The Rough Cut

Latest Episodes:

A Black Lady Sketch Show Sep 13, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Daysha Broadway, Stephanie Filo, Jessica Hernández ACE

A Black Lady Sketch Show is an American television sketch comedy show created by Robin Thede for HBO. The show consists of comedic sketches performed by a main cast of Black women comedians.

The first season premiered with six episodes on August 2, 2019 and received a 2020 TCA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sketch/Variety Shows. Though the second season was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it premiered April 23, 2021 and won three Black Reel Awards and is currently nominated for four Primetime Emmy® awards; including an Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming nomination for Daysha, Stephanie and Jessica. They went on to win that Emmy!

DAYSHA BROADWAY

Los Angeles native Daysha Broadway began her career with a Master's Degree in Film Editing from Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University. Since graduation she has spent the past ten years editing documentary, scripted, and unscripted television. In addition to A Black Lady Sketch Show, her credits include numerous television shows such as Insecure, 9-1-1, Twenties and Boomerang. Daysha has also contributed her talents to documentary features such as Light Girls and Surviving R. Kelly, the latter of which earned her a Peabody award.

STEPHANIE FILO

Stephanie Filo is an award-winning editor and activist with over a decade of experience editing and producing both scripted and unscripted content. Aside from editing film and tv, Stephanie spends much of her spare time producing and editing social action campaigns and documentaries. Her work on the news documentary series Mental State earned her an Emmy® nomination for the episode Aging Out about youth aging out of the American foster care system. She also earned an Emmy® win for her editing on the Mental State episode Separated which covered ICE deportations, making herself and Nzinga Blake the first Sierra Leonean women to ever win an Emmy® award.

JESSICA HERNÁNDEZ ACE

Jessica Hernández is a first generation Cuban-American filmmaker whose work ranges from scripted television to documentaries and features. Her films include Bomb It (Tribeca 2007), The Garden (Oscar nom 2008), Karma Calling (Best Feature New Jersey Film Fest 2009), Bhutto (Competition Sundance 2010, Emmy nom, Peabody 2011), Treatment (Tribeca 2011), The Punk Singer (SXSW 2013), and The Boy Band Con (SXSW 2019). In addition to A Black Lady Sketch Show, her 2021 scripted television projects include Adam McKay's Untitled LAKERS series and Ava DuVernay's COLIN In B&W.

Editing A Black Lady Sketch Show

In our discussion with the A Black Lady Sketch Show editing team of Daysha Broadway, Stephanie Filo and Jessica Hernández ACE, we talk about:

The role of the Supervising Editor
Being the new editor on the team
The VFX aspect of making "five minute" comedies
Editing tools you can't live without
Honing your editing chops in unscripted tv

The Credits

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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir ACE, Nat Sanders ACE and Harry Yoon ACE

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings editors Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir ACE, Nat Sanders ACE and Harry Yoon ACE combined their unique skills and sensibilities to craft the heart, comedy and action that made Marvel's latest entry in the MCU a hit with audiences and critics alike.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, "Shang Chi" tells the story of a skilled martial artist who was trained to be an assassin by his father at a young age. Shang Chi chooses not to follow the same path as his father, the immortal leader of the "Ten Rings" army of assassins, and runs away to San Francisco to live a mild-mannered life parking cars.

ELÍSABET RONALDSDÓTTIR ACE

Iceland native, Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, is widely known for her work on high-adrenaline action films such as Deadpool 2 (2018), Atomic Blonde (2017) and John Wick (2014). She is currently editing the action movie, Bullet Train (2022).

NAT SANDERS ACE

Once named as part of Filmmaker magazine's "25 New Faces Of Independent Cinema" in 2009, Nat Sanders is known for his work on If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Moonlight (2016), and the tv series, Girls (2016). Nat is also the only person has won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing twice.

HARRY YOON ACE

Immediately prior to his work on Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Harry Yoon was being lauded for his work with director Lee Isaac Chung on the Oscar®-nominated film, Minari (2020). Harry's other work includes the films The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019), First Man (2018) and Detroit (2017).

