Assistant Editor Series: Director's Cut
So you’ve submitted your Editor’s cut, received notes from the Director and have scheduled the dates that your Director will be coming into the cutting room… We’re now officially in the Director’s Cut.
Welcome. As an Assistant Editor, this is the most exciting stage of the Editing process because you get to sit in on the conversations between your Editor and Director. I always loved it because I was able to see how my Editor handled tough conversations with the Director. Creatively and Politically.
For instance, there was a scene that my Editor fought really hard for to add a film score under, while my Director preferred it to play without. They discussed it for a while going into great lengths of what it would do for the story and characters.
Director: “Having a score would give a very specific impression of the scene when we should really let the characters talk and create the scene for us. Let us live in it and give us a slice of life so to speak.”
Editor: “Well, it’s more about keeping the audience engaged since it comes out pretty flat without it. Having a score really adds a dynamic layer to the characters that actually helps the scene rather than act as a distraction.
And this went on, back and forth, reply after reply detailing the significance of what it will do for the overall big picture, character arcs, personality of the show, etc. Then they would try it in the cut. Use a different score. Use different deliveries of the lines. Try to cut the scene down, tweak after tweak after tweak.
Director: Yeah, I’m still leaning towards it being without music but what if we met in the middle… there’s a record player in this scene, it’s in the background so it wouldn’t be odd if we used it. Let’s try putting music on that record player and see if the scene plays well.
The Editor was all up for it. Boom, they found a solution that fit both of their needs. It was a great idea. This is what it was all about, collaborating and finding ways to combine ideas and strengthen the overall film. It was awesome to see this come to life. A small unnoticeable yet intricate part of the show was being born right in front of me. This is exactly the conversations I wanted to shadow and listen in on. And this is why I love the Director’s Cut. This example is just one of many that happen during this stage. Ah, I love it.
I have to add a very important observation here as well, both my Editor and Director were very respectful of each other. This wasn’t an argument, it was a collaboration to find the best possible idea for the show. I always say, “The show is bigger than all of us”, meaning, if it’s not in the show’s DNA to have your note in, then we must let go of our egos and sacrifice our ideas for the greater good of the show.
So yeah, sitting in on these conversations is just one of the important responsibilities you have as an Assistant Editor. Listed below is what I think are the top five duties you have when assisting during this stage:
Pay Attention To Editor/Director Conversation
Always Be Ready With An Opinion
Read The Room
Take Copious Notes & Be A Sponge
Build rapport with your Editor/Director at Lunch & Downtime
Pay Attention To Editor/Director Conversation
Like I said before, this is one of the biggest learning experiences you’ll ever get. So take advantage of this time because it will help you become a stronger Editor. 90% of being an Editor is knowing how to deal with people, 10% is actually doing the physical editing. Crazy statistic right? This is the time to improve your listening and communication skills. It’s critically important.
One little trick to practice your listening/communication skills: When you’re sitting in during the Director’s Cut, write down the Questions & Replies of your Director/Editor conversation in your notes (as best as you can since I know it’s hard to type/write conversations). After the day is done, review these replies and look at how they were handled by your Editor. The point of this is to see how your Editor manages these notes - everyone is different but the root of this exercise is to start practicing your conversation skills on the art of “how to deal with notes”.
If you want to take it a step further, what I would suggest on the next time you do this exercise, you just write down the Director’s questions to the Editor and then when you review it later that evening, you give your own personal answers to it. See what you come up with. Put yourself in the Editor’s shoes. The objective here is to get yourself used to receiving notes and dealing with the various types of personalities that come with the notes.
Always Be Ready With An Opinion
Normally, in most Director Cut sessions, you’ll be there to take notes for your Editor. However, that won’t stop the Director to want your opinion of a scene or your take on how the film is progressing. That’s why it’s really important to be always be ready with an opinion of what’s going on.
Similar to the exercise above, write down your thoughts as they work through the scene so that you don’t have to keep it all in your head. I come up with at least two-three thoughts during each meeting so that just in case the Director asks me,
“What do you think of this scene?”
I don’t have a blank stare. I can calmly say, “I actually took some notes down on some of my thoughts (refers to notes), I love the way you don’t reveal all of the character’s intentions during the opening montage, cutting that part was a great idea. Keep the audience guessing, I love that. However, I do miss the old music score that accompanied it, it worked much better because it added to that nostalgia that the character was going through.”
