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 to start ringing.  On one particular occasion it was director Spike Lee on the other end of the line.  Apparently the call went well, because Spike signed Adam up for his next project, a film about four African American vets who return to Vietnam in the present day in search of the remains of a fallen comrade and another precious thing they left behind.  It’s definitely one of Spike Lee’s biggest and most ambitious projects and Adam did a fantastic job editing the film.  During the podcast, the Da 5 Bloods editor talks about... Working with archival footage to craft the context of the film The visual dynamics of double cuts The surprise vs suspense of walking through minefields Paying homage to films that came before Moving between 5.1 surround sound and stereo while editing What being a technical editor is all about Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs See the latest Special Offers for Avid Media Composer Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube  

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 film, Molly’s Game, Alan has proved his mettle on just about every kind of film.  Dramas like American Hustle and Trumbo.  Comedies like Dodgeball and Meet the Fockers.  Superhero action movies like Venom…and of course my personal favorite, which falls into all the above categories, Zombieland.  Hey, if you can’t see the drama in Zombieland, that’s on you. The Trial of the Chicago Seven is a legal courtroom drama, much like the film that launched Aaron Sorkin’s writing career, A Few Good Men.  But "Chicago Seven" takes on the even more ambitious challenge of detailing an actual historical event, which is the trial of seven men charged with inciting the riots that took place in 1968 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.  As you would imagine, this is a big story with a big cast and has many details that need to be fleshed out and brought to life in the most engaging way possible. In our discussion with Alan, he talks about: The challenge of setting up the characters and context of the film in the opening prologue sequence Negotiating for who and what you need in the cutting room The effect of the pandemic on finishing the film from the director's cut onward What he looks for in an assistant Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs See the latest Special Offers for Avid Media Composer Try  Media Composer | Ultimate for free Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

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 of the The English Premier League. The premise is that American college football coach Ted Lasso is recruited to coach an English Premier League team, AFC Richmond, despite having no experience in English football. So, to overly simplify the whole thing, it’s a fish out of water series.  More aptly put, it’s a goldfish out of water series.  That’s a little joke you’d get if you watched the series. And if you don’t, you really should.  Maybe it’s a case of the right show at the right time, but Ted Lasso and his relentless optimism could not have come along at a better time. AJ and Melissa talk to us about: Zooming with Coach Lasso How reality TV experience comes into play for improv The challenge of cutting sports in a scripted comedy plus, breaking down key scenes from the series Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Go Behind The Scenes of Ted Lasso with a "Timeline Tour" on YouTube See the latest Special Offers for Avid Media Composer Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode

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 series that stormed its way into the Top 10 on Netflix. The Queen’s Gambit is adapted from the Walter Tevis novel of the same name, released back in 1983.  It follows the journey of Beth Harmon, a young girl who was orphaned at the tender age of nine.  While awaiting adoption at the orphanage, she develops a passion for chess and an addiction to tranquilizers; both tapping into an inner genius that propelled her into the world of competitive chess as a teen and then young adult.  Thanks in large part to Michelle's graceful sense of storytelling, this drama unfolds with brilliantly balanced pacing, while maximizing Frank's fantastic writing and a career making performance from actor, Anya Taylor-Joy. In this episode of The Rough Cut, Michelle talks with us about: compressing time while keeping the emotional beats developing discrete visual styles for the different chess matches cutting dialogue that's purposefully hard to hear working within a "oner" Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs See Michelle's guided Timeline Tour on YouTube See the latest Special Offers for Avid Media Composer Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode    