Editing Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings

In our discussion with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings editors Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir ACE, Nat Sanders ACE and Harry Yoon ACE we talk about:

Finding the beats of hand-to-hand fight scenes
Turning a problematic open into contextual flashbacks
Dialing in characters that exist for comic relief
Overcoming the resistance to making big cuts that come with big costs
Being typecast into specific genres

The Credits

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Hacks Aug 30, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Jess Brunetto, Susan Vaill ACE, Ali Greer

Hacks editors Jess Brunetto, Susan Vaill ACE and Ali Greer each find themselves nominated for an Emmy® award for their work on Season One of their hit series. For those not familiar with the show, Hacks is an American comedy-drama series created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky that streams on HBO Max. The show tells the story of two very funny women at different points in their careers. Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comedy diva, is struggling to maintain relevance while the head of the casino where she performs tries to pare down on her performance dates. Ava is a Gen Z comedy writer who is unable to find work due to being "canceled" over an insensitive tweet. The two reluctantly team up to freshen up Vance's material, while learning to respect each other's differences along the way.

JESS BRUNETTO

Jess Brunetto is a director, writer, producer and editor. Her film work has screened at Cannes, Venice and Sundance. Her directorial debut Sisters (2021) premiered at SXSW and was nominated for the Grand Jury Award. In addition to Hacks, her other editor credits include; Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens (2020), Broad City (2014), American Vandal (2017) and Jordan Peele's The Last O.G. (2018), on which she also served as an associate producer.

SUSAN VAILL ACE

Susan's love of music-driven storytelling has led her to be described as 'a legendary music supervisor masquerading as an award-winning editor.' After assistant-editing documentaries and feature films like The Last Samurai (2003), Susan edited over 70 episodes of Grey's Anatomy (2005) which won the Golden Globe for Best Drama Series in 2008. Susan also directed three episodes of the series, one of which featured an Emmy-winning performance by guest actress Loretta Devine. In addition to Hacks, her other television editor credits include; Space Force (2020), Grandfathered (2015), Me, Myself and I (2017), This Is Us (2016), and Lodge 49 (2018).

ALI GREER

In addition to her Emmy® nomination for Hacks, Ali was twice nominated for an ACE Eddie award for her work on the series, Portlandia. In fact, Ali's editorial career is highlighted by several standout series in the comedy genre. Her time as an assistant editor was punctuated with a stint on Kroll Show (2015) as well as the aforementioned Portlandia (2015). From there she went on to edit such shows as Dream Corp LLC (2018), Black Monday (2020) and Schmigadoon! (2021).

Editing Hacks

In our discussion with the Hacks editing team of Jess Brunetto, Susan Vaill ACE and Ali Greer, we talk about:

The money is no object approach to needle drops
The danger of checking your email on a Friday night
Breaking the rules of network television
Honoring When Harry Met Sally
Doing mixes over Zoom...in a car

The Credits

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Free Guy Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Editor - Dean Zimmerman ACE

Free Guy editor, Dean Zimmerman ACE wrapped working on location for the film exactly two years ago. Like so many movies lately, Free Guy had been locked in a pattern of pandemic postponement. It was originally supposed to be released late in the spring of 2020, but then got bounced around until it eventually hit theaters on August 13th of 2021.

Free Guy stars Ryan Reynolds as a bank teller who discovers he's actually an NPC (non-playable character) in an MMORPG (massive multiplayer online role-playing game). With the advent of his self-awareness, Guy decides to become the hero of the story and save his friends from deletion by the game's creator, played by Taika Waititi.

