Hollywood Editing Mentor

The idea of moving to a new city without a  job or any contacts can be scary and intimidating, but these feelings shouldn't prevent you from moving forward with your plans. There are a lot of things that you can do prior to such a move  that'll make that transition much easier and less stressful. This is what I discuss with editor Iain Erskine, ACE ( TRUE STORY, PENNY DREADFUL: CITY OF A...

Learning to be a leader and a well-rounded filmmaker are certainly two things that will help you stand out as an editor. A big part of being an editor is having good leadership skills in order to motivate and enable others to contribute towards the success of a production. Also being more knowledgeable of other subjects like cinematography, screenwriting, directing, music composition, or sound des...

In episode 28, I talk to Emmy-nominated editor Justin Krohn, ACE and assistant editor Chris Guiral about their recent experience working on the Apple TV+ series WECRASHED , which stars Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. We also dive deep into the working relationship between an editor and an assistant editor on Hollywood scripted television shows. Justin and Chris not only share their process of how th...

Emmy and ACE Eddie-nominated editor Roger Nygard, ACE has worked with some of the funniest people in the business and has edited episodes from series such as CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, VEEP, and WHO IS AMERICA? His new book, CUT TO THE MONKEY , not only serves as a guide to editing comedy, but also to having a successful career as an editor. Roger shares stories of his journey through Hollywood - revea...

Troy Takaki, ACE is a top film editor (and bass player for the punk band The Boneless Ones), who has cut such box office hits as SWEET HOME ALABAMA starring Reese Witherspoon and HITCH starring Will Smith.  He is one of the few picture editors that splits his time between features and television.  He recently edited shows such as YOU   for Netflix and MR. MERCEDES   for Direct TV, and is currently...

Episode 25 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast is a replay of a live webinar and Q&A about The Editing of Narcos: Mexico with Hugo Diaz and Chris Cavanagh that was recorded live on November 12, 2021. This episode has been edited for clarity. If you'd like to see the entire presentation, including the sample clips from season 3 of Narcos: Mexico that Hugo and Chris dissect, check out t...

Misha Tenenbaum from EditStock and EditMentor is my guest on episode 24 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor Podcast and he's on the show to tell you how you can become a better visual storyteller, and also give some advice to those that have that entrepreneurial spirit and are interested in starting their own business. EditMentor is more than just a tool to teach video editing. It's a reimag...

Do you know of an editor that has won two ACE Eddie Awards in the same night? I do! That's Will Znidaric, ACE who's my guest on the show today and we’re gonna have a deep and honest conversation about the phycology of editing and also get some insight into the world of documentaries because Will has worked on some amazing, high profile projects such as the Oscar-winning documentary Winte...

This is episode 22 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast and it’s for all those Ted Lasso fans out there. Emmy-nominated editors Melissa McCoy, ACE and A.J. Catoline, ACE are here to talk about the hit Apple TV+ show and we're gonna get a behind-the-scenes look at the editing of this awesome series. We’re also gonna talk about their approach to cutting comedy and discuss ways how to properl...

One of the things about working in the post production industry is that a huge opportunity can suddenly come knocking without any notice. It certainly has happened to me.  On episode 21 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast, editor/assistant editor Chris Cavanagh joins me to talk about the importance of putting in the work to prepare ourselves for big opportunities, which he recently got when he...

Amy Duddleston, ACE has over 30 years of experience in feature and television picture editing and most recently received two Emmy nominations for her work on HBO’s Mare of Easttown . Starting out as an apprentice editor, she made her way up to assistant editor working on films like My Own Private Idaho , Corrina, Corrina , and To Die For . As an editor, she has cut 20 features, including High Art...

Editor Dean Gonzalez has worked with some of my favorite bands (Pearl Jam, The Mars Volta, Red Hot Chili Peppers) and other creative artists that I admire (Danny Clinch, Mark Pellington), and has been able to make the journey from commercials to music videos to documentaries to feature films. In episode 19, Dean shares advice on how to become a versatile editor and maneuver a diverse editing caree...

It's almost the end of the school year and some college grads will be looking to start a career in editing or post production. My guest on episode 18 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast is post production assistant Haylie Bantle, who was my first mentee of the Hollywood Editing Mentor program. Haylie graduated from college about a year ago right when the pandemic hit and was looking to pu...

Garret Donnelly is one of those editors that everyone wants to collaborate with not only because of his editing skills, but also because he's a pleasure to be around. He's always made it a point to do the best work possible while maintaining a positive attitude. It's safe to say that taking this approach has allowed him to move up the editing ranks quickly and work on such hit shows...

We're still talking about Netflix's The Queen's Gambit on the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast. Emmy-winning composer Carlos Rafael Rivera is my guest on episode 16 and he's here to talk about his experience scoring The Queen's Gambit and how he collaborated with Michelle Tesoro, ACE, who was on the previous episode of the podcast, and how Carlos met writer/director Scott...

One of my favorite shows from 2020 was Netflix's  The Queen's Gambit , so it was great talking to Michelle Tesoro, ACE, who edited the hit series, on episode 15 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast.  Michelle has an impressive list of editing credits, including Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series When They See Us directed and produced by Ava Duvernay, Netflix’s Emmy-nominated series Godle...

We're talking all things sound today with supervisor sound editor, Danny Pagan , who has worked with Ron Howard for 25 years starting with Apollo 13 .  He explains to us how the sound department of a feature film works, what it consists of, and how it communicates with picture editorial. Danny also shares tips on how to create better sound design and gives advice on how to break into feature...

Harry Yoon recently edited A24's Minari  - winner of the domestic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards at Sundance 2020 - and the HBO series Euphoria (Season 1). His feature editing credits include Detroit (dir. Kathryn Bigelow), The Best of Enemies (dir. Robin Bissell), and additional editing credits for First Man (dir. Damien Chazelle) and the A24 drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco (...

House music producer & DJ, Jesusdapnk, is responsible for providing the original song for the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast, 'Apollo's Haze.' In episode 12, he shares how he began his career in house music and his process behind creating his tracks. We also talk about the importance of loving what we do as creatives, why it's good to encounter challenges, not being afrai...

Mari Keiko Gonzalez is an award-winning editor whose extensive list of credits include: The Weeknd's show open performance for the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards ; Jimmy Carter: Rock and Roll President, which was slated as the opening night film at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival; Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, NWA, Stevie Nicks and The Cure's induction films for HBO's Rock and Roll Hall...

Carlos "Charlie" Viramontes and I met over two years ago through a mutual connection. He was living in San Diego and I was in LA. He was working at a local TV station editing sports promos and wanted to transition to scripted television, but had no idea how to do it. We stayed in touch and developed a friendship over time, until eventually I was able to put him up for an assistant editor...

Sasha Dylan Bell moved from Australia to LA a couple of years ago and through a lot of hard work and perseverance was able achieve his goal of editing feature films and scripted TV shows in Hollywood.  He’s joining me today to share advice not only on how to prepare for making such a big move to the US from another country, but also the things one can do after landing in LA that can help build a n...

Fitness trainer and co-owner of LAKO Boxing Gym, Yuichi Ohi, has been training in the greater Los Angeles area since 2000. He has an extensive background and training in boxing, jui jitsu, grappling, and judo. He is renowned for his work with all fitness levels of clientele and his approach in training is an organic and holistic style. Yuichi’s motto is…"What matters most is that my clients a...

Curtis Thurber grew up in Colorado, and in high school developed a strong interest in filmmaking. After moving to California to attend USC and pursue his passion, Curtis quickly realized that Film Editing was the art he'd be most interested in pursuing as a lifelong career. Shortly after graduating from USC, Curtis found himself on a small second season show that would become one of the most...

Nona Khodai is a Southern California native Picture Editor.  She is a graduate of the USC Cinema School and has worked on such series as The Strain, Colony, Revolution, Amazing Stories , and most recently the first and second season of Amazon’s The Boys.   In episode 6, Nona and I discuss the following: How Nona got her start in the sound department and then transitioned to editorial The importanc...