The Rough Cut

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...

Just over forty years ago, Paul Hirsch ACE took on the monumental challenge of editing The Empire Strikes Back, the sequel to a film that not only redefined the word "blockbuster" but was also a worldwide cultural phenomenon.  True to his nature of always "Looking to the future, to the horizon.  Never his mind on where he was", Paul had not seen the film since its release in 1980...until now.  On...

An editor cutting comedy without a script can be like a trapeze artist working without a net, but that's what editors Steve Rasch ACE and Roger Nygard ACE do on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm.  With just a short outline but a mountain of footage, Steve and Roger apply their storytelling skills and comedic sensibilities to help Larry David and his crazy cast of characters deliver big laughs on every ep...

You know what visual effects are.  You know what editing is.  But do you know what a visual effects editor does?  If you've ever wanted to know, or wanted to know more about VFX editing, this episode of the Rough Cut is for you!  VFX Editors Marty Kloner ( Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker ), Sharon Smith Holley ( Alita: Battle Angel ) and Wynton Payne ( Luke Cage ) demystify the process and clear...

Editors Jeff Buchanan ACE and Zoe Schack probably had no idea what they were really getting into when they were approached by the Beastie Boys and director Spike Jonze to help edit some clips and photos in support of a little "book tour".  That tour became a live, four-night, multi-city theatrical presentation that would ultimately be the cornerstone of a new documentary, Beastie Boys Story .  Thi...

What We Do In The Shadows editor, Yana Gorskaya ACE joins us on this edition of The Rough Cut podcast to talk about her experience on the show, including directing two of this season's episodes. Yana tells us all about; the team effort of cutting the show, the invaluable role the assistant editors play in the process, how the cast reacted to her as a director and how she came to be a trusted creat...

Editors Emily E. Greene , Robert Komatsu and Todd Downing join The Rough Cut podcast to discuss their work on Hulu's 9 episode mini-series, Mrs. America .  Written by showrunner Dahvi Waller, this ambitious project is a factual, but fictionally-enhanced account of the movement to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in the 70's.  Emily, Rob and Todd talk to us about; the cinematic similarities betwee...

For the past two years, editors Iris Hershner , Nicole Brik and Liza Cardinale ACE have worked together to bring Netflix's Dead to Me to life.  With their collective experience in comedy ( Curb Your Enthusiasm ), drama ( Queen of the South ) and romance ( Outlander ) they're the perfect team to tell the story of widow, Jen Harding and artist, Judy Hale as they crack jokes (and skulls) on the mean...

Of all the different types of projects to cut, comedy is notoriously the most challenging.  A few frames in either direction can be the difference between a joke falling flat or the audience falling out of their seats.  Editor Anthony Boys ACE has spent most of his career sharpening his skills on everything from slapstick to satire, and he gets to put them to good use on Hulu's new series The Grea...