DEAN ZIMMERMAN ACE

Free Guy finds Dean collaborating once again with director and longtime friend, Shawn Levy. The two have been working together for over twenty years on projects like the Night at the Museum franchise and a little series called Stranger Things. In fact, a lot of Dean's crew from Stranger Things is on board for Free Guy. Assistant editor Kat Naranjo, VFX editor Brad Tobler and sound editor Craig Henighan are all on hand for the film. So, clearly Dean takes a family-oriented approach to putting a crew together and keeping them together. And editing is a family business in more ways than one for Dean. His father, Don Zimmerman, is a highly accomplished editor in his own right.

Dean is currently working on Shawn Levy's upcoming film with Ryan Reynolds, The Adam Project (2022).

Editing FREE GUY

In our discussion with Free Guy editor, Dean Zimmerman ACE, we talk about:

The pain of cutting out Taika Waititi scenes
Questions editors ask test screening audiences
How working on Free Guy compares to Stranger Things
Why stereo is better than 5.1 monitoring
Teaching the Duffer brothers about "cowboy shots"

The Credits

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See Dean's Avid timelines from Free Guy

See the Stranger Things panel with Dean, Kat, Brad, Craig and all the gang

Listen to the Sound Design podcast with Craig Henighan, Will Files and Ai-Ling Lee

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The Suicide Squad Aug 13, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Fred Raskin ACE and Christian Wagner

The Suicide Squad editors, Fred Raskin ACE and Christian Wagner join forces once againto assist director James Gunn with his latest movie; a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) and the tenth film in the DC Extended Universe. The film features Gunn's patented take on action and comedy, plus a little blood, guts and gore for good measure.

FRED RASKIN ACE

To help him with the latest installment in the DCEU, James called on an old friend from his Marvel days, editor Fred Raskin. Fred worked with Gunn on both Guardians of the Galaxy films, so James knew quite well that Fred was up for the challenge of The Suicide Squad. In addition to his work with Gunn, another prominent director that Fred is known to cut for is Quantin Tarantino. Fred handled the editorial duties for Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight and, most recently, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

CHRISTIAN WAGNER

While Quentin Tarantino has written AND directed most of his films, True Romance is one of the few that he wrote but did not direct. It was directed by Tony Scott and edited by a man Mr. Scott worked with quite often throughout both of their careers, editor Christian Wagner. In addition to True Romance, Chris also cut Man on Fire, The Last Boy Scout, Days of Thunder and several more films for Scott. When he wasn't cutting for Tony Scott, Chris spent a little time on some of the "Fast and Furious" films. Two of which, Fast and Furious and Fast Five, Chris co-edited with Fred Raskin. The Suicide Squad sees the two editors reuniting for the third time.

Editing The Suicide Squad

In our discussion with The Suicide Squad editing team of Fred Raskin ACE and Christian Wagner, we talk about:

Collaborating with a co-editor for the first time
Scaling back the Harley Quinn sub-plot
The sacrifices editors make in working remotely
Directors who don't understand pre-viz
Mentoring the next generation of super hero editors

The Credits

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UFO Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Paul Crowder ACE and Ede Bell Crowder

The UFO post production team of editor Paul Crowder ACE and lead assistant editor Ede Bell Crowder didn't just share the workload on JJ Abrams' new docuseries for Showtime, they also share the same last name. Ede had to look no further than her own father, veteran documentary editor Paul Crowder ACE, to know that she wanted to be an editor. While she's hoping for a career in scripted editing, the chance to work with her dad on such a high-profile project was too good to pass up. Together, with the rest of the post team, Paul and Ede created a riveting series that raises new questions about the phenomenon of unidentifiable flying objects; including what the U.S. government might have known (and covered up) all along.

PAUL CROWDER ACE

A British-born musician turned filmmaker now living in the USA, award-winning editor Paul Crowder ACE is best known for documentaries such as; Dogtown and Z-Boys, Riding Giants, Sound City and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years. Paul is also known for directing the films Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who and 1. He can also be seen around Los Angeles playing with the classic power pop band, The Automatics.

EDE BELL CROWDER

Daughter of editor/director Paul Crowder ACE, Ede is a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina film program. Prior to her work on UFO, Ede had been sharpening her editorial skills on numerous short films.

