Editor, Stephen Mirrione ACE The Midnight Sky editor, Stephen Mirrione ACE has spent the past twenty-five years building an impressive body of work. Unlike many editors who begin their journey into post production as assistants, Stephen made a name for himself right away as an editor in the indie film world. His work with directors Doug Liman ( Getting in, Swingers, Go ) and Jill Sprecher ( Clockwatchers, Thirteen Conversations About One Thing ) quickly established Stephen as a creative force to...
Dec 28, 2020•52 min
Hillbilly Elegy editor James Wilcox, ACE joins the Rough Cut to talk about cutting Ron Howard's new film. James first collaborated with Howard on the series, Genius , and received an ACE Eddie award for his work on the episode, "Einstein - Chapter 1". Unlike most feature editors who started their journey in post as an assistant, James actually started out as an editor, but working in news and sports. This experience proved invaluable to him later in his career when he started cutting scripted sh...
Dec 21, 2020•56 min
In this episode of The Rough Cut, we debut the first in our series of podcasts celebrating the all too often unsung heroes of post production, the assistants! Assistant editing in film and television can be a demanding, but crucial first step in an editor's journey. On hand are three very talented and experienced assistants who share their insights, advice and experiences from the cutting room. The Crew Patrick J. Smith - Top Gun: Maverick, The Revenant, Zero Dark Thirty Anna Terebelo - Marvel's...
Dec 14, 2020•58 min
As one of the most revered series in television history, it should come as no surprise the the post team from Breaking Bad would know a thing or two about "breaking in" to the industry. And not just breaking in, but staying in and staying at the top of your game. Presented by Avid as a live Zoom webinar, editors Kelley Dixon ACE and Chris McCaleb ACE along with sound supervisor Kathryn Madsen entertained and informed a worldwide audience with their collective thoughts, experiences and insights. ...
Dec 07, 2020•52 min
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. A...
Nov 30, 2020•58 min
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 Hus...
Nov 23, 2020•58 min
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...
Nov 14, 2020•52 min
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 Tevi...
Nov 09, 2020•46 min
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 co...
Nov 02, 2020•38 min
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...
Oct 26, 2020•54 min
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 ...
Oct 19, 2020•58 min
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 like...
Oct 12, 2020•58 min
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/directo...
Oct 05, 2020•48 min
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 be...
Sep 28, 2020•55 min
Our guests on this edition of The Rough Cut, editor John Axelrad ACE and his assistant editor Jared Simon, can certainly speak eloquently on the subjects of storytelling and editing techniques, but when you listen to their interview, it absolutely comes through how methodical they are in their organization and communication, because success with that is what frees them up to be as creative as possible and to think about all those wonderful storytelling conundrums. John and Jared first teamed up ...
Sep 21, 2020•56 min
Mulan editor David Coulson is no stranger to working on films about young girls overcoming adversity and societal customs that favor sons over daughters. You only have to go back to his first collaborative effort with director Niki Caro and her film, Whale Rider , to see that. That film seemed to come out of nowhere to rack up tons of awards and accolades, including the 2003 Sundance Film Festival Audience award and an Oscar® nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the breakout perform...
Sep 14, 2020•39 min
On this episode of the podcast, Shawn Paper ACE joins us to discuss editing Sony Pictures' The Broken Hearts Gallery . Prior to his turn on the Avid in this film, you’ve seen Shawn’s work in such fan favorites as Parks and Recreation, Girls, Crashing, What We Do in the Shadows, Veep, Ugly Betty and Flight of the Conchords …literally just to name a few. Notice a trend there? Shawn knows his way around cutting comedy and that certainly is a topic we hit upon for a stretch in the podcast. In our ex...
Sep 07, 2020•36 min
When it comes to legendary composer Hans Zimmer, you let the music do the talking. But the numbers don’t lie either. 200+ projects scored across all mediums. 28 billion dollars in combined box office gross from those projects. One Academy Award®. Two Golden Globes®. Three Grammys®. One American Music Award. One Tony® Award. He’s an Emmy® away from being an EGOT and I like his chances! In our talk Hans discusses many, many things including; how he approaches the art and craft of film composing un...
