay alert for anomalies in What is truth? Is it objective? Or subjective? Cinema vérité personalities. One arrives at a party and I think Wow, that’s filmmaking is grounded in the belief that one can capture
10 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Above: Jason Rosenfield, ACE. Photo by Lynn Lobban. ACE – FULL PAGE AD ISSUE: 12/14/2020 MATERIALS DUE: 11/3/2020 11 AM PST
BLEED: 8.75” X 11.25” MECH TRIM: 8.5” X 11” AMAZON FALL/WINTER 2020 - SYLVIE’S LOVE - ACE FULL-PAGE SAFETY: 8” X 10.5” 02 XXXXXXX | 11.02.20 | AMAZON | AD | RC real life in the making. But the second I make a cut, aren’t I a character’s inner life – but its roots are in my dance training. changing reality? If I cut a 60-minute football game down to Even when unmoving, a dancer is never dead weight. He’s alert, a three-minute sequence, I create an illusion: cinematic time aware and awaiting. It’s the same for everyone – even silent and passing as real time. If I insert a sunset to add poignancy, still, we instinctively react to the world. We smile, we slump, I’m manipulating mood. Say a guy yells at his girlfriend, we shrug, we frown. Our fingers twitch, our nostrils flare, our and the camera never swings around to grab her reaction. shoulders rise, our eyes drop. Find those shots, put them in the What do I do? In a more traditional documentary, I could right places, and you’ve got subtext. use an interview, letting her tell us what she felt at the time. Why can’t it work in documentary as well? I know where to I’m skilled at using pauses – like someone waiting for the next look, and I know how to spot them. Watch the dailies again – question – to indicate an inner life beating beneath the words. but without sound. But I’ve got to solve problems in the scene. What if the shot I start with Robbie. Turn off the lights. Mute the audio, hit I need doesn’t exist? play. Let the silence strip everything of context. Slip my mind What I finally land on is this: capture the truth of someone’s into neutral and focus on what I can reimagine as unconscious experience. If it’s a broken heart, tell that story. If I need to reactions to an action word, or thought – There. Just before he combine two lines of dialogue into one for something to make turns off his camera – the slight head shake, the small smile … sense, so be it. If I need to steal a shot from a different scene I know he’s been talking about his da – Forget that. Try it to add emotional power, fine. As long as I don’t turn a yes into against Brad laughing over his fear of telling his best friend … a no. As long as I don’t embellish or lie. As long as I don’t and I love Robbie flipping off the camera. Clever but organic… change the experience. What else, what else… Robbie the soccer captain is the first character to take shape I experiment with timing and juxtaposition. I play with for me, a trigger point setting other stories in motion, like a cue transitions. I audition music cues, building emotional continuity. ball on a pool table. Not much of a first impression. Easy going. Hours later, I’ve stitched together a rough portrait of the black Stoner. No known enemies, flame-haired girlfriend. Decent eye affair, the emotional truth of their experiences sometimes grades, nice family, no discernable problems. Until there are. overt but often implied over a rough story arc. The first clue comes in one of his video diaries. To help gain Implication is something I know from my dancing days. permission to shoot, the production gave inexpensive cameras My body has never been flexible – I couldn’t elevate a straight to a number of interested students to use at school. Nobody leg above my waist without throwing my center – read balance takes their footage seriously until we realize they’ve been taking – off. A dancer with the Martha Graham Company saw me the cameras home, to the privacy of their rooms. The results struggling with this in class, said he had the same problem and are raw, real and surprising. While our crews follow their lives, offered a solution – a deception – that can fool an audience. these diaries have been capturing their secrets. Never quite reach the upper limit of your leg’s full elevation. Robbie’s at home, it’s night, and as usual he’s toked up. Keep moving it in that direction, slowly, stretch the moment out, While bitching about his parents’ and his girlfriend’s anxieties, closer – until it’s time to move somewhere else. this pops out: Oh, and I got red-carded at a game today. What? Never getting to the end created the illusion of greater I rewind the footage and listen again. Red carded? Mellow, height. I could imply something that was never there. When I team captain Robbie? I'm no soccer player, but I know it means first arrived in the editing room, I already knew this instinctively. he’d been kicked out of the game. I mention it to showrunner It’s a poorly sung piece of music that finally leads me to the R. J. Cutler, but don’t get much of a response. tone and style of the show. I discover a shot of Brad sitting at A week goes by: more diaries, and a bigger clue – Robbie’s his school locker at one end of a long, empty hallway. He looks got a black eye. He got into a fight when somebody made a drained after a long day – or so I imagine. Maybe brooding. crack about a friend named Brad. Tedeschi hasn’t encoun- Or bewildered. And I recall a song Robbie sings in one of his tered a Brad. My assistant searches the field logs, finds a Brad, video diaries, his scratchy late-night stoner voice murdering a we start following him and stumble onto his mother recounting Bob Dylan lyric after yet another argument with his dad: There that when Brad was 5, she and her husband were already must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief… wondering if he was gay. I find Robbie’s shot, mark the opening lines, then cut Brad’s Ah. shot just behind it. Robbie’s singing continues over Brad closing We’re soon stitching together odd bits and pieces of dialogue his locker and starting his lonesome walk down the deserted from the boys, their parents and friends – enough to establish hall. Another half-verse in, I cross-fade Robbie’s voice with that I’ve found a love story: Robbie and Brad grew up together, Dylan’s own recording, let it take Brad out the door. I rewind, they’re best friends, and Brad came out to him first, in their sit back to watch … and something happens. junior year. But these are past events – none are on camera. I don’t have a clue yet where this scene might fit into the Important information, yes, but with little emotional resonance. season. But I don’t really care right now because I’m being I need to find a visual language to tell their story. lifted from my chair by an alchemy of shots, lyrics, timing and There’s a trick I learned about physicalizing the unspoken emotional investment that’s whispering follow me. Get on the while cutting Bob Altman’s ensemble drama Come Back to train, go for the ride, let the story unfold itself. American High the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean – visual clues to is coming to life.
12 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 ACE – FULL PAGE AD ISSUE: 12/14/2020 MATERIALS DUE: 11/3/2020 11 AM PST
BLEED: 8.75” X 11.25” MECH TRIM: 8.5” X 11” AMAZON FALL/WINTER 2020 - UNCLE FRANK - ACE FULL-PAGE SAFETY: 8” X 10.5” 02 XXXXXXX | 11.02.20 | AMAZON | AD | RC Introducing the World’s Fastest Editor DaVinci Resolve 16s new cut page and editor keyboard let you work faster than ever!
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Don’t Upgrade! It Will Break Everything! UPGRADE... Well. Maybe not…
BY HARRY B. MILLER III, ACE
icrosoft creates operating systems that are designed to to upgrade my least-used Mac computer to see the results. work on a huge variety of computers, new and old. Most I have a Mac mini in my TV setup, used to play movies off an M of the hardware it runs on is not made by Microsoft, but external drive, and as a way to access HBO Max. HBO became by the likes of Dell, HP or Toshiba. unavailable on Roku and TiVo, my preferred devices. The Mac Apple has one customer for its operating system: Apple. mini can also play Amazon Prime in a browser, or Netflix on the With updates to the hardware, implementing new technologies, application Clicker. Whatever it broke wouldn’t stop me from Apple designs software to take advantage of those changes. They getting work done. work in tandem. But it can leave customers who’d want the new features with older Apple hardware out of luck. And software Upgrading from Mojave, macOS developers for Apple have to update their programs to run on the 10.14, to Catalina was simple. new Apple operating system. Some don’t, or financially can’t, so The Setting icon in the dock their programs can no longer run on the new computers. regularly would prompt to make Catalina is its name, macOS 10.15. It’s the latest OS. the upgrade. The biggest, most important thing to know about Catalina is it will not run a LOT of software you may be used to using. Upgrad- The next screen was a one click upgrade. ing might break many of your essential workflow programs. The same may be true for macOS 11.0 called Big Sur, which is in beta testing as of this writing. The reason is the transition from 32-bit to all 64-bit applications – 32-bit is the floppy disk drive of software. Steve Jobs dropped the floppy drive to much public gnashing of teeth to move the world of computing forward. Catalina won’t run anything that is, or has components that are, 32-bit. Programs like Avid Media Composer. It would be an unhappy surprise to find you’ve bought a brand new MacBook Pro, but your editing software doesn’t work on it. The software developers at Avid have been working diligently to update Media Composer to work on the new macOS. Catalina and then was released in October of 2019. They delivered Catalina- compatible Media Composer in April of 2020 (hence AMC version 2020.4). But some components didn’t make the update because they had 32-bit components. Avid has not updated those, and replaced them with the new Titler+. The parts left behind included the Title Tool and Marquee. Both were replaced by Titler+, the new AMC title tool. Media Composer also wouldn’t support QuickTime, meaning there’d no longer be outputs of Same-as-Source and QuickTime Reference (ask your assistant what that means). I held my breath. Well, not really. I’d be dead if true. It took I have long declined to upgrade any of my Macs to Catalina. 30-40 minutes of downloading and rebooting before the new Basically, I was afraid of what it would break. But I decided background for Catalina showed.
20 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Screenshots courtesy of Harry B. Miller III, ACE. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION BEST EDITED FEATURE FILM (COMEDY) , ACE
“THE MOST ORIGINAL COMEDY ” OF 2020. DEADLINE Matt hew Friedman Andrew Dickler longer work. And that was it. So, what programs did it break? Surprisingly few. When Apple says we’re going 64-bit, most all Mac developers start updating their applications. The only two of my commonly-used applications that would no longer work are MPEG Streamclip and QuickTime 7. There are a lot of other applications that can replace MPEG Streamclip as a compression tool, such as Adobe’s Media Encoder, Apple’s Compressor and Handbrake. QuickTime X replaces 7. Certainly not the end of the world. I know Media Composer works on Catalina because I’ve read enough stories of people using it. It isn’t a completely smooth transition. A lot of people are having a hard time adjusting to the Titler+ tool. And exporting is more complicated. But it does work. A new folder, ‘Relocated Items,’ appeared on the desktop. Ultimately, upgrading wasn’t the nightmare I expected. And These are components that because of being 32-bit will no next up is Big Sur.