Editing UFO

In our discussion with UFO editor Paul Crowder ACE and assistant editor Ede Bell Crowder, we talk about:

The critical decisions that go into the opening of a series
Using reaction shots to comment on...comments
Whether or not to use image manipulation tools on UFO footage
How to manage large amounts of media for remote workflows
A second-hand account of an actual UFO sighting

The Credits

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Framing Britney Spears Aug 02, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Geoff O'Brien and Pierre Takal

Framing Britney Spears editors Geoff O'Brien and Pierre Takal joined forces to take on the monumental editorial challenge of compressing twenty years into just over an hour of screen time to tell a story that is both informative and provocative. Released on February 5, 2021 as an edition of The New York Times Presents on FX and FX on Hulu, the documentary explores Spears's rise to fame as a pop star, her treatment by the paparazzi, her highly publicized breakdown in 2007, and her court-mandated conservatorship overseen by her father. The documentary received critical acclaim and garnered two nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy® Awards; including a nomination for Geoff and Pierre's work in the cutting room.

GEOFF O'BRIEN

Aside from his work on Framing Britney Spears, Geoff has been a major creative contributor and editor for series including The Weekly from The New York Times, Fiasco on Epix and PBS's Frontline. He also worked on three award-winning feature documentaries, Note By Note: The Making of Steinway L1037; Brick By Brick (a documentary that chronicles segregation in the Yonkers public school system) and It Started As A Joke (chronicling Eugene Mirman and his comedy festival).

PIERRE TAKAL

In addition to his work on the New York Times Presents series, Pierre has cut for the PBS investigative series, Frontline and on documentaries such as Eagle Huntress, Rats, I am Human and One Direction: This Is Us. But that's not all. Not only does Pierre Takal do Emmy®-worthy work in the editing room, he's also an accomplished composer, at times taking on both composing and editing duties on the same project.

Editing Framing Britney Spears

In our discussion with Framing Britney Spears editors Geoff O'Brien and Pierre Takal, we talk about:

Utilizing the resources of The New York Times
Collaborating remotely during the pandemic
Quickly setting the context for the conservatorship controversy
Knowing where to stop on a story that is still unfolding
How this project evolved their opinions of their own industry

The Credits

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Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry Jul 26, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Greg Finton ACE and Lindsay Utz ACE

Editors Greg Finton ACE and Lindsay Utz ACE hadn't worked together prior to Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry, but they each had plenty of experience in the world of unscripted storytelling to bring to the table for director R.J. Cutler's film. The story centers around singer-songwriter Billie Eilish and reveals the behind the scenes creation process of her debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? Released in select theaters via Neon and on Apple TV+ on February 26, 2021, the film has garnered four Primetime Emmy® nominations, including Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming for Greg and Lindsay.

GREG FINTON ACE

Although Greg had previously worked with "Billie Eilish" director R.J. Cutler on the series American High, Greg's storied career in documentary editing actually began in the film cutting rooms of some legendary scripted editors. Working as an assistant to editors such as Lynzee Klingman ACE (A River Runs Through It) and Sandra Adair ACE (Dazed and Confused), Greg learned first hand how just changing the rhythm and pace of the dialogue can have a big impact on the way a scene felt. Greg took this knowledge into his work on highly acclaimed documentaries such as It Might Get Loud, He Named Me Malala and Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind.

LINDSAY UTZ ACE

Prior to teaming up with Greg and R.J. Cutler for the "Billie Eilish doc", Lindsay had made quite a name for herself in the documentary world, having been nominated for both an Emmy® and an ACE Eddie award for her work on the Oscar®-winning documentary, American Factory. A recipient of the 2012 Karen Schmeer Fellowship, Lindsay's talent as a storyteller can also be seen in the documentary projects; Bully, Quest, Miss Americana, as well as the experimental narrative feature, Buoy.

