The Rough Cut

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...

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...