Michael Nouryeh is working from home as a second assistant on the feature film The Tomorrow War. His system was setup by Where the FotoKem and includes a Mac trash can and two monitors. The Nexis media storage is in Hollywood. From his Mac at home, World is Going Michael logs into a remote Windows PC workstation, as do all the crew except for the editor, Roger Barton, ACE. Wait, what? Windows? HP’s Remote Graphics Software ecause of the lead time to publish this magazine, it’s (RGS) is used for the remote connection. It has no Mac version. difficult to know what will have changed by the time you Michael opens a Windows workspace where he runs Avid B are reading this article. With any luck (and we are way Media Composer which is at a remote site. All of which sounds due), we’ll all be getting back at work and almost normal. Until like a clunky arrangement, mixing computer operating systems then, we have to adjust to the current situation. I interviewed four over the internet. “Playback can lag, based on your internet people for their perspective on how we’re adjusting. speed,” says Michael. His primary task is to keep Barton, who has media stored Steve Welke is a post producer working on The Stand for CBS locally in his edit room, in sync with everyone else. He is All Access. The entire miniseries had been shot by early February using FotoKem’s globalDATA system for asset distribution and except for final scenes, which were planned for a week of shooting transfer. Each morning he looks at the Nexis and checks every in Las Vegas. As the reality of the pandemic set in, it was decided partition for new renders, music, sound, projects and VFX. that each editor would work from home. A copy of the full shared There are no dailies as production long ago wrapped. They are storage was made for each editor, assistant and VFX editor. Eight currently awaiting on the actor Chris Pratt to become available copies of the entire mini-series, plus a backup. Three editors got for additional shooting. two 20TB RAID drives. The assistants and VFX team each got The biggest problem with working remotely is isolation. 48TB RAID drives. Each system in addition has a 4TB drive for “I miss the osmosis of information one absorbs when editorial local renders. is working together in offices. When working remotely, my The Las Vegas shoot was completed in August. Each day’s experience so far is that 99 percent of the information is doled media was no more than 5GB so the lab pushed media directly out via text/email/Slack on a need-to-know basis,” says Michael. through Aspera Cargo to each system. TeamViewer is one method of communication between the Tim Kinzy is waiting for the restart of the CW series Charmed. remote workstations. It allows one computer to muck around in To finish the previous season, they used local drives with copies a remote system. A system called Resilio Connect/Sync has been of the media. But for the upcoming season they are planning used to keep each workstation’s RAID media in sync. It can be set something similar to The Tomorrow War. They are working up and customized to sync media over peer-to-peer technology, with Moviola which is recommending Teradici, which uses a which is similar to the file transfer service Aspera. proprietary system called PCoIP technology to do the same thing For remote collaboration they use Evercast on some systems. as HP’s RGS software. The editor logs into a remote Windows Pacific Post has made other remote connections. PC, which opens a window on their local Mac. “You can’t do full- Steve’s evaluation: “Can it be done? Yes. Is it better? No. What screen playback very well” with this system, according to Tim. took a day takes three to four.” And “at least for dailies, local storage is ideally the way to go.”
22 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Editing that makes an impact.
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© 2020 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, and Adobe Premiere are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. The Pacific Post collaboration system was demoed. “Playback And how many times will the editor have to explain to producers was very smooth, even when multiple users were logged in,” and directors why everything is so slow? according to Tim. A Frame also has solutions for streaming Avid playback to producers and directors for collaboration, i.e. alternatives to Andrew Seklir, ACE, is the founder of A Frame Post, an editing Evercast, or Frame.io. system rental company. His company offers two options for shows that can be modified to fit individual needs. The first is PC-over- So far it seems the trend is to set up editing systems to accom- IP. It is essentially the same as the two previous remote setups, modate the studios’ fear of the internet. I suspect producers where the user logs into a PC workstation and operates Media and directors will likely find the results hardly bearable. When Composer remotely. A Frame’s recommended remote system your neighbors are all watching Tiger King and your internet uses TGX Remote Desktop, from Mechdyne. Editors and AE’s speed slows to a crawl, so will your progress. And it is the use two-factor authentication and a secure VPN connection to log editor who will get yelled at. Rather than listen to the people into their remote Avid workstations. who know, the studios are listening to the most conservative But the more interesting solution involves having each editor security advocates, who won’t care if it doesn’t work as keep a copy of the media locally, which takes out the vagaries long as the dailies on your average boring sitcom are secure of internet connections. Each home workstation has a 20TB- at the studio. Sheesh. 32TB RAID/NAS (network attached storage) from Synology. I am currently setting up a remote show for Hallmark. All workstation RAIDs have the exact same media. To accomplish The shoot is in North Carolina and Nashville, the post house is this, each Avid workstation has an Aspera connection which pulls in Connecticut, and editorial is in Los Angeles. As I’ve done on down dailies from the cloud. Render files, user-generated media, previous remote shows, the producers will send a shuttle drive project files and bins are scheduled to sync overnight (or at the each day from set. My assistant and I will sync in person (from push of a button) between the NAS stations using GoodSync. a respectable six feet away, masked). We’ll use Frame.io to share And software called Mimiq is used to facilitate file naming and cuts with the director and producer. There may be some director bin locking. The Synology workstations live behind a firewall, but visits to my house for her cut … um, after I get tested and pass. assistant editors are able to remote into their editor’s NAS and But there is only one editor, so it is quite simple. manage media and files on the other Synology workstations. We’re getting this figured out. There will be growing pains. The advantage to local storage is apparent. It is fast. Going Maybe the studios will get the message about improving the through your internet connection to a remote workstation, to log workflow. Like everything these days, I’m not optimistic. into a Windows machine is full of pain points and potential errors. So be patient, and stay safe everyone.
Thanks to all of the talented editors and assistants that use Media Composer® to tell their stories.
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ACE Ad 8-5x11.indd 1 10/22/20 3:56 PM Baumgarten was nominated for an Oscar® in 2014 for his work on American Hustle and has been nominated for five ACE The Trial of Eddie Awards, winning two for American Hustle and the 2008 TV film Recount, which also earned him a Primetime Emmy®. the Chicago 7 Shooting started last October with eight days in Chicago to film the riot scenes and get other authentic location shots. Over Alan Baumgarten, ACE, reteams with Aaron Sorkin the course of two months from October to December most of the on the writer/director’s historical drama rest of the film was shot in a courtroom set built in New Jersey. “During production, I was here in Los Angeles, editing the dailies with my crew,” explains Baumgarten. “We used the same editing rooms we used on Molly’s Game [Pivotal Post’s Sunset Ave. facility]. They’re very close to Aaron’s house and it made it easy for him to come and go whenever he liked.” During December, the editor had some time to explore the material while working on a first cut, before really getting down to business in the beginning of January. But of course, they didn’t see COVID coming. “We finished Aaron’s director’s cut and we were prepared to screen it for the executives in a theater on the lot, as one normally would, but that was literally the week they introduced the stay-at- home protocol in Los Angeles and the State of California,” says Baumgarten. “So we all quickly disassembled the editing systems and brought our Avids home to our individual workplaces.” From that point on, the film was posted securely online and BY SCOTT LEHANE Zoom calls replaced in-person meetings as the team quickly adapted to the new normal. The post team was geographically aron Sorkin’s new historical drama The Trial of the quite spread out, with the visual effects company in New York, the Chicago 7 looks at one of the most tumultuous trials music editor in Hawaii and the composer in London. A in U.S. history after a group of activists were charged Baumgarten reports that while COVID was probably the with crossing state lines with the intention of inciting riots biggest challenge he faced on this film, “we figured out a way to at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. do it. We all just communicated remotely and sent the material The defendants, played by an all-star ensemble cast, represented back and forth as needed and continued to refine the cut and a range of different political movements, from pacifist conscien- fine-tune it to a place where we eventually locked the picture tious objectors like David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) and and went into the final finishing parts of post-production – student activists like Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), to cultural the sound, music and the DI.” revolutionary Yippies like Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) “There were delays due to the pandemic that we just had to and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), as well as Black Panther co- work with,” he adds. “[For example] there was no orchestra that founder Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who had left could perform the score until things opened up a little bit more Chicago by the time of the riots and was denied legal counsel at in London. So we were set back about a month for that. But we the trial. But they all came to Chicago with a common purpose – managed to work and communicate in a very fluid way, and I to protest the Vietnam War. think that’s partly because of the stage we were at in the process. It was a tumultuous time in U.S. politics, as a generation We were in really good shape and ready to fine-tune the film when of activists rose up to protest an unpopular war that seemed we had to separate and start working remotely. Had it been earlier unwinnable, or at least, not worth the cost in casualties. in the post process, it might have been more of a challenge.” When Sorkin first wrote the script over 14 years ago, he Baumgarten says that while they reviewed certain films like couldn’t have foreseen how it would resonate with the current Haskell Wexler’s critically-acclaimed Medium Cool, which is set events of 2020. Paramount originally planned to release the film during the riots, as well as films like Argo, Detroit and Straight theatrically, but due to the pandemic, the distribution rights were Outta Compton. “As an editor, I really take my lead from the script sold to Netflix with an Oct. 16 release date, landing right before and the material that’s there. And Aaron is very specific with his one of the most contentious U.S. elections in history. (This issue dialogue and also the structure of his film. There’s freedom to of CinemaEditor went to press prior to Election Day). experiment and explore, but Aaron gave us a great launching-off After shopping the script around for several years, Sorkin point from which to build the film.” decided to direct the film himself. Fresh off his 2017 film Still, much of the film’s dynamic tension really came out in the Molly’s Game, he shared the script with Molly’s Game editor editing room. In particular, the film frequently jumps between the Alan Baumgarten, ACE, in 2018, who was keen to work with riots, the courtroom and scenes of Hoffman describing the events Sorkin again. to a crowd of college students.