Editing Billie Eilish: The World's a Little Blurry

In our discussion with theediting team of Greg Finton ACE and Lindsay Utz ACE, we talk about:

Enjoying the challenge presented by documentary editing
The deep reservoir of footage afforded by the cell phone era
Lower thirds being a crucial decision in doc filmmaking
How award nominations can impact a documentary editor's career
The advantages of starting out as an assistant in film cutting rooms

The Credits

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Loki Jul 19, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Paul Zucker ACE, Emma McCleave, Calum Ross PAUL ZUCKER ACE (Classic Loki)

Prior to making his mark on the MCU, Paul had worked with some of today's most innovative filmmakers; from Harmony Korine (Mister Lonely) and Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to Lena Dunham (Girls, Camping). Paul cut his first feature at age 24 for Gus Van Sant (Gerry). Moving easily between independent and studio projects, he has worked with such noted directors as Tom Dicillo, Joel Schumacher, and Mike Judge (the pilot episode of Silicon Valley). He has also edited two films for Judd Apatow (This is 40 and Trainwreck, for which he received an ACE award nomination). Paul is also an accomplished commercial editor and a member of American Cinema Editors.

EMMA McCLEAVE ("Florida" Alligator Loki)

Emma McCleave studied at Flinders University Film School in Adelaide, Australia, and within the York University Film program in Canada. On graduation, Emma moved to Sydney where she started her career as a Commercials Assistant Editor, before moving to films in 2008. Through her career Emma trained under some of the most prolific editors in the film industry, including Dody Dorn ACE (Australia, London Boulevard, Fury, Come Away), Michael McCusker ACE (Australia, Captain America: The First Avenger), Chris Dickens ACE (Rocketman), Conrad Buff ACE (Thor: The Dark World, Infinite) and Paul Hirsch ACE (The Mummy).

CALUM ROSS (The One True Loki)

Calum Ross has been in TV cutting rooms for fourteen years. Over that time he has routinely taken on one of the most feared genres in editing, comedy. Calum has been in the cutting rooms of shows such as Pixelface, Murder in Successville, Lovesick, Action Team and his latest work featuring the comedy duo of Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc, Hitmen. But it was his work on the Netflix original series, Sex Education that first introduced him to director Kate Herron, a job that would ultimate land him on Marvel's Loki, once again working with Kate.

Editing Loki

In our discussion with the Loki editing team of Paul Zucker ACE, Emma McCleave and Calum Ross, we talk about:

Editorial Easter Eggs
The demands of a Marvel series compared to a Marvel feature
Integrating footage from Avengers: End Game to set up the pilot
Having to let go of The Frog of Thunder
Who is the True Loki

The Credits

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Hear the podcast with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier team

Meet the Emmy®-nominated editors of WandaVision

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Black Widow Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

Editors - Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd

Editors, Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd are no strangers to the Marvel Universe, yet Black Widow represents the first time they've ever worked together on a project. It's also the first Marvel film for indie director, Cate Shortland.

Black Widow is the 24th film in the MCU, but the first in the franchise's "Phase Four". Eagerly awaited since it was announced after Avengers: End Game, the film has suffered multiple delays in its release due to the pandemic. Taking place after the events of Captain America: Civil War, Black Widow delivers the long overdue backstory and greater depth of focus on the character of Natasha Romanoff (aka Black Widow).

MATTHEW SCHMIDT

Matthew's career with Marvel dates back to The Avengers. Back then he was an assistant on that film as well as first assistant on Iron Man 3. Matt then made the jump to editor on Captain America: The Winter Soldier and would go on to co-edit the Marvel films, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: End Game and Black Widow.

LEIGH FOLSOM BOYD

Even before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe to co-edit Ant Man and Spiderman: Far From Home, editor Leigh Folsom Boyd had plenty experience cutting blockbuster action movies. Her impressive resume includes films like Fast & Furious, Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6, Furious 7, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and Total Recall (2012).

Editing Black Widow

In our discussion with the Black Widow editing team of Matthew Schmidt and Leigh Folsom Boyd, we talk about: