The Rough Cut

Andrew Seklir ACE is literally and figuratively one of the biggest editors in sci-fi tv storytelling.  Since his days playing college basketball for legendary NBA head coach Gregg Popovich , Andy has been the man behind the mouse on such sci-fi stalwarts as Ron Moore's "re-imagined" Battlestar Galactica series as well as Warehouse 13 and Eureka .  For the past four years Andrew has not only helped...

On this week's episode of The Rough Cut, editors Tyler Cook , Amelia Allwarden and Phyllis Housen bring the heat to Hulu's Little Fires Everywhere . The team talks about; not letting the characters get too "hot" too soon, their approach to cutting a show adapted from a novel, laying the groundwork for the show's aesthetic and style and lots more! Download the free trial of Avid Media Composer . Su...

Unscripted TV veteran Ed Servaites is our special guest on this week's Rough Cut podcast.  As lead editor and Creative Director at Burnish Creative , Ed has helped bring shows like The Masked Singer , America's Got Talent and Dancing with the Stars to massive audiences every week.  Ed talks about the tools and techniques he uses to keep his editing team in sync and on time, and why he hasn't used...

For eighteen seasons and ten years, supervising editors John Larson and Robert Malachowski Jr, ACE have helped make NBC's The Voice a hit show that continues to entertain and inspire TV audiences.  On this week's Rough Cut podcast, they talk to us about marshaling the editorial army it takes to deliver such a big show under tight deadlines.  John and Robert discuss the mechanics of how the show wo...

Originally featured as part of the 2020 SxSW Film Festival conference line-up, we pulled together an all-star line up of audio post pros to lead us in a discussion on the psychology of sound design.  Sound editor?  Sound designer?  Re-recording mixer?  What are those jobs and why is it frequently the same person doing all three?  How do you use tools like EQ and Reverb to not just match dialogue a...

Editor, Doug Abel ACE is no stranger to the documentary scene, having previously helmed the Avid for filmmakers Michael Moore and Errol Morris.  But it's probably safe to say that he's never been part of a project like the one that's taken over social media and consumed a healthy chunk of the world's internet bandwidth.  Years in the making, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness began its journey...

In 2019 Writer / Director Rian Johnson's Knives Out surprised and delighted audiences with his modern take on the "whodunnit" mystery movie.  To help deliver this wickedly stylish story, Rian turned once again to editor, Bob Ducsay.  Having worked together on The Last Jedi and Looper , Bob and Rian's familiarity and shared sensibilities not only combined to make a great film, but also an enjoyable...

In this moment of global crisis, Steve Audette ACE and the team at PBS Television's Frontline are in "all hands on deck" mode to tackle the unfolding tale of the coronavirus pandemic; using remote post-production workflows never tried before to turn around a film, at the level of quality Frontline demands, in just one month. After cutting over 175 episodes (and counting) of Frontline, Steve has le...

Better Call Saul editor, Chris McCaleb ACE has quite a track record with "fan favorite" hour-long dramas; starting with his role as an assistant editor on AMC's groundbreaking series, Breaking Bad .  Since his time on Breaking Bad, Chris has gone on to lead editorial duties on such shows as Halt and Catch Fire , Narcos , Fear The Walking Dead , Lodge 49 and, now in its fifth season, Better Call Sa...

We celebrate Women's History Month here on The Rough Cut by shining the spotlight on Marvel-ous editor Debbie Berman ACE , who helped bring Captain Marvel to life.  Recorded in front of a live audience, Debbie talks to us about the perseverance and persistence it took to get to where she is today..."It's really a competitive industry. One of my mentors, Dan Lebental, was working on Spider-Man and...

When writer/director Leigh Whannell brought editor Andy Canny his ideas for a whole new take on The Invisible Man , Andy's main concern was the prospect of objects floating around the screen looking silly.  The results at the box office have been anything but.  For their sophomore effort, Andy and Leigh have maximized every resource at their disposal to delight critics and moviegoers alike with a...

Editors Bill Hoy, ACE and David Heinz join us on this week's Rough Cut to talk about teaching an old dog some new tricks on, The Call of the Wild .  Having cut their "vfx teeth" together on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and  War for the Planet of the Apes , David and Bill were no strangers to working in a largely digital domain.  But editing a film where the star was never really there took thing...