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 criminal world of NXIVM, the notorious self-help group turned sex-slave cult. Lessner and Peck’s last collaboration was the Emmy®-nominated feature documentary Brave Miss World, which debuted on Netflix in 2014. It is the story of an Israeli beauty queen who was raped seven weeks prior to her winning the Miss World pageant and her crusade to reach out to fellow survivors while trying to keep her own rapist behind bars. In 2019, Lessner edited and coproduced “The Movies” (“The Golden Age” episode), executive produced by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Herzog. This was the latest in her four-year-long collaboration with the team that produced CNN's Emmy®-nominated "Decades” series. She has edited seven episodes in the series, and she was nominated for an ACE Editing Award for “The Nineties” episode “Can We All Get Along?” Lessner’s editing credits include ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke (Netflix Original, Dir. Kelly Duane), which was nominated for an Outstanding Documentary NAACP Image Award, as well as Autism: The Sequel (HBO, Dir. Tricia Regan), a follow-up to the Emmy®-winning Autism: The Musical (2007). She edited and coproduced the internationally acclaimed, award-winning I Have Never Forgotten You, a documentary about Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. She also directed the docudrama Night Bites, and she was second-unit producer on the HBO/ARTE documentary Watermarks. Over the course of her career, Lessner has worked in the cutting rooms of directors such as Davis Guggenheim (Teach), R.J. Cutler (“American Candidate”), Kief Davidson and Daniel Junge (A Lego Brickumentary), Jeremy Simmons (“Transgeneration”), Tracy Droz Tragos (Be Good, Smile Pretty) and Natalie Portman (A Tale of Love and Darkness). Lessner began making films when she was in high school and later produced training films for the Israel Defense Forces. At NYU, she was the recipient of the prestigious, merit-based WTC Johnson Fellowship, which is awarded to one student filmmaker a year. Since moving to Los Angeles, she has edited hundreds of hours of non-scripted network and cable television shows. She was also a visiting professor at UNCSA Filmmaking School and a mentor in the Karen Schmeer Diversity in the Edit Room Program. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs See the latest Special Offers for Avid Media Composer Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

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 directing Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.  In 2018 he assumed both editing and directing duties at the same time for the slasher flick, Hell Fest. Greg joins the Rough Cut to talk with us about; the mechanics of manufacturing a jump scare, using surround sound to build tension, what assistants should be paying attention to in the cutting room and above all else - how to make something scary happen! Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs See the latest Special Offers for Avid Media Composer Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best non-linear editor out there Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

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 the show and the work he's done comes through loud and clear in this episode of The Rough Cut.  Zack not only talks about how he got the job but also; the process of incorporating sights, sounds and themes from the original films...navigating your way through a montage...keeping sound simple in offline and avoiding the "Bourne" effect in fight scenes.  Plus, Zack explains why you should Optimize Yourself if you want to have a long, healthy, happy career in the film and television industry! Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Get Zack's free Ultimate Guide for Making it in Hollywood as a 'Creative' Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube  

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 on a little film called The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King.  Apparently Peter Jackson liked what he heard because Justin would return as sound effects editor for all three films for The Hobbit . Along the way he wore many hats as dialogue editor, sound designer, re-recording mixer, foley artist; including being the dialogue editor on a truly unique film and awesome movie called District 9.  In response to the shortcomings he was finding in the tools and processes in audio post, Justin began developing software tools to address these needs with his company, The Cargo Cult.  Recently he introduced a new product called Matchbox that simplifies the common yet complicated problem of change management between not only picture editing and audio post, but also picture editing and VFX. Our next stop is with LA-based sound editors Kami Asgar and Jess Parks, who are working with Sony R&D on what could be some game changing technology that they’re using for the upcoming films, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.  The technology is called the 360 Virtual Mixing Environment and it enables you to reproduce the sound field of a real-life studio or sound stage through headphones.  Kami has been working as a sound editor in film and television for many years on just about every type of project you can imagine, but Jess Parks has a bit of a different story.  She began her journey as a sound editor, but soon had a very successful career as a post-production supervisor on some pretty big movies.  Recently she came to the realization that working in sound is what she truly loves and has since returned to that path. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Try Matchbox and other sound tools at The Cargo Cult Check out Jess and Kami in action at Boundless By Sony Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First and Pro Tools | First Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

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 technical support skills for assistant editing credits.   Jamie also shares what he learned from actor/director Leguizamo about the importance of an editor being able to identify takes that are "performative" vs "intuitive". Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Subscribe to Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

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, or more accurately, graphic novel...because it is a pretty graphic show.  Amazon politely advises you before each episode that what you’re about to see is content most appropriate for an 18+ audience.  And if you’ve seen the show, you probably won’t try to debate that.  But The Boys is incredibly original, and funny, and action packed, and dramatic and surprising in all kinds of good ways.  And all of this is thanks, in no small part, to the contributions of Nona, Cedric and David.  In this podcast they talk to us about; their experiences on the show, what it’s like working with each other, working with the directors, and what it all takes to make The Boys such a fun and entertaining ride. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Learn Avid for free with Media Composer | First Sign up for Media Composer | Ultimate and get the best Avid has to offer Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube Listen to the Joker podcast with editor Jeff Groth