26 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Top (L-R): Caitlin Fitzgerald, Alan Metoskie, Alex Sharp, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Sacha Baron Cohen and Noah Robbins. Photo by Niko Tavernise. ©2020 Netflix. “Some of that jumping back and forth was created editorially because it just felt right,” Baumgarten recalls. “Aaron had laid that out for the most part, as he likes to jump back and forth in time. So he will indicate it in places, but that specific area became a little bit more intricate to build more tension leading up to the riot. So we jumped into the riot, but then we paused for a brief moment as Abbie describes the use of tear gas, and then we continue on.” He explains that he cut based on the energy and rhythm that came out of the riot sequences, “but for other areas where Abbie’s talking about the convention and narratively giving us a run-through of the story, we followed the script and then adjusted as it felt right to illustrate some of the things that were being said.” Humor also helped break the tension at times. “There’s a clever type of humor in the film that provides ironic commentary on something that may have happened or is about to happen. And that certainly helps when you have a buildup to a tense moment, and then you can deliver a bit of a commentary on that.” The editor explains that Sorkin was very involved in the For Baumgarten the trick is knowing when to hold the editorial process. “He primarily focuses on the pacing and rhythm tension, and when to break it up. “It’s fun to play with that as of the dialogue and the tone of how the lines are being delivered. we refine the edit.” He likes to get the dialogue right first, and then we’ll work on In one of the film’s most intense scenes, Bobby Seale is swapping out shots, whether it’s a close-up or a medium shot or dragged from the courtroom, roughed up by guards and then a different reaction. But as far as the visual, he encourages me to brought back, bound and gagged. It was a key moment to hold assemble a structure that I think is right.” the tension, as we see the expressions on his co-defendants’ faces, Baumgarten explains that he’s worked with his assistant editor before even the prosecutor (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) felt compelled Christine Kim a few times before. At the end of post-production, to object to his treatment and move for an immediate mistrial. she was bumped up to the title of additional editor. “She’s a very Baumgarten reports that they did a lot of work to build the talented editor in her own right. She was very involved creatively tension between Hayden and Hoffman – co-defendants with very and ran a great cutting room as well. I looked to her with every different ideas of how to proceed. Hayden is basically a straight- sequence I put together to be my first viewer. laced kid who is legitimately afraid of going to prison. Hoffman, “She has a great sense of clarity and precision and I trust her on the other hand, sees the trial as political theatre and seems taste and her judgment, and I was able to give her sections to work determined to turn it into a circus. “From the very beginning of on and say, ‘Here, have a go at this.’” the prologue, we juxtapose Tom Hayden and Abbie Hoffman back They were joined by assistant editor Brandon Marchionda, to back, and right away, you get that they are coming at it from whom Baumgarten says mapped out some of the visual effects different points of view.” shots, doing comp work and temp VFX elements that would serve At one pivotal moment, the defendants pass around a note, as a guide. Machionda coordinated with the VFX vendor, New deciding not to stand up when the judge calls them to rise. But York’s Brainstorm Digital. Hayden ignores the note and stands for the judge. The moment Kaitlyn Ali rounded out the team, serving as editorial pro- lingers long enough to see the reactions of the other defendants and duction assistant. “She had great energy and great ideas and underscores the tension between Hayden and his co-defendants. was also very involved in the discussions,” says Baumgarten. “We were all very passionate about this project, about the subject, the opportunity to tell this story and to work with Aaron. It was really a pleasure and a lot of fun for all of us.” During this interview with Baumgarten, conducted in early October, he said he hoped that the film would inspire people to vote. “It’s part of this film – how important voting is and the need to be involved in the process of our democracy – that it does take work and how important it is to fight for our rights of free expression and dissent. “While we were working on it, we had no idea of the events that would be happening the past few months,” he concludes. “But now more than ever, it feels urgent that those things are not only respected, but upheld and it requires people understanding that and responding.”
Aaron Sorkin and Alan Baumgarten, ACE. Photo by Nancy Kirhoffer. Top (L-R): Christine Kim, Brandon Marchionda, Kaitlyn Ali and Alan Baumgarten, ACE. CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 27 Photo by Kaitlyn Ali. Death on the Nile
Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE, is at the scene of the crime for Kenneth Branagh’s Poirot.
BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON
irector Kenneth Branagh assembles an all-star cast of Audiences love a good whodunnit because of the fun to be had potential murderers for Death on the Nile, a new feature in teasing out the red herrings from the facts of the case. They like D adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1937 novel. The follow- to be their own detective. The trick for the filmmaker is to give up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express, has famous Belgian an audience just enough rope to play along with, but not quite detective Hercule Poirot tasked with solving the death of an enough that they guess who did it before the final curtain. American heiress on board a honeymoon cruise in Egypt. Like “That’s what I found fun about working on this film,” says Orient Express, it is written for the screen by Michael Green, Ní Dhonghaíle. “You can plant seeds that are going to pay off photographed by Haris Zambarloukos, BSC, with production later. With a sound or an image that you plant early on and echo design by Jim Clay. later you hope the audience will have a little rush of recollection The editor on this occasion is Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE, and think that that person did it. Then five minutes later the (The Crown, Three Girls, Stan and Ollie) who cut episodes of suspicion has switched to another person. detective drama Wallander starring Branagh and edited the “The script contained all the verbal clues but we had such Branagh-directed William Shakespeare tragicomedy All Is True. a strong cast of actors who all seemed to live their characters. The whodunnit genre (like the 1978 feature version of Nile I made sure I saw everything that was shot to catch those little starring Peter Ustinov) has been recently satirized by Rian ad libs that Ken had encouraged his actors to deliver.” Johnson’s Knives Out with Daniel Craig as a Poirot-esque sleuth Viewing all the dailies also helped to catch the non-verbal complete with rogue accent. CinemaEditor wondered if that had cues. “For example, if there was a little flick of the eye I could played into the filmmaker’s approach? steal like a magpie and use it to maybe hold a fraction longer. “Both Ken and I had seen Knives Out and we loved it but Or, if there was a big clue and we didn’t want to signpost it, Death has a much darker story and is definitely not a pastiche,” I might be lighter, more implicit – I didn’t linger in the cut.” says Ní Dhonghaíle. “Our film is a little more serious than that. She adds, “Knives Out celebrates a more pastiche style, using Michael wrote a beautiful script that gets under the skin of sound design or flashbacks to telegraph clues. In our film we Poirot a bit more. Ken also wanted that subjectivity and was wanted to throw it away a bit more, make it a bit more subtle willing to go darker.” and not reveal too much that might give the game away. We were Ní Dhonghaíle is an Agatha Christie fan and says she mindful of an audience who may not know the book or have seen enjoyed previous incarnations of Poirot by actors including previous versions, so we want to keep them guessing.” Peter Ustinov, David Suchet, Ian Holm, Albert Finney, Alfred Another delight for an audience in watching one of the Molina, even Orson Welles. Christie canon on film is the all-star ensemble. Death On The “Poirot is one of those well-known characters that generations Nile features Gal Gadot as unfortunate heiress Linnet Ridgeway, of audiences are willing to take in any form and expression,” with Emma Mackey, Annette Bening, Armie Hammer, Letitia she says. “That’s because Christie has created a character that Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Ali Fazal and British comedy stars warrants interpretation in different ways. Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French and Russell Brand. “What I like about Poirot is that his quirkiness, and things that “The challenge is to craft a picture that meets audience are deep in his psyche, enable him to solve the riddle.” expectations of seeing their favorite actor while balancing the
28 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Top: Kenneth Branagh. Photo by Rob Youngson. ©2020 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. screen time for each without letting the pace slack. We had a really great script with a cast of incredible characters each with their own reason to murder. “The first cut was massively enjoyable but 40 minutes too long – so the task was to hone it by losing some scenes and collapsing others while maintaining the essence. The challenge of shortening is something I enjoy. You want to feel the visceral nature of the scene by shrinking it or merging things together so that you don’t ever notice anything is missing.” Principal photography last Autumn was at Longcross Studios, just outside London, where Ní Dhonghaíle was stationed. Having championed her usual assistants to go solo on their own shows, she arrived needing a new team. She quickly called up first assistant Simon Davis and VFX editor Matt Glen, both of whom had worked on Branagh productions before. Joining them were Sarah Bowden second assistant; Katie Nicholls, editorial trainee; and Thora Woodward, assistant VFX editor. “They were all brilliant. Simon would organize all the rushes. I would start cutting what was shot that day. Then I would give the scenes to Simon and Sarah and they would begin doing sound design,” Ni Dhonghaile says. “Matt was also with us from week one and began painting in any bluescreen backdrops. It meant that by Friday I could send Ken the first-week assembly that looked and sounded pretty good. That’s a good boost for any director. All directors need a good editorial team just to give them a little email to say ‘well done, it’s beautiful’ but for them to see it is even better. “Every week I would send [Branagh] that week’s cut but halfway through the shoot I pulled the whole film together so he “The big thing with the pandemic is that everyone pulled could view it. We were in constant communication about anything together. From the top executives on down everyone was kindness he needed to drop or pick up, but because of time pressures it was and consideration,” she adds, noting that Disney Co-Chairmen Alan a bonus to be able to watch it together at this moment and know Bergman and Alan Horn, 20th Century’s president of production where to go from there.” Steve Asbell, Michael Green and producer Judy Hofflund “had It was also beneficial to project the film, shot on 65mm, at to review on PIX and I was struck by how gracious they were Longcross’ screening rooms for editorial, the camera team, and in accommodating this. They quickly sent over notes to us. art department. Glen was able to drop in backdrops from the Ken would digest them, attack them and we had another screening location shoot in Egypt so Ní Dhonghaíle could cut those in one week later, so it was a really quick turnaround.” before the VFX department began to work in earnest. Ní Dhonghaíle spent two weeks on the sound mix at Twicken- “George Murphy (VFX supervisor) and Claudia Dehmel ham Studios following COVID-safety protocols. (VFX producer) were just down the corridor from me at “As the VFX came in, Simon would send them to me and I’d Longcross which was really handy. We had great communi- cut it in and send on updated reels. If anything needed adjusting cation. They shared some early imagery with us of the CG boat we talked it through over the phone. It’s the biggest-budget feature which I could put some sound design on and add a push in on a I’ve worked on to date and despite all of the challenges working shot to give it more life so that we could better understand how remotely it proved to be one of the most rewarding because of the story was working. Ken is very good at watching work-in- everyone’s attitude. We were just working as a team and very progress VFX and not being put off!” aware how lucky were to be able to work and blessed that none of The film had wrapped by January but editorial was bare- us or our families were sick. Everyone took that as a real positive ly begun when COVID-19 forced everyone to quarantine. sign to just do our best to finish the film.” With the story in good Ní Dhonghaíle decided to return to Dublin, where she has an shape they locked the cut in June giving additional time for VFX Avid-equipped studio, and maintain regular communication with to work through shots in remote workflows. Davis and Glen in England, talking with Branagh every morning. “At film school I studied directing and cinematography and “We were lucky in being further down the road than some part of our course was on Dead Again (Branagh’s thriller from films,” she says. “We’d had a few screenings together and were on 1991). I would draw diagrams and mis-en-scene about how he’d our third cut but we had to abandon plans to screen our DCP, with placed the camera. So, I was thrilled when I got to work with temp mix in L.A. for Disney – which would have been their first him years later on Wallander and honored to join him on his screening – because of the COVID restrictions. journey down the Nile.”
Top: Scene from Death on the Nile. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. Bottom right: Armie Hammer and Gal Gadot. Photo by Rob Youngson. CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 29 ©2020 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Bottom left: Editor Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE. Photo courtesy of Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE. and on location in Ohio and Connecticut. And he was giving me HILLBILLY ELEGY feedback. So we were progressing through the notes as we were putting the editor’s cut together. Then he came in, and he worked really fast, because he wanted to see just how the movie was shaping up. And we had our first screening Sept. 10.” The editor reports that there was a wealth of coverage and he had superb performances from the entire cast. His original cut was over two and a half hours. “We all knew we had a movie there, but it was time to roll up our sleeves and find it.” Through the rest of 2019 there were numerous friends-and- family screenings as they worked to refine the edit based on feedback. Then, pickup shots were filmed in early March, coming in just under the wire before Netflix decided to shut down all physical production due to the pandemic. “No one really knew exactly how this was all going to unfold,” says Wilcox. “From March 17 all the way through to June 14, I worked from my apartment in New York. Then I came back to Los Angeles and we finished the movie here. We locked the James Wilcox, ACE, examines family responsibility picture during the pandemic. And boy was that tough because, in Ron Howard’s biographical drama first of all, the energy that comes out of the cutting room when I’m sitting with Ron or sitting with one of our producers and BY SCOTT LEHANE writers was just amazing. We could really solve things quickly in the room, or kick around ideas and then they’d leave and I’d go on Howard’s latest film, Hillbilly Elegy for Netflix, is based and execute the things that we talked about.” on the 2017 best-selling autobiography of J. D. Vance, a But under the pandemic protocols, the entire crew ended R Yale Law student (played by Gabriel Basso) who has to up widely scattered using Evercast to work collaboratively and leave the big city on the eve of landing a coveted interview for Zoom for video conferencing meetings. “We had to mix remotely. his dream job at a top law firm in order to help his sisterLindsay We had to do all our ADR remotely. We color timed the movie (Haley Bennett) deal with his mother Bev (Amy Adams) who remotely,” Wilcox says. has been hospitalized in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio, Carefully sanitized and packaged mobile mic systems were after a drug overdose. shipped out to cast members for ADR sessions. “That’s where it The narrative jumps through time as he recalls the lessons really got interesting because everyone was everywhere. I think about family loyalty and responsibility that he learned from his Amy was in Los Angeles. Glenn was somewhere out in Montana. grandmother, Mamaw (Glenn Close), who helped raise him as his Haley lives in England. Bo Hopkins was in Los Angeles. mother struggled with addiction. So, that’s how we were recording all of our sessions. Then, I’d get Howard tapped editor James Wilcox, ACE, to cut the film. the recordings back and just start rifling through the multitude He had worked with Wilcox before on National Geographic’s of recordings and cutting in all of our ADR and temp, voiceover, biopic series Genius, which follows the lives of some of history’s whatever we needed.” greatest minds. Wilcox’s work on the pilot episode, Genius: Ein- Stylistically, Wilcox reports that they were going for a stein (2017), earned him an ACE Eddie Award, and the editor was documentary sensibility. “I think it’s a movie that, stylistically, keen to work with Howard again when they reconnected in 2019. has documentary-like DNA. Ron wanted a very authentic feel, “He sent me a script. We talked over what I thought about almost a voyeuristic look at this family,” says Wilcox. “Our DP it. He called me on a follow-up interview and I reminded him Maryse Alberti comes from a documentary background and I that I was from Pittsburgh. He was looking for someone who was ultimately have news in my background as well. So there was authentically familiar with some of the challenges that J. D. Vance a lot of handheld. We added grain when we finished the movie. faced in his life and could really relate to the material,” Wilcox There’s a lot of jump cuts when they need to be there. There’s a lot explains. “Before I knew it, he was asking if I would be okay with of point-of-view cutting, just to have it become more experiential relocating to New York to work on the project, and that was a no- than observational and that’s the approach I took.” brainer. It was great script.” That sensibility also extended to composer Hans Zimmer’s Wilcox relocated to New York in June 2019, taking a red-eye restrained music track. “He was very protective to not overscore flight hours after being inducted into ACE. Less than a week the picture or not get in the way of the dialogue because Glenn later, he started receiving dailies. Production initially shot for Close and Amy Adams are phenomenal.” 44 days though mid-August. A few days later he was turning For Wilcox, one of the more challenging scenes was when over his first cut. Vance finally finds his mother in the hospital in the midst of a “Ron works really fast. I’m pretty fast myself. And all along heated argument with the nurse and the doctor who wants to the way I was sending him cuts as he was shooting in Atlanta discharge her. The moment is intense and emotional as they plead
30 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Top: Glenn Close and Amy Adams. Photo by Lacey Terrell. ©2020 Netflix. with the hospital staff to keep her for one more night, because, integral part in giving us feedback otherwise, she has nowhere else to go. as to how we were proceeding. “There’s a lot of overlapping dialogue in the scene. It’s raw I think women are well represented and it’s how people speak in real life when they’re upset and on camera and behind the camera everyone wants to get their point across and they don’t always with the people who have influ- wait for someone to end a sentence before they begin. But those enced the story.” scenes were tricky to cut because they had to make sense. I had Wilcox worked very closely to cut for the logic to the ear first before I cut for what was on with Howard throughout the edi- camera. You can’t just have a jumbled mass of noise.” torial process. “The great thing One key area where feedback was essential was the opening about working with Ron is he has of the film. Originally, it opened with a powerful introduction of a plan for everything, but he also Bev and Mamaw. Young J. D., (played by Owen Asztalos) wasn’t has the confidence in me to find the introduced until a little later. story as best I can,” he says. “That was really liberating because “When we screened it, there was a little bit of confusion as to he’ll have a shot plan, but he doesn’t want you to necessarily be whose movie this is, because when you introduce Amy and then wedded to that, if you see something in there that was unplanned.” you see Glenn, you just know it’s their movie. The audience kept Wilcox says that over the course of the film, they developed a suggesting that they wanted to be introduced to J. D. earlier. So we bond of friendship and mutual respect. went the opposite way and brought the kid out first. Once we did “Because we were [editing] in New York, there were times that, the question was never ‘whose movie is this?’” where we could just go out for a beer after work and really talk A lot of the character development came out in the editing a little bit more about a scene or an idea,” he says. “In L.A. you room as well. don't always have that because traffic is such a prevailing force “Glenn, Amy and Haley did a tremendous job, but at the that when people break for the day, we've got to get in our cars same time we had to find that delicate balance of introducing and go home.” these characters, and getting people on board and understanding He revealed that Howard even coordinated with his son who they are.” back in Los Angeles to plan a surprise birthday party for him. For example, Bev’s drug problem originally came out early in “He’s awesome. In my book, you cannot say anything bad about the film, when J. D. goes to visit her in rehab and she tells him, Ron Howard to me. I mean, he’s just the best,” says Wilcox. “It’s going to be different this time.” “And honestly this was a dream job.” “After evaluating my initial cut, I realized, I needed to The editor was supported by assistant editor Ulysses Guidotti introduce her in a kinder, gentler, more motherly way before we and second assistant Nolan Jennings. PA Hillary Carrigan discover what is bugging her on the inside, because she’s a tough rounded out the team. Wilcox explains that while he had worked pill to swallow in this movie,” says Wilcox. with Jennings before and knew that he would bring a deep level of Wilcox adds that Close’s Mamaw is more redemptive and commitment and enthusiasm to the project, Guidotti came highly matriarchal, though it took a week or two to really find her recommended by a friend. character in the editing suite. “It was almost like fine tuning an “They both were outstanding, from keeping pace with me, to instrument, but the performance choices were all there.” anticipating not only my needs, but what Ron would need for the The editor relates that with so many influential women on day. Both of them are really strong, but we decided early on, it screen, it was essential that they mimic that off screen too. “Our would be better to have a good division of labor,” explains Wilcox. cinematographer [Maryse Alberti], our production designer “So Ulysses did a lot of temp visual work, overall managing of the [Molly Hughes], our online producer [Karen Lunder], our writer film and the comps. We have some driving sequences that needed Vanessa Taylor – there were so many women that played an to be comped and needed a proof of concept, because I don’t like showing anything that has greenscreens in it. So he would cull together the backgrounds. “Nolan did a lot of sound design,” he adds. “I would tell him when I’m looking for, in a given scene, and then we’d go from there. He would often cut in some of the source cues and give me a variety of choices, because we were using source cues to delineate the time periods.” Overall, Wilcox hopes that people are inspired by this movie. “I think that this movie has a lot of hope in it. It has a lot of love in it. It has a lot of comedy in it. And you know, it raises some tough questions. What does it mean to be loyal to your family? What are those sacrifices?” Wilcox sums up. “I hope people get the universal themes that they can identify with. It’s not just about life in Appalachia, it’s about life in general and the obstacles we face and how we survive and persevere.”
