The Rough Cut

Hillbilly Elegy editor James Wilcox, ACE joins the Rough Cut to talk about cutting Ron Howard's new film.  James first collaborated with Howard on the series, Genius , and received an ACE Eddie award for his work on the episode, "Einstein - Chapter 1".  Unlike most feature editors who started their journey in post as an assistant, James actually started out as an editor, but working in news and sp...

In this episode of The Rough Cut, we debut the first in our series of podcasts celebrating the all too often unsung heroes of post production, the assistants!  Assistant editing in film and television can be a demanding, but crucial first step in an editor's journey.  On hand are three very talented and experienced assistants who share their insights, advice and experiences from the cutting room....

As one of the most revered series in television history, it should come as no surprise the the post team from Breaking Bad would know a thing or two about "breaking in" to the industry.  And not just breaking in, but staying in and staying at the top of your game.  Presented by Avid as a live Zoom webinar, editors Kelley Dixon ACE and Chris McCaleb ACE along with sound supervisor Kathryn Madsen en...

Da 5 Bloods editor, Adam Gough is on this edition of The Rough Cut to talk about his work on Spike Lee's latest film, now streaming on Netflix. For over a decade Adam was sharpening his storytelling skills in the cutting room before getting some much deserved recognition for his work on Alfonso Cuaron's Roma .  Not only did it grab him around 20 different award nominations, it also got his phone t...

The Trial of the Chicago Seven editor, Alan Baumgarten ACE is on the podcast this week to discuss his new film with writer/director, Aaron Sorkin .  This is the second time working together for Alan and Aaron, and since this is also only the second thing that Aaron Sorkin has ever directed, the basic math will tell you that Alan is his "go to" guy.  And why not?  Aside from doing Aaron's first fil...

Ted Lasso editors, Melissa McCoy and AJ Catoline join this episode of The Rough Cut podcast to tell us about what goes on in the cutting room to make the magic from the locker room. Ted Lasso is an AppleTV+ series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt, based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NBC Sports' coverage...

The Queen's Gambit editor Michelle Tesoro ACE ( House of Cards, When They See Us ) first collaborated with writer/director Scott Frank in 2017 for his series, Godless .  In fact, The Queen's Gambit also reunites Michelle with fellow Godless alums Wylie Stateman (sound designer) and Steven Meizler (cinematographer).  The fusion of their collective talents has resulted in a critically acclaimed seri...

Inbal B. Lessner, ACE , is an Emmy®- and Eddie-nominated editor and producer. On her latest project, "Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult"—which she co-created with her filmmaking partner, director Cecilia Peck—she takes on the roles of lead editor, writer and executive producer. This four-part documentary series, premiering on STARZ, follows one young woman's perilous journey through the dark and crim...

Editor Greg Plotkin's work brings new meaning to the term "cutting room".  The Blumhouse Productions vet has built a career both editing and directing different styles of films within the horror genre.  His efforts cutting Jordan Peele's breakout film Get Out garnered him 11 different award nominations.  He was also the driving editorial force behind the Paranormal Activity franchise, including di...

Editor Zack Arnold, ACE was a devotee of The Karate Kid long before he joined the post team for seasons two and three of Cobra Kai .  As Zack puts it, " The Karate Kid was my Star Wars ".  How he made the transition from fan on the couch to editor on the Avid was emblematic of Zack's "don't hold back" approach to life and career.  He knew what he wanted and he went for it.  And Zack's passion for...

In this special edition of The Rough Cut we tour the world of sound editing and the new advancements that are taking place in audio post.  Our guides for this tour are sound editors Justin Webster, Jess Parks and Kami Asgar. We begin our journey in Wellington, NZ to visit with sound editor AND software developer Justin Webster . Justin's career got off to a slow start as an assistant sound editor...

New York City-based editor, Jamie Kirkpatrick joins The Rough Cut to talk about his new indie drama, Critical Thinking .  Actor John Leguizamo not only stars in the film, but also takes the reins as director for the first time in his prolific career.   Jamie talks with us about what it's like to be a working editor in New York City, as well has how he jumpstarted his career by leveraging his techn...

Super editors Nona Khodai , Cedric Nairn-Smith and David Kaldor join the Rough Cut to talk about their work on The Boys , an Amazon Prime Video original series.  The Boys shows us a world where super heroes are actually real, but they're not exactly heroic, and in some cases really bad people.  This incredibly popular series (a spinoff series was just announced) is an adaptation of a comic book, o...

Our guests on this edition of The Rough Cut, editor John Axelrad ACE and his assistant editor Jared Simon, can certainly speak eloquently on the subjects of storytelling and editing techniques, but when you listen to their interview, it absolutely comes through how methodical they are in their organization and communication, because success with that is what frees them up to be as creative as poss...

Mulan editor David Coulson is no stranger to working on films about young girls overcoming adversity and societal customs that favor sons over daughters.  You only have to go back to his first collaborative effort with director Niki Caro and her film, Whale Rider , to see that.  That film seemed to come out of nowhere to rack up tons of awards and accolades, including the 2003 Sundance Film Festiv...

On this episode of the podcast, Shawn Paper ACE joins us to discuss editing Sony Pictures' The Broken Hearts Gallery .  Prior to his turn on the Avid in this film, you've seen Shawn's work in such fan favorites as Parks and Recreation, Girls, Crashing, What We Do in the Shadows, Veep, Ugly Betty and Flight of the Conchords …literally just to name a few.  Notice a trend there?  Shawn knows his way...

When it comes to legendary composer Hans Zimmer, you let the music do the talking.  But the numbers don't lie either. 200+ projects scored across all mediums.  28 billion dollars in combined box office gross from those projects.  One Academy Award®. Two Golden Globes®. Three Grammys®.  One American Music Award. One Tony® Award.  He's an Emmy® away from being an EGOT and I like his chances! In our...

In the dramatic conclusion to our exploration of The Mandalorian , editors Jeff Seibenick , Andrew S. Eisen , Dana E. Glauberman ACE and Dylan Firshein discuss; instinctively editing the "little green guy", shopping for the ingredients to make a tasty montage, and cutting storm troopers for comedy. Plus, final takeaways from the whole "Mando" experience. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production...

Nominated for an incredible 15 Emmy's, The Mandalorian not only impressed the critics, but rose to the daunting challenging of winning over Star Wars fans throughout the galaxy.  While the revolutionary virtual set production process has deservedly garnered much attention, without the razor sharp storytelling skills of editors Jeff Seibenick , Andrew S. Eisen , Dana Glauberman ACE and Dylan Firshe...

Five-time Emmy® nominee, Cindy Mollo ACE is on The Rough Cut this week to discuss her hit Netflix series, Ozark .  This time Cindy is nominated for an Emmy® for her work on the Season Three premiere episode of the show, literally kicking things off with a bang and delivering even more of the delightful twists, turns and high drama that made Ozark a fan favorite.   Cindy talks with us about; the be...

For your consideration…editors Nena Erb ACE and Lynarion Hubbard from HBO's Insecure .  What should you consider?  For starters, how this talented team has complemented and supported one another over the years, culminating in their Emmy nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series.  Being nominated for (and winning!) an Emmy is nothing new for Nena, having won in 20...

Netflix's hit German science fiction thriller Dark is, at times, hard to follow...but impossible to stop following.  Thanks in large part to the talented editing team of Anja Siemens , Simon Gstöttmayr and Boris Gromatzki , the mysterious world of Winden, Germany has consumed the hearts and minds of an international audience, keeping them on the edge of their seats and with family tree maps and ch...

When showrunner Sam Esmail took on the challenge of bringing a popular podcast to television, he knew there was no better editor to call than the woman who's helped make his show, Mr. Robot , a critic and audience favorite.  Rosanne Tan, ACE joins this edition of The Rough Cut to discuss her work on the Amazon Original Series, Homecoming .  Rosanne tells us all about; the reasons behind the unique...

For twenty years editor Terilyn A. Shropshire ACE and director Gina Prince-Bythewood have worked hand in hand to entertain and inspire audiences with films dating back to Gina's directorial debut, Love and Basketball.   While their new Netflix hit, The Old Guard, seems to be a departure from Terilyn's previous work with Gina (as well as her other long time collaborator, director Kasi Lemmons), Ter...

January 2020 was quite a month for editor and educator Matt Friedman ACE.  Not only was he nominated for an ACE Eddie award alongside Michael Taylor ACE for their work on The Farewell, Matt's film Palm Springs set a record for the highest ever sales figure ($17,500,000.69) in the history of the Sundance Film Festival.  In spite of all the great news and positive reviews surrounding the film, the f...