Art of the Cut

Today on Art of the Cut, we’re talking with Dreamworks veteran editor, Mary Blee about the film, “The Wild Robot.” Mary’s editing career began as an assistant editor on the 1991 animated film “Beauty and the Beast.” She’s worked in sound editing and VFX editing. Did additional editing on “Kung Fu Panda” and was an associate editor on “How to Train Your Dragon” and “The Croods.” She was Second Editor on “The Boss Baby” and also worked on subsequent “How To Train Your Dragon,” “Croods” and “Boss Baby” films. The discussion today includes Mary’s approach to cutting storyboards with feeling, the Rubik’s cube of story beats and how they sometimes need to be spun into proper alignment, and the magic response that a director can have to leave an editor “flying home on a cloud.” Today is a really good episode to READ along with the podcast because we will have exclusive storyreels for the scenes that are discussed in the podcast and you'll really want to see those, not to mention the absolutely gorgeous timeline screenshot in the blog and clips from the movie. Get it all here: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, we’re talking with the editors of Netflix’s documentary “Greatest Night in Pop.” They also were part of the editing team of “Mountain Queen: The Summirs of Lhakpa Sherpa.” Carlos Haynes has  worked on Neymar: the Perfect Chaos, Amend: the Fight for America, and Kevin Hart - Don't fuck this up. David Brodie was an editor on  The volunteer, Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski and Selena Gomez: my Mind and Me. Will Znidaric was an editor on  projects like Biggie: I've got a story to tell, Neymar: The Perfect Chaos, and Quincy. The discussion today will be a deep-dive into successful documentary editing including how to build a character arc, treating interviews like a narrative editor treats performance, and how you need to know where your story is going before you decide on how the documentary will begin. To read along with this podcast and see clips, trailers, and exclusive photos go to: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, Úna Ní Dhonghaíle, ACE discusses editing Disney’s Young Woman and the Sea. Una was first nominated for an editing BAFTA 15 years ago. And again in 2013 and THREE TIMES in 2015. She won a BAFTA for Three Girls and was nominated for another BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for editing Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast which we discussed right here on Art of the Cut. She was also on Art of the Cut previously for her work on The Crown and for Death on the Nile. Today we’re going to be talking about the importance of taking time to build up character for big emotional payoffs later, jump-cutting for emotion, and discovering that collapsing or compressing scenes can reveal new things, dramatically. If you'd like to follow along with this interview and read the transcription as well as see clips, trailers and photos, check out the blog version of the podcast on Boris's site: borisfx.com/blog/aotc.

Today on Art of the Cut, editors Michael Anthony Brown and Michael Oliver about their Emmy winning work on Welcome to Wrexham. Brown also won an Emmy for his work on Wrexham last year. Other work includes the TV series, Mr. McMahon, Action, and Losers. Oliver won a Sports Emmy 2011 for HBO’s 24/7 Penguins/Capitols. He’s also edited projects like Being Liverpool, We Are LAFC and Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend. Today we’re talking with the Emmy-winning editors of this series about the importance of starting at a pace that gives you someplace to go, how to use slo-mo, and the games you play with the audience to keep them guessing. If you want to follow along and READ this interview with trailers, clips and exclusive photos, check out: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, editors Nathan Orloff and Shane Reid discuss editing Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night - a film recounting the chaos just before going LIVE with the first episode of Saturday Night Live. Nathan Orloff has been on Art of the Cut before, most recently for his work on Deadpool/Wolverine. He also joined us for his previous collaborations with Reitman on  Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire and Ghostbusters: Afterlife He was also on for editing John Wick 4. Shane Reid was also on Art of the Cut with Nathan for Deadpool/Wolverine and for Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Shane also edited the Nick Cave documentary, One More Time with Feeling.  Today we’re going to be talking about Reitman’s commitment to his highly choreographed long takes, how there was no temp score because composer Jon Batiste was actually recording the score ON THE SET, and creating the dynamics between chaos and quiet. If you want to follow along with this interview, you may read it and see exclusive photos and clips and trailers from the movie here: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut, editor Jeff Groth, ACE, discusses editing Joker: Folie a Deux. For those of you who didn’t take French - that’s “Madness between two.” Jeff’s been on the show before to talk about the last Joker movie, and also The Grey Man. Groth was nominated for an ACE Eddie for his work on the TV series Entourage. He was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for his work on Joker.