Bottom left: Owen Asztalos and Amy Adams. Photo by Lacey Terrell. Top right: CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 31 Editor James Wilcox, ACE. Photo courtesy of Netflix. ©2020 Netflix. TENET Jennifer Lame, ACE, straps in for Christopher Nolan’s time-traveling spy thriller
BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON
ennifer Lame, ACE – the twice Eddie Award-nominated he does the DI, how he finishes photochemically. Then it was editor of character-driven dramas Manchester by the Sea over really quickly. I only felt we’d just met. He asked me had I J and Marriage Story – teamed with Christopher Nolan any other questions and I said is there anything you can tell me for the first time on the director’s latest globe-trotting sci-fi about the movie? He said it was a very large-scale big action espionage thriller, Tenet. Nolan has spoken about his ability movie and I made some joke like ‘have you seen my resume?’ with longtime editor Lee Smith, ACE, to craft action sequences He added, as I departed, that this would be one of the most in films like Inception and Dunkirk. With Smith unavailable difficult movies to edit ever. ‘The editing is incredibly difficult,’ (working on 1917) Nolan sought an editor who would shape the he said. He was saying that with a smile – he wasn’t being literal action scenes while curating the story in his new movie. – but it just seemed like a crazy way to end an interview. Written by Nolan, the film centers on John David Washington’s A couple days later I had a phone interview with Emma Protagonist, a secret agent working to manipulate the flow of Thomas (the film’s producer and Nolan’s wife). Again, it was time to prevent World War III. As with Nolan movies like The really short but she asked really perceptive questions like ‘why Prestige and Interstellar, the script deconstructs linear story- did I want to work on such a big movie?’ She wanted to get to telling and our idea of memory, this time by playing three major the heart of what interested me about the project. set pieces forward and backward. The concept is reminiscent of 1962 French classic of time travel La Jetée (reworked by CE: Why did you want to work with Christopher Nolan? Terry Gilliam in 12 Monkeys) which has a central character JL: That was a question I’d thought about a lot. I’m not the type witnessing their own death. of person who will do a film for the sake of it. I wanted to do it Lame was in the middle of mixing Marriage Story in New for the right reasons and not just because it was a Christopher York when she got the call to say she was on the interview list Nolan movie. I knew I’d have to travel around the world which for Nolan’s project. She describes what happened next. would have implications for my family. “I was shocked when I got an interview for it,” says Lame. The conclusion I came to was that I’ve always been a fan of his “It didn’t even occur to me I would get the job. I was a mixture work especially his earlier movies like Following, The Prestige of disbelief and excitement. It was so unexpected. I assumed and Memento. One reason is that he can make both small movies maybe he was making a smaller indie movie back to his roots and big-budget blockbusters which very few filmmakers can do and that was why I was on the list. well. I feel like his sensibilities as a filmmaker are rooted in “I got a call on the Monday to be in L.A. on the Thursday. being an auteur and that he makes $200-million movies with a I thought, it would be exciting just to meet him so I went to small crew on set to retain that intimate indie filmmaking spirit. L.A. for 24 hours. I had no material to prepare for the interview A few days later, I got the call! which is a little unusual.” CE: How did you begin to wrap your head around the script? CinemaEditor: What did you talk about in the interview? JL: In script form it was definitely difficult to understand. Jennifer Lame, ACE: I really admire his work but I was also Once I got the footage it helped so much. One of the things nervous. When we met, we talked about his approach as a I found throughout the movie was that I’d have days where I’d filmmaker and his process technically – about IMAX and how get frustrated by thinking too hard. By overanalyzing it became
32 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Top: John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon. ©2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. more difficult. On other days I was more clearheaded. I learned that it’s easier to understand the film when you don’t overthink it and I think that goes for the audience too. I had the same reaction with Inception – your emotional response to the film is more important than trying to dissect it. If you try to pick it apart you will lose the emotional connection to the characters. If you take things at face value and don’t overcomplicate things, you enjoy it more.
CE: A pivotal scene in the narrative around which the film seems to tilt, is when Kat (Elizabeth Debicki) is inter- rogated by Russian oligarch Sator (Kenneth Branagh). Tell us about that. JL: This is the blue-and-red room scene and we had to nail it for him. That was pretty stressful since I was trying to keep up with an audience to follow the rest of the film. The blue and the red is the shoot and cut the prologue but it was incredibly helpful the first time visually that you see the mechanics of the world and because I got to know how to work with him very quickly. how it works. The challenge was that we were showing the same He was very involved in the edit room. He is very direct sequence twice, back to back. So, how do we make that visually about his ideas but also very open to saying when he didn’t interesting and give it energy aside from the cinematography and know how to figure something out. I think he is like that with set design. How do we ensure the audience follows it? all his collaborators. He knows what he wants but is happy Working on this sequence really me helped me to understand to let others chime in. He’s also very fast, extremely meticu- the mechanics of how the film works. On the one hand it functions lous and detail oriented. That kinda blew my mind. And he to explain the mechanics of the world to the audience and on always hit deadlines. the other this is an incredibly emotional narrative turning point. It’s when Kat gets shot and potentially killed – twice – and the CE: How did you cut the fight scene in the airport secure vault? Protagonist realizes that he has put her in that situation. We need JL: I cut the fight scene pretty early on and it was a useful process to register the emotion on John David’s face and understand his in working through how I would approach the rest of the film. character’s struggle to reconcile what he has done. In the film, the scene plays forward the first time around and I’d play the backward dialogue forward to be totally sure it then backward later in the story but in either case I decided to made sense. It took a long, long time to get it right. It’s kind of approach it as a normal fight scene in a normal movie. At first, mind-boggling that it works on so many different layers. though, I did feel like I got bogged down organizing the footage and making a list of different bins and labeling everything into CE: How did you build a working relationship with Nolan? different parts of the fight. I had all these different sections that JL: I was with the production all the time, traveling to every I needed to make sure worked both ways. I had to use the right location (including Estonia Italy, and the U.K.). [Nolan] has piece of film for each sequence. a film dailies trailer and a mobile screening room which is Fortunately, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema had used pretty unique. Every evening all the HoDs would watch dailies perspective differently in his coverage so I was able to use dif- which was so helpful. I’d be sitting next to him so I could ask ferent angles from the point of view of the characters to find him any questions. a way to build each sequence. I made so many different cuts The first scene I worked on was the prologue, filmed in Estonia before I realized I was overthinking things and settled on cutting and set in a packed opera house. It was the first piece I showed it like a normal fight.
CE: If editing is the art of manipulating time, Tenet appears to take this to the limit. JL: Yes and I thought about this a lot especially with the scenes that are shown twice like the vault fight scene and the red/ blue room scene. I didn’t have to mirror everything perfectly since the scenes are from different perspectives, but of course it had to feel the same in many ways such as when dialogue was involved. It couldn’t feel repetitive even though it also had to be repetitive in some ways. Sometimes I found working on a Christopher Nolan movie is like watching a Chris Nolan movie! I would play a scene forward and then play it backward and then I’d understand the bigger picture at play and suddenly it was less daunting and then I would feel free to attack the scene on a deeper level. So many layers. So exciting for an editor.
Left: Kenneth Branagh. Top left (L-R): Jack Cutmore-Scott, John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. Photos by Melinda Sue Gordon. CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 33 ©2020 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved. Top right: Editor Jennifer Lame, ACE. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Lame, ACE. Night Live writers’ room alum Joe Kelly, Sudeikis began crafting Lasso’s world. “I focused on why someone would take this job, Ted Lasso what else could be going on beneath the surface of someone so seemingly happy-go-lucky, and how to simplify Ted’s innocence, ignorance and intelligence,” relates Sudeikis Enter co-creator Bill Lawrence.
Music Cue: “Superman” by Lazlo Bane
“This is my fifth show working with Bill,” says editor Melissa Brown McCoy (Undateable, Whiskey Cavalier), who traded off episodes with fellow editor A.J. Catoline. “He’s a master at getting each scene to its best comedic potential,” she notes. “There’s a great line in episode 5 where we had a hard time landing a joke without it feeling cheesy. Looking through dailies, we found [AFC Richmond’s director of communications Leslie Higgins, played by Jeremy Swift] making a funny ‘meow’ sound after describing his cat. His delivery was so natural, while lifting his hand like a paw, that Bill suggested using that to get a laugh before Higgins landed his last poignant line. We found a take of Coach Beard laughing at Higgins so it became a meaningful ice breaker before laying down hard truths. Adding that bit of comedy before the heartfelt line saved the day. That’s the genius of Bill.” “Bill knows how to pick the right arrows from the editorial quiver to move a scene along,” offers Catoline. “Sometimes it’s writing clever ADR to join one line of dialogue with a line later Melissa Brown McCoy and A.J. Catoline in the scene, which can be seamlessly hidden in a wide shot or a bring a kick of optimism to viewers cutaway, getting us to a joke quicker or moving on to the next beat of emotion. Our challenge was to enjoy Ted’s quirks. Outwardly BY NANCY JUNDI he may seem like a barbecue-loving country bumpkin, but he’s also very intuitive, kind and predominantly optimistic. Bill was rofessional football (soccer) arrived on TVs around explicit that we protect him in the performance, balancing takes the world with the sound of 25,000 Crystal Palace fans to ensure he didn’t seem overly broad and goofy, while showing P singing The Dave Clark Five’s “Glad All Over” when that there’s also a sophisticated, message-driven side of Ted.” their team wins a home match at Selhurst Park, which doubles “From the jump, Bill understood the big picture story we were as the stadium for Ted Lasso’s fictional U.K. Premier League trying to tell,” shares Sudeikis of Lawrence, who also created club, AFC Richmond. Scrubs, Spin City and Cougar Town. “Put the 10 best episodes of Scrubs up against any TV show in history and it would hold its Music Cue: “God Save the Queen” by the Sex Pistols own. As viewers, we cared about those characters. We cared about their relationships. There was enough specificity to them that we Streaming on Apple TV+, the freshman platform which launched felt like we knew them, but there was also enough space within by offering a free year of viewing for anyone with a new Apple them to interject ourselves, our friends, family and co-workers device, Ted Lasso was poised to find a fast home in the hearts who we saw in them. Bill’s use of music in Scrubs was another of soccer fans. But it found a wider audience thanks to its of the many reasons I felt he’d be a great partner for this project. heartwarming and comedic story, centered on a title character Music really helps grease the wheels for tonal shifts, and we tried who exudes kindness and optimism – along with his favorite to make each choice intentional from a thematic, macro-level.” condiment turned popular catch phrase, ‘barbecue sauce.’ This was also the type of story that was needed by captive Music Cue: “Sweet Georgia Brown” by Brother Bones audiences amid the pandemic. Originally conceived in 2013 as NBC Sports promos that Sudeikis describes the pilot as the ‘overture’ for the season. introduced Premier League matches to an American audience, “The show’s called Ted Lasso, but it’s a team vibe. The best teams Jason Sudeikis stars as affable Lasso, an American football coach always have more than a few folks to cheer for, to care about.” hired to coach a Premier League soccer team – and therefore While Brown McCoy and Catoline traded off episodes, entering the world of a high-profile sport he’d known nothing they also tag-teamed character arcs with deeply meaningful about before taking the job. In fleshing out the series with co-star touchstones being dropped into filming. Following a sports Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso’s Coach Beard), and fellow Saturday montage, the pilot opens on a close shot of AFC Richmond owner
34 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Above: Jason Sudeikis. ©2020 Apple TV+. Facing page left top (L-R): Post Coordinator Robbie Stevenson, Editor Melissa Brown McCoy, Assistant Editor Francesca Castro, Editor A.J. Catoline. Photo courtesy of A.J. Catoline. Facing page left bottom: Hannah Waddingham, Juno Temple. ©2020 Apple TV+. Rebecca, played by Hannah Waddingham, staring at the camera. “She’s the first character we meet; Jason and director Tom Marshall were intentional in framing this shot,” Catoline explains. “She opens the story suffering emotionally but looking outwardly put together. The season ends with an identical match-frame close shot, an emotional inverse to the opening, with her feeling healed inside, but a comedic mess on the outside.” This was a nod to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. “We opened on Rebecca to show she was as imperative to the story as Ted, much like the lesser-known Robert Redford was to Paul Newman at that time.” Brown McCoy explains, “Jason had a clear vision for each episode and the season as a whole. At times he’d reference a scene from a movie or show when giving notes and, after watching it, I’d have that lightbulb moment. They were always very smart comparisons, which especially resonated with me in the context of a male-dominated sports world where female relationships were given equal space. I relished editing such strong female characters.” With the freedoms of a streaming platform, editorial could track character arcs as a season whole. “No episode was locked early on so we could adjust if something in the later episodes sparked an idea for a previous one,” adds Brown McCoy. “A.J. and I had a few episodes built up while everyone was still filming in London, so as ew started on producers’ cuts, we also knew the quality of what was to come, which really benefited consistency and tone. The number of cues planted in early episodes that played out later was really satisfying.” production,” Catoline says, explaining that editorial worked with While centered around soccer, there were very few moments supervising producer Kip Kroeger and post house DigitalFilm on the field. Most all game play was shot in the last days of Tree to create previs of these sequences. “We needed to know how those scenes were going to fit into the cut, as well as have something to share with the network for context and narrative purposes,” explains Kroeger. “[Previs] also provided an important roadmap for production while filming at night, in London’s freezing November rain. DigitalFilm Tree’s previs team built a virtual stadium and executed game play of the matches all the way down to camera angles we’d want to cover in each beat.” Remembers Brown McCoy, “When we got all the footage back it was a great joy putting it together again because I felt like I already knew the scenes so well. They shot everything in slow motion, so I had a lot of fun playing with speed ramps for all the big moments of the game.”