From out of the Rough Cut archives comes this previously unreleased on-set interview with Baby Driver editor, Paul Machliss .  Recorded while the action is literally happening on location, Paul details the unique workflow he employed for Edgar Wright's music video brought to life.  Shot on 35mm film, Baby Driver not only required Paul to edit on set with an elaborate video tap and Qtake-based capt...

Dan Lebental, ACE and Peter McNulty , two "nice guy" editors team up to bring back "bad boys" Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in the hit film, Bad Boys For Life .  Dan calls in to represent the team and talk about the tools and techniques they employed.  Dan introduces us to the concept of the "comedy pass" and discusses his early start in music video editing and how it helped with using speed ramp...

ACE Eddie-winning and Oscar-nominated editor Jinmo Yang reaches out from his edit suite in Seoul, South Korea to talk about his latest film with director Bong Joon Ho, the critically acclaimed Parasite .  The film itself has the distinction of being nominated for both Best Picture and Best International Feature Film for the 2020 Academy Awards.  In this interview Jinmo discusses why he feels Paras...

Editor Catherine Haight, ACE is no stranger to the Sundance scene.  At the 2018 festival her film Puzzle, made its world premiere.  At last year's 2019 festival it was Amazon Studios' Troop Zero making its debut.  But it would be another year before the film was finally available to the general public.  Now that it's here, Catherine tells us all about collaborating with co-directors, Bert & Bertie...

In this episode of The Rough Cut we close out our study of the final Skywalker trilogy with a look back on the film that helped the dormant franchise make the jump to lightspeed, Episode VII - The Force Awakens .  Recorded in Amsterdam in front of a festival audience in 2018, editor Maryann Brandon ACE recounts her work on The Force Awakens just as she was about to begin editing what would come to...

Oscar-winning editor, Lee Smith ACE is on the podcast to talk about his new hit film, 1917 .  Directed by Sam Mendes and lensed by cinematographer, Roger Deakins ASC BSC , the film tells the tale of two British soldiers on a mission to cross the French countryside to warn their comrades-in-arms that they're walking into a trap.  Even before the critical acclaim and box-office success, 1917 was not...

Recorded live in front of a "studio audience" at the National Association of Broadcaster's convention, editor Bob Ducsay ( The Mummy, Looper, Knives Out ) discusses his work on director Rian Johnson's entry into the Skywalker saga, Episode VIII - The Last Jedi . Bob details the pre-viz process from the 'Battle on Crait' scene, as well as how post-viz was a powerful weapon in his editorial arsenal....

The team from Blue Sky Studios is back with a new film this holiday season!  Editors Randy Trager and Chris Campbell are on hand to bring us further into the world of animated features with a deep dive on their movie, Spies in Disguise .  Randy and Chris break down the milestones and the marathon of delivering a high-profile animated film that works for audiences of all ages.  They tell us about.....

Happy Holidays, Post Production Fans!  A bonus Rough Cut podcast featuring Elf editor, Dan Lebental ACE.  Originally recorded in 2013, ten years after Elf made its debut in theaters, we chatted with Dan about his memories of working on the film, including... How the film originally had a darker, more cynical tone Working in a hybrid Avid/Film workflow When an editor and director become like "an ol...

42 years, 9 films, 3 trilogies - and they all come down to this... Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker . Editor Maryann Brandon, ACE calls in from her editing suite on Endor to talk to us about cutting the last chapter in the Skywalker saga. Maryann discusses... Cutting ten feet away from the action Working with three less months in post than on 'Force Awakens' The JJ Abrams "factor" The process of c...

In December 1989, the Avid 1 / Media Composer was released to the public for the first time; launching a revolution in film and video editing.  For this week's Rough Cut podcast we talk with Avid's founder, Bill Warner to discuss what prompted him to create the Media Composer as well as the challenges he faced along the way.  Bill talks about... How a corporate Christmas video made him give up lin...

For over seven years editor Jeff Ford, ACE and assistant editor Robin Buday have been bringing the Avengers to life on the big screen, culminating in the biggest film of 2019, Avengers: Endgame . Jeff and Robin call in from on location of their next film to reflect on their time in the MCU and to talk about: Making the jump from assistant to editor Dialing in the dailies Adapting to the styles of...

Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul editor, Skip Macdonald ACE guest stars on this week's Rough Cut podcast to talk about cutting the Netflix original film, El Camino - A Breaking Bad Movie . Skip describes the unique aesthetic of the BB universe as well as... How the cinematography influences his editing Getting in the right "head" of the characters in the scene Making a cinematic tv show vs making...