Aug 31, 2020•55 min
In the dramatic conclusion to our exploration of The Mandalorian , editors Jeff Seibenick , Andrew S. Eisen , Dana E. Glauberman ACE and Dylan Firshein discuss; instinctively editing the "little green guy", shopping for the ingredients to make a tasty montage, and cutting storm troopers for comedy. Plus, final takeaways from the whole "Mando" experience. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs! A New Hope editor, Paul Hirsch ACE on turning a Camaro into Vader's TIE fighter. The Em...
Aug 24, 2020•38 min
Nominated for an incredible 15 Emmy's, The Mandalorian not only impressed the critics, but rose to the daunting challenging of winning over Star Wars fans throughout the galaxy. While the revolutionary virtual set production process has deservedly garnered much attention, without the razor sharp storytelling skills of editors Jeff Seibenick , Andrew S. Eisen , Dana Glauberman ACE and Dylan Firshein , "Mando" would have never worked as well as he did. In this action packed two-part podcast, the p...
Aug 20, 2020•41 min
Five-time Emmy® nominee, Cindy Mollo ACE is on The Rough Cut this week to discuss her hit Netflix series, Ozark . This time Cindy is nominated for an Emmy® for her work on the Season Three premiere episode of the show, literally kicking things off with a bang and delivering even more of the delightful twists, turns and high drama that made Ozark a fan favorite. Cindy talks with us about; the benefits of knowing the full story arc of the season before editing begins, the "lean in" storytelling ph...
Aug 17, 2020•52 min
For your consideration…editors Nena Erb ACE and Lynarion Hubbard from HBO’s Insecure . What should you consider? For starters, how this talented team has complemented and supported one another over the years, culminating in their Emmy nomination for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series. Being nominated for (and winning!) an Emmy is nothing new for Nena, having won in 2016 for Project Greenlight , but this is not only Lynarion’s first Emmy nomination, it’s for one of her ...
Aug 10, 2020•49 min
Netflix's hit German science fiction thriller Dark is, at times, hard to follow...but impossible to stop following. Thanks in large part to the talented editing team of Anja Siemens , Simon Gstöttmayr and Boris Gromatzki , the mysterious world of Winden, Germany has consumed the hearts and minds of an international audience, keeping them on the edge of their seats and with family tree maps and chronological notes close at hand. Anja, Simon and Boris talk to us about; how they kept track of the m...
Aug 03, 2020•54 min
When showrunner Sam Esmail took on the challenge of bringing a popular podcast to television, he knew there was no better editor to call than the woman who's helped make his show, Mr. Robot , a critic and audience favorite. Rosanne Tan, ACE joins this edition of The Rough Cut to discuss her work on the Amazon Original Series, Homecoming . Rosanne tells us all about; the reasons behind the unique framing and visual elements of the series, how crucial classic film scores were to building a vibe an...
Jul 27, 2020•47 min
For twenty years editor Terilyn A. Shropshire ACE and director Gina Prince-Bythewood have worked hand in hand to entertain and inspire audiences with films dating back to Gina's directorial debut, Love and Basketball. While their new Netflix hit, The Old Guard, seems to be a departure from Terilyn's previous work with Gina (as well as her other long time collaborator, director Kasi Lemmons), Terilyn demonstrates how to bring out the drama and humanity in an action scene, while still delivering t...
Jul 20, 2020•55 min
January 2020 was quite a month for editor and educator Matt Friedman ACE. Not only was he nominated for an ACE Eddie award alongside Michael Taylor ACE for their work on The Farewell, Matt's film Palm Springs set a record for the highest ever sales figure ($17,500,000.69) in the history of the Sundance Film Festival. In spite of all the great news and positive reviews surrounding the film, the film was not available to be enjoyed by a wide audience...until now. Palm Springs, currently streaming ...
Jul 13, 2020•56 min
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 this edition of the Rough Cut, Paul not only gives his reactions to seeing it for the first time in fou...
Jul 06, 2020•53 min
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 episode. Steve and Roger tell us about; the technology evolution that has taken place in their edit bay...
Jun 29, 2020•1 hr 4 min
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 up the misconceptions about this crucial component of post-production. Even films outside the sci-fi, f...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 6 min
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 . This AppleTV+ original was both an exhausting and exciting mission for Jeff and Zoe; requiring them to no...
Jun 15, 2020•59 min