Music Cue: “Award Tour” by A Tribe Called Quest
Another important element is music, which Catoline describes as “another character” in the series. “It’s a show about deal- ing with our own personal and emotional challenges, so music helps to cue the pacing of jokes, anchoring us back in comedy.” At a time when most of us are isolated from loved ones and the hope of new relationships, Ted Lasso invites us into the familiarity of old friends and the freshness of potential. Abundant pop culture references are peppered throughout a collection of tracks fashioned to emote far more from a scene than what’s on screen. Brown McCoy, who doubles as a veritable jukebox, elab- orates on the heart behind music cues, which ranged from
Right top: Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis. Right bottom (L-R): Kola Bokinni, Nick Mohammed, Brett Goldstein, Billy Harris, Toheeb Jimoh, CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 35 Stephen Manas and Cristo Fernandez. ©2020 Apple TV+. Next page: Script excerpt with music cue courtesy of Jason Sudeikis. “God Save the Queen” to “Sweet Georgia Brown.” “It’s always the tone of the comedy right early so we’d be on board with Ted the goal to find a song that works so well that viewers feel they when we lift the curtain. need to hear it again. I lived for that with my favorite TV shows “It’s during this beautifully heart-breaking one-sided phone growing up. When a scene made me feel a certain way, listening conversation between Ted and his wife where we get a hint of to that music connected me back to that feeling.” why he’s taken this job so far out of his comfort zone,” she “There was a very intentional music cue, “Opus 26” by continues. “I went back and re-read the beginning of the pilot Dustin O’Halloran, at the end of the pilot,” reveals Brown with the knowledge that once we got to the end of the episode, McCoy. “There was a note in the script asking us to play the we were going to drop an emotional hammer. The comedic song while reading the end. When I listened to the song, a elements had to be authentic to the characters; we never went melancholy piano piece, I knew this show was going to straddle for the joke at their expense. We could then lean into the more the line between comedy and pathos, making it important to get serious moments because it was always about being true to the character. You believe it, even though it might not be what you were expecting when you first clicked on the episode.”
MUSIC CUE: “Opus 26” by Dustin O’Halloran
Ted Lasso, both the Coach and the show, were well hyped but underestimated. The satisfaction of watching an under- dog win never gets old, but has rarely been more needed. It’s in the breaths we take, and the breaths we have taken away, that a part of ourselves is given over to others. Sharing air has never seemed more difficult, nor more important, than it is today. It’s in our communal moments, grounded by common stories, that we remain tethered to one another. If Ted Lasso is our current tie that binds, I think we’re going to be okay. Barbecue sauce.
PRIMETIME EMMY® AWARD-WINNING EDITOR MITCHELL DANTON, ACE Cutting It in Hollywood TOP FILM EDITORS SHARE THEIR JOURNEYS
“For anyone who dreams of becoming an editor, it is an essential read.” Betsy A. McLane, CineMontage “A remarkable insight into the evolution of an editor as an artist.” Jack Tucker, ACE, CinemaEditor
AVAILABLE ONLY AT CuttingItInHollywood.com FEATURING STORIES & EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS WITH SOME OF THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS: John Axelrad, ACE Nena Erb, ACE Michael Kahn, ACE Jim Page, ACE Zene Baker, ACE Billy Fox, ACE Paul Karasick Chris Peppe Josh Beal Barbara Gerard Ivan Ladizinsky Julius Ramsay Norman Buckley, ACE Joseph M. Gonzalez Mary Jo Markey, ACE David Rogers, ACE Betsy Comstock Lise Johnson Tyler Nelson Ron Rosen Todd Desrosiers Mark Jones Tony Nigro
INTRODUCTION BY THREE-TIME ACADEMY AWARD® WINNER MICHAEL KAHN, ACE
MD-CE-ad0717.indd 2 6/16/17 1:44 PM ACE Debuts ACE EDITFEST GLOBAL EditFest Global The new virtual event and online portal launched on Aug. 29
ore than 800 registrants representing 20 countries Shropshire also talked about the need to make the very best participated in ACE’s wildly-successful first EditFest film you can each time whether that’s for a first-time director or M Global – a virtual EditFest event, held from Aug. 29- a seasoned one. “Sometimes you only get that one chance,” she 30, in response to circumstances related to COVID- 19, which said. “Failure is not an option. You are working together to get prompted the cancellation of the 2020 EditFest London and it right, so that you have the opportunity to do others. There is EditFest L.A. events. definitely a pressure to make sure it’s the best film it could be. Hosted by ACE President Stephen Rivkin, ACE, the When we make films we don’t have that luxury to not get it right. event additionally launched the new EditFest Global website That’s what keeps us pushing and pushing.” (EditFestGlobal.com), an online resource for events and other Panels included a look at animation editing and conversations content and information for the editing community. This will about advancing from intern to editor. They also included include past EditFest presentations, moderated panels sponsored “You Gotta Watch This Bit,” an homage to the “Lean Forward by studios, streamers and networks, journalist-led discussions, Moment” panels conceived and moderated by the late Norman content from our global partners and technical information and Hollyn, ACE. Ant Boys, ACE (The Great), led the discussion tutorials on important products. Membership in EditFest Global about the films and TV shows that influence and inspire. Speakers is open to all and free to ACE members. included Kabir Akhtar, ACE (Never Have I Ever – director, Crazy The EditFest virtual event featured Terilyn A. Shropshire, Ex-Girlfriend – editor/director); Maryann Brandon, ACE (Star ACE, in a conversation with Inside the Cutting Room’s Bobbie Wars: The Rise of Skywalker); Kelley Dixon, ACE (Better Call O’Steen. Shropshire’s credits include When They See Us, Secret Saul); William Goldenberg, ACE (Argo); and Jacques Gravett, Life of Bees, Love & Basketball and the recent Netflix hitThe Old ACE (Battlestar Galactica). In moderating the conversation, Guard, based on the comic book series and directed by longtime collaborator Gina Prince-Bythewood. Shropshire explained how she had to convince Netflix she was the right choice to edit the action movie. “I feel that I’ve clearly proven I know what I’m doing but there is this reluctance among all studios to believe you can do it. I’ve worked over many years in many genres but what happens is people narrow those films down to what they would describe as black film. The truth of the matter is, editors are artists and we are always honing our skills. So, when I went in to meet [with] Netflix the question about whether I could cut an action film did come up. But before I’d crossed that threshold into the meeting my headspace was ‘why would you not hire me?’ I need to educate you why I should be the one. I’m used to it.”
Above: ACE President Stephen Rivkin, ACE. CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 37 Fires Everywhere, Pen15); Alfonso Carrion (House of Cards – assistant editor); Mark Hartzell, ACE (Lost in Space); Melissa McCoy (Whiskey Cavalier); and Gretchen Schroeder (Avatar 2 – assistant editor). Each panelist screened a clip and talked through it. Introducing Pen15, Allwarden said, “I love this show because I felt like I exercised every different type of editing from documentary and improv to heartbreaking drama and comedy.” Hartzell picked Sacred Lies, “The Singing Bones” made by Blumhouse for Facebook Watch. He explained how he built the drama using unscripted dissolves, VFX and B-roll and how it became the showrunner’s favorite scene. Carrion showed a clip from The Dark of the Night, a short film he edited for Robin Wright, pointing out manipulations of the audio, the frame and the use of “a no-good out take” to pull it off. A clip from the short Push, co-directed by ACE Internship Program co-director Carsten Kurpanek, was selected by Schroeder. She edited the piece having been mentored by Kurpanek during her internship. “When I was in the process of cutting I remember showing him the opening sequence and he loved it. It was the first time from any mentor I [received] that sort of feedback. It still sticks with me how valuable that mentor experience was.” Boys urged the audience “to be an excited fan” of the work in Mentoring was also on the mind of McCoy who highlighted order to create these memorable cuts. a scene from Apple TV+ soccer-comedy Ted Lasso. “I recall Akhtar showed and discussed the shocking ending to 1995 my mentor saying,‘You gotta be ready to do the job when you thriller The Usual Suspects, edited by John Ottman, ACE. get into the chair,’ and this series was the epitome of that. There “The storytelling is told completely through the editing,” he said were so many different storylines to keep up with. Plus, there of how the mysterious Keyser Soze’s identity is revealed. were a lot of invisible greenscreen VFX elements involving the Brandon showed a clip from classic ‘60s sci-fi series on-field action that needed attention to detail.” The Outer Limits, citing its simplicity. “What I love about it, is “Animation Editing: Inside Look at the Unique Storytelling there are no fancy tricks. It’s very straightforward." Process” explored how the animation editing process differs from Dixon introduced a scene from Steven Zaillian’s 1993 drama other genres. Jeff Draheim, ACE, explained it’s almost the exact Searching for Bobby Fischer, edited by Wayne Wahrman, ACE, during which a young Fischer plays chess with his father. “We understand that he is going to win, but we don’t know how it’s going to be revealed to us,” she said. “Anytime you can surprise your audience … even if they know what’s going to happen, that’s a huge win.” Goldenberg introduced the final scene from Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights (1931), in which the Little Tramp has fallen in love with a blind woman. He described the ending of the nonverbal movie as a “beautifully emotional clip” that portrays “selflessness, not caring about class structure and really seeing someone. … It’s loaded with so much emotion.” Turning the conversation to Tony Scott’s 1995 thriller Crimson Tide, edited by Chris Lebenzon, ACE, Gravett chose the clash between officers played by Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington over whether their submarine should launch a missile attack. “It still gives me chills,” he said. “These are two actors at the top of their game. No camera tricks.” He added that while its dialogue-heavy, "just look at the expressions. It’s all about what’s happening in their eyes. … The challenge is, when do you cut. The performances are so good.” Moderated by Adobe’s Margot Nack, “From Intern to ACE: Building a Future” featured Amelia Allwarden (Little
38 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Left top: Bobbie O’Steen and Terilyn A. Shropshire, ACE. Left bottom: “You Gotta Watch This Bit” panel. Right top: “From Intern to ACE” panel. Right bottom: “Animation Editing” panel. FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION BEST PICTURE BEST ANIMATED FEATURE BEST FILM EDITING
©2020 DISNEY/PIXAR
Onward Cinema Editor - Issue date: 4th quarter (Street date: Dec. 7, 2020) v3 Bleed: 8.75" x 11.25" Trim: 8.5" x 11" Live: 8" x 10.5" opposite of live action. “In live they shoot all the footage and getting better and Disney and Pixar are coming up with new ways give it to the editor at the end to put it together. In animation to stabilize the workflow.” we spend years putting it up on reels – rough storyboard, rough Evan-Jones found aspects of the new normal more FX, rough dialogue – just trying to figure out what movie we’re productive than before. “We have a 9:15 a.m. Zoom meeting trying to make. Once we figure it out then we go into production every day and with everyone including assistants. Logistically and actually start animating. It’s a much longer process but it’s that never happened before. Now everyone has really clear also rewarding because you really get to roll up your sleeves daily instructions.” and sink your teeth into it.” Arrastia also finds communication improved with remote Illustrating the storytelling process, Draheim showed interaction. “We use hangouts to simulate team collaboration and discussed a clip from his latest movie, Disney’s Frozen and Evercast for over-the-shoulder sessions. I prefer it because 2. Additional panelists presented work from each of their it feels less nerve-wracking than someone actually being present. films. Catherine Apple, ACE, discussed Pixar’s Onward; Of course, I miss human interaction but in a weird way WFH has Joyce Arrastia, ACE, featured DreamWorks Animation’s been more efficient and a much better work-life balance.” Rise of the Guardians; Sim Evan-Jones, ACE, presented the EditFest Global presented plenty of opportunities to interact opening of Aardman Animations’ A Shaun the Sheep Movie: with other editors. Each day, attendees were invited to participate Farmaggeddon; and Benjamin Massoubre, ACE, presented in breakout sessions with editors including Shannon Baker-Davis, I Lost My Body. ACE; Debbie Berman, ACE; Andrew Buckland, ACE; Aaron Moderated by Carolyn Giardina, Tech Editor at The Butler, ACE; Poppy Das, ACE; Dody Dorn, ACE; Jeffrey Ford, Hollywood Reporter, the editors also discussed working from ACE; Terel Gibson, ACE; Catherine Haight, ACE; Mark Helfrich, home amid COVID-19. ACE; Niven Howie, ACE; Kate Sanford, ACE, and Gary Levy, Apple shared that the studio is recording actors from their ACE; Sabrina Plisco, ACE; Fred Raskin, ACE; Tatiana Riegel, bedroom closets as the most soundproofed socially-distant room. ACE; Joan Sobel, ACE; Kevin Tent, ACE; Troy Takaki, ACE; “We sent them all a mic and they are doing dialogue in their Harry Yoon, ACE; and Julia Wong, ACE. closet. It’s interesting to see how they have their places set up!” Additionally, a ‘networking’ feature in the EditFest Global Massoubre has been working on two productions during platform (think virtual speed dating) enabled participants to lockdown, each with different remote arrangements. “With one meet old and new colleagues for one-on-one conversation. I go to the studio and work on the animatic with the director. In short, you could come away from the program saying that Both of us are tested and in a bubble. The other is at the you ‘met someone new’ at EditFest. animation stage and I’m cutting entirely from home. I’m about The program included breakout conversations with repre- to start a new movie where ideally, we’d meet to brainstorm sentatives from Blackmagic Design, Adobe, Avid, Netflix and ideas. We’re trying to work out how best to do that virtually.” Motion Picture Editors Guild. Like most editors, Draheim found the early stages of quar- EditFest London and EditFest LA are slated to return in antine hard, particularly with home internet connectivity. “If my 2021. EditFest Global was presented with the generous support kids are playing Xbox I could tell. Sometimes I’d get up at 5 a.m. of Platinum sponsor Blackmagic Design; Gold sponsors Adobe, just to get free open bandwidth. Even when all Disney editors Avid, Ignite, Motion Picture Editors Guild and Netflix; and Silver are on the server at the same time the sync can struggle but it is sponsors Amazon and HBO.
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©2020 DISNEY/PIXAR BEST ANImATED FEATURE • BEST FIlm EDITINg
Soul Cinema Editor - Issue date: 4th quarter (Street date: Dec. 7, 2020) v4 Bleed: 8.75" x 11.25" Trim: 8.5" x 11" Live: 8" x 10.5" ACE Internship Program Goes Virtual
he pandemic didn’t derail the ACE Internship Program. “I applied to the ACE Internship Program after I graduated On the contrary, ACE ensured that this year’s program, in May because I wanted to take the next step in my career in T generously sponsored by Adobe, continued despite neces- the industry,” she says. “I knew that the program would allow sitating all communications being conducted virtually online. me to learn from some of the very best minds about working on ACE Internship Program chairs and program alums Carsten scripted and unscripted projects. Kurpanek and Tyler Nelson arranged a series of two-hour Zoom “With everything being virtual this year, we used Zoom to have workshops with editors and assistants throughout the industry very in-depth conversations with people from various fields and as well as the ‘Master the Workflow’ online course. they were able to share their unique experiences. We weren’t able The program thanks Sabrina Plisco, ACE, and Maura Corey, to see what goes on in the cutting room, but I felt that everyone we ACE, for giving of their time as mentors to this year’s interns, spoke with gave us very detailed information. Because everyone Leanna Castaldo and Kelsy Lua. The interns also spoke with many was in the comfort of their home, a lot more people were able to editors and assistant editors, including ACE members and some meet with us. We even met with those who are out of state and out former ACE interns. The pair also spoke with others working in of the country through the ease of Zoom.” post-production and those working in post facilities. They mainly used Zoom and Evercast to attend workshops New Jersey native Castaldo graduated from Pennsylvania and demonstrations. Most of the mentors shared their workflow State University in May after studying film production and on Avid, but the interns were also able to see the assisting photography. She also counts herself fortunate to have attended process on Adobe Premiere. a high school where she was able to edit on an Avid Media For instance, in a workshop with the editorial team of Composer and Apple’s Final Cut. Clifford the Big Red Dog, they gained a clearer understanding “I have been in love with editing for as long as I can of the workflow of a film with emphasis on VFX. remember,” Castaldo says. “I started by going to a film camp They met with Kelly Stuyvesant and Anna Terebelo, the where I learned the basics of editing on Final Cut Pro. From editor and assistant editor of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., there I knew I wanted to pursue a career in post. I chose Penn who walked them through their workflow (all media was State because it was close to home but it also had a study-away offline). Terebelo described how she would receive the dailies, program in L.A. When it came time for graduation and with and how she would organize the project. the onset of the pandemic, I was not able to move out to Los “It is vital for an assistant to be extremely organized and Angeles when I had planned. I wanted to make the most of to make sure everything is smooth so the editor can focus the time I had even though I couldn’t move right away. I found on their craft and not worry about anything else,” Lua says. the ACE program, and realized that it would be an amazing “The assistant editor is also responsible [for] temp sound design introduction to the industry.” and temp VFX. Learning about this has prepared me to improve Lua was born and raised in the Philippines and moved to Los my technical skills.” Angeles to pursue her dream of being an editor. She attended the They met with the editorial teams behind The Voice, who University of Southern California and graduated with a Master of shared experiences working in unscripted TV; and Netflix’s CG- Fine Arts in Film and TV Production with an emphasis in editing. animated preschool series Trash Truck. “It was the first time I truly