Today on Art of the Cut, editor Cam McLaughlin discusses working with legendary filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola, on his film Megalopolis. Cam's previously talked with Art of the Cut about working on Guillermo del Toro's Nightmare Alley. Cam was also an associate editor and music editor on del Toro's Shape of Water. His TV work includes The Girlfriend Experience and Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities.  Discover the collaboration process of legendary filmmaker, Francis Ford Coppola as he works with editor Cam McLauchlin; how they used AI; and getting to contribute to the script process. To read along and see exclusive photos and video clips check out borisfx.com/blog/aotc.

Today on Art of the Cut, we discuss editing the Apple Plus feature film The Instigators with three editors, including Oscar-winning editor William Goldenberg, ACE, Oscar-nominee Tatiana Riegel, ACE, and Oscar-nominee Saar Klein. Billy’s been on Art of the Cut six times before for his work on Live By Night, Detroit, 22 July, The Outfit, News of the World, and Air. Billy won an Oscar, a BAFTA, and an ACE Eddie for Argo, and was nominated for an Oscar, a BAFTA and an Eddie for The Imitation Game. He was also nominated for an Oscar for Zero Dark Thirty, but lost to … himself. He was also nominated for Oscars for Seabiscuit and The Insider. Tatiana has been on Art of the Cut to discuss The Girl in the Spider’s Web, Cruella, and I, Tonya.  Tatiana has been winning ACE Eddies since back in 2008! She was nominated for an Oscar and won an ACE Eddie AND an Independent Spirit Award for I, Tonya, was nominated for an Emmy for Pam & Tommy, and was nominated for an ACE Eddie for Cruella. Saar was nominated for an Oscar and an ACE Eddie for The Thin Red Line, and he was nominated for an Oscar and won an ACE Eddie for Almost Famous. His other work includes, Jumper, The Bourne Identity, and the TV series, Masters of the Air.  A three-person panel of editors with 8 Oscar nominations between them discusses the emotional impact of structural changes, the advantages of objectivity, and Stockholm Syndrome as it applies to directors!

Today on Art of the Cut we are talking about cutting horror and suspense with Greg Ng and Graham Fortin who edited this summer’s Longlegs which is now available on VOD after its theatrical run. Greg has been nominated and won numerous Canadian Cinema Editor and Leo Awards for TV and documentaries. His credits include the feature films Afflicted and Come and Find Me. He’s also edited for the great ESPN doc series, 30 for 30. Graham’s credits include the documentaries Ari’s Theme, The Wrestlers, and the TV series Trumpocalypse. Today we’re going to be discussing changing the beginning of the film, changing the end of the film and making all the moments in the middle as heightened as possible, emotionally. If you'd like to follow along with this interview and read the transcript, as well as be able to see exclusive images from editing the movie and clips and trailers, check out: borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we are talking about Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice with editor Jay Prychidny, CCE.  This is Jay’s fourth time on Art of the Cut. He previously joined us to talk about Snowpiercer, Wednesday, Scream VI, and now, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. Jay’s won a BAFTA and been nominated for and won numerous Canadian Cinema Editor’s Awards for his work on Orphan Black, The Alienist, The Amazing Race Canada, and many others. Today we’re going to be discussing re-structuring a film to blend disparate elements, trying to create a mashup of MacArthur Park that tells a story while remaining musically cohesive, and turning a simple montage into a nostalgic, emotional journey.