42 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Left: Kelsy Lua. Photo by Dante Bailey. Right: Leanna Castaldo. Photo courtesy of Leanna Castaldo. understood the workflow of editorial in animation,” Lua reveals. in knowing what to do on the job to be successful thanks to “I was very fascinated with the process and realized how different the ACE Internship Program. I’m very excited to see what’s an editor for live action is compared to an editor for animation. next to come. This program allowed me to open up more opportunities and “I learned that when starting out, the level of enthusiasm we learn other things that I’ve never explored before.” have may be more important than our technical skills. Anyone Castaldo and Lua were introduced to Nancy Hurley, assistant can learn the technical side of things, but people would rather editor of S.W.A.T., who shared the dailies process and how the work with someone who cares about the project, is kind, is log sheet from the script supervisor helped sort the dailies. willing to learn as much they can and put in the work.” “It was incredible to be able to learn from all of the mentors Both Casteldo and Lua express their thanks to all the mentors because it allowed me to feel as though I was becoming a part who supported them and for taking their time to speak with them. of the community,” Castaldo reports. “The program mainly They also wish to thank their family and friends, their professors focused on teaching us about how to be a great assistant editor and all ACE interns who have helped along their journeys. and how to navigate the politics of a cutting room. We got an in-depth look into what technical skills we will need such as Mentors: Sabrina Plisco, ACE; Maura Corey, ACE. organizing dailies, sound and visual effects workflows, and the turnover process. We also learned soft skills such as how to read ACE Internship Program Team and Mentors: a room and anticipate the needs of the editorial team.” Carsten Kurpanek, co-chair; Tyler Nelson, co-chair; Sabrina A number of mentors shared PowerPoint presentations Plisco, ACE; Maura Corey, ACE; Troy Takaki, ACE; Chris with very detailed step-by-step processes of their workflow. Cooke, ACE; Nena Erb, ACE; Mark Andrew, ACE; Stephen Lua says, “One of the benefits to meeting various mentors was Lovejoy, ACE; John Axelrad, ACE; Vince Anido, ACE; David being able to see the different working styles and preferences Bertman, ACE; Tina Hirsch, ACE; Tracey Wadmore-Smith, each person has. In one session, the assistant editors showed ACE; Herb Dow, ACE; Serena Allegro; Marco Gonzalez; Irene us the detailed process of the VFX prep, tracking and temping. Chun; Katelyn Wright They explained some common effects and tools used in Avid and showed us specific examples for how each is used. I found Editorial: Richard Sanchez; Amelia Allwarden; John Paul this incredibly helpful because many editors look for assistants Horstmann; Hansjeet Duggal; David Bach; Susana Benaim; who are technically proficient.” Ian S. Tan; Katelyn Wright; Anna Terebelo; Kelly Stuyvesant; Alyssa Carroll; Josie Azzam; Dustin Chow; Katie Langton; Steve Bobertz; Kelly Soll; Esther Sokolow; Gretchen Schroeder;
Ben Stringfellow; Ben Murphy; Qingya “Emma” Li; Yu Jung
The most valuable“ piece of advice I Hou; Brian Parker; Christopher Frith; Paul Penczner; Venya gained from the program was that you Bruk; Aaron Butler, ACE; Marc Wiltshire; Jesse Chapman; don’t know what you “ don’t know and Mark Hartzell, ACE; Emily Streetz; Ashley Riddle; Luke Palter; Sally Bergom; Carol Choi; Gennie Rim; Laura Zempel; always be open to new opportunities. Alfonso Carrion; Johan Lugo; Laura Minto; Jesse Averna, ACE; John Venzon, ACE; Iman Ahad; Nancy Hurley; John Baldino; Sean Basaman; Matthew Blair; Vinnie DeRamus; Noel Guerra; Despite the remote learning element there were positive Omega Hsu, ACE; Charles Kramer; Alyssa Lehner; Robby takeaways. For one, it allowed Castaldo to complete the program Thompson; Robert M. Malachowski Jr, ACE from the East Coast without the added stress of trying to move during a pandemic. Post-Production: Stephen Buchsbaum, ADS Hollywood; “The program gave me a full understanding of the post- Erich Gann, Smart Post Sound; Ken Blaustein, Smart Post production industry and the expectations of assistant editors in Sound; Fred Pienkos, Muse VFX; Shane Wise, Muse VFX; terms of technical and soft skills,” she says. “The most valuable Bruce Sandzimier, Post-Production ABC Studios; Brian Bedell, piece of advice I gained from the program was that you don’t know BeBop Technology; Michael Urann, Post Supervisor. what you don’t know and always be open to new opportunities. I have learned that being teachable is an asset and being open to Lecture Series: Aj Francois; Shelby Hall; Kristin Valentine; learning new things will help you succeed in any cutting room. Nicholas Manting Brewer; Nena Erb, ACE; Robert Komatsu, In post, it is important to never stop learning and never close ACE; Mike McCusker, ACE; Julie Rogers, ACE; James Wilcox, doors for yourself.” ACE; Molly Shock, ACE; Ben Bulatao, ACE; Michael Lynn She plans to move to L.A. as soon as possible and to Deis; Austin Childress; Kelly Soll finish earning her days to join the Editors Guild. She says, “I am excited to meet all of the mentors and fellow applicants in ACE Internship Program Sponsor: Adobe person and to begin assisting.” Lua also plans to be involved and stay connected with ACE Office: Jenni McCormick; Marika Ellis; Gemmalyn Idmilao- the community as much as possible. “I feel more confident Brunson; Jasmine Staehle
CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 43 BY ADRIAN PENNINGTON
2011/Director: J.J. Abrams SUPEREditors: Maryann Brandon, ACE, Mary Jo Markey, ACE 8
Arguably J.J. Abrams’ most personal film, Super 8 is a nostalgic ride back to the director’s own childhood and a paean to ‘80s cinema favorites like The Goonies and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Not for nothing is Steven Spielberg a producer on Abrams’ pet project. “It’s my favorite film of J.J.’s,” says Maryann Brandon, ACE. “I love the mix of genre and capturing the excitement of finding one’s love with filmmaking.”
As with other Abrams collaborations, Brandon shares editing duties with Mary Jo Markey, ACE. “We split scenes evenly in a checkerboard sequence throughout the film,” Brandon says. “We watch dailies together and review each other’s work. When we screen the movie with J.J. and other key creatives we’ll make suggestions and then each take our own scene back to recut.”
Super 8 focuses on a gang of youngsters, happily making a zombie movie during their summer vacation when they stumble on what may or may not be an alien monster on the loose. “In this scene our heroes have been caught by the military and they are being taken somewhere but they, nor we, don’t know where,” says Brandon. “Immediately when you see our main characters locked in the back of a school bus you know something terrible is going to happen.”
Repeat viewings don’t make the timing of the event easier to guess. There is a big crashing sound, something has hit the bus causing it to come to a stop. “We wanted it to be really shocking. There are these low angle close-ups of the kids giving you that feeling of dread. We see them through glass, locked off in the back, and we see that the military have pulled out their guns.”
44 CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 Super 8 Title and Photos © Paramount Home Entertainment. She adds, “J.J. and I did consider a false beat. That is, having the bus stop and the action pause, before introducing the shock. We even discussed having a shot of a pair of eyes shining in the dark only to be revealed as a deer in the headlamps. In the end we just wanted to be true to the moment.”
When the bus is hit, the cutting pace speeds up, giving momentum to the vehicle’s movement and the chaos onboard. “When you are cutting you are dictated by the action and here, as well as in a previous scene involving a train crash, the film has a very rhythmical beat to it.”
Crucially, the characters and the audience do not see what has caused the accident. The bus driver is handed a gun by his commander and told to go out and shoot the monster. Everything slows down for tension. “The driver is clearly afraid. He opens the door and the camera goes out of the door. If I were to edit that scene today, I might have held onto that shot a bit longer and let the camera go into the darkness, the nothingness. At the time, I probably didn’t have any more footage and thought it worked rhythmically.”
Brandon says they decided to show very little of the monster, after all it was hard enough to figure out how to fit it into a bus. “The guns are dart/sedation guns. The military are the bad guys here, they want to recapture the creature to continue experimenting on it. J.J. and I want the audience to feel sympathy for the monster. That emotion is transferred through the kids’ reactions to it throughout the film. That’s one reason humor is so important. Keeping a sense of humor helps ground these stories which are otherwise so out there!”
CINEMAEDITOR QTR 4 2020 VOL 70 45 PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE 5555 MELROSE AVENUE PAID MARX BROTHERS BUILDING, ROOM 108 LOS ANGELES, CA LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90038 PERMIT NO. 3344
PETITION FOR EDITORS RECOGNITION
he American Cinema Editors Board of Directors • Sundance Film Festival T has been actively pursuing film festivals and • Shanghai International Film Festival, China awards presentations, domestic and international, • San Sebastian Film Festival, Spain that do not currently recognize the category of Film • Byron Bay International Film Festival, Australia Editing. The Motion Picture Editors Guild has joined • New York Film Critics Circle with ACE in an unprecedented alliance to reach out • New York Film Critics Online to editors and industry people around the world. • National Society of Film Critics
The organizations listed on the petition already We would like to thank the organizations that have recognize cinematography and/or production design recently added the Film Editing category to their Annual Awards: in their annual awards presentations. Given the essential role film editors play in the creative • Durban International Film Festival, South Africa process of making a film, acknowledging them is • New Orleans Film Festival long overdue. We would like to send that message in • Tribeca Film Festival solidarity. Please join us as we continue the effort to • Washington DC Area Film Critics Association elevate the perception of editors everywhere. • Film Independent – Spirit Awards • Los Angeles Film Critics Association You can help by signing the petition to help get • Chicago Film Critics Association recognition for film editors by asking these • Boston Film Festival organizations to add the Film Editing category to • The International Animated Film Society – their annual awards: Annie Awards • Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror – Saturn Awards
Please sign our petition at: www.EditorsPetition.com Now endorsed by the Motion Picture Sound Editors, Art Directors Guild, Cinema Audio Society, American Society of Cinematographers, Canadian Cinema Editors, and Guild of British Film and Television Editors
Committee for Creative Recognition