When you write your thoughts down, it will be much more thorough and can help you earn some plus points with your Editor/Director.
Side note on this though, be careful of Triangulation. Triangulation is when the Editor prefers one version of a scene while the Director prefers another version of the scene and want a third opinion from you. This is normally not a good situation to be in. Unless you’ve worked with this Editor-Director tandem before and have a lot of trust between them… use this Triangulation Escape Response:
“You know I honestly really like both versions and can see where you both are coming from. It’s tough to choose, I love how (Editor) has it because of (insert positive reasons about it) but I also like the way (Director) changed it up a bit by (insert positive reasons). It’s hard to choose, what specifically are you both debating about?”
Framing it as a question in the end will always be your way out. It turns the request back to them so that they can discuss this again without you risking any social awkwardness or even worse, feelings being hurt. If you are absolutely cornered, and are asked, “Well, choose one.” Always side with your Editor. Your reputation and collaboration with your Editor is much more important than this small situation.
Read The Room
This is the single most important skill you can learn when working in Post-Production. Period. If you learn anything from me throughout this whole channel, please learn this skill. I will also be the first to admit that I still need to practice this and get better at it. So it’s not as easy as learning a tutorial but more of going through experiences and being aware of certain situations and acting accordingly.
Reading the room means understanding unspoken situations and acting accordingly or thinking proactively to either better the situation or let it be. Not worsen it.
For instance, if you are invited in a meeting with the Editor-Director along with 3 Producers, and one Producer doesn’t have a chair to sit in… be the one that goes out and grabs a chair for him/her. Or give up your seat for that person and grab another chair from the other room. Read the situation without having to be told what to do.
Another example, if there seems to be a pretty tense discussion between a Director and Producer, do not chime in with your thoughts. It’s not appropriate to.
Lastly, I actually have a success story with Reading The Room where I saved a Producer from embarrassment because she spilled a bag of large bag of almonds on the ground. Basically, everyone was filing in for the Director Cut screening, about 4-5 Producers, with the Editor and Director. As we were about to get started, one of the Associate Producers spilled a Costco sized bag of almonds all over the Editing room floor. Immediately, I didn’t say a word and started picking it up and acting like it was no big deal and helped her clean it up. It was actually my icebreaker to her since I ran to the restroom before we got started and from that day on she remembered me. So much so that after this gig was over, she offered me a job to work on another show. Crazy how things like this happen.
Take Copious Notes & Be A Sponge
Taking notes during this stage will be your main responsibility. Take them down on your laptop and print them out for your Editor after each session. Taking down notes will also help you understand what’s going on in the cut so it will keep you engaged in the process.
Be a sponge during this phase. This is the time to learn by having this invaluable access. Treat every Editor-Director meeting as if you’re taking notes for your favorite Editor-Directors. I always imagine myself taking notes for Thelma Schoonmaker’s conversation with Martin Scorsese whenever I’m in the Director’s Cut phase. It’s cheesy and corny but it forces me to be a sponge and take this simple responsibility seriously.
It also gives me a chance to build that Editor-Assistant mentorship by asking creative questions to my Editor after the day is done and when we debrief before leaving for the day. Usually, Editors are happy to explain to you why they cut a certain scene that way. This again will be an extremely invaluable conversation to you. But it will only come up if you engage in the process, take notes, and ask the question. Again, be a sponge.
Build rapport with your Editor/Director at Lunch & Downtime
I normally think of Lunch as a time to get to know your Editor & Director as people. Not coworkers, but as people. Don’t be in work mode during this time, get to know what your Editor/Director did this past summer, where they traveled to, what types of foods they love, what they like to do on their free time away from work, what their favorite TV show or movies are, how their past experiences on previous shows were, anything that’s not show related. It’s a great time to get to know them.
It helps break the ice and builds rapport. It also makes lunch a very enjoyable time for everyone when it’s fun, engaging, and social. Try to always have lunch together with your crew. I know it’s tricky sometimes, especially with how much we all work, but I always make it a point to try to invite everyone to have lunch together.
And if you’re naturally introverted like me, try to step out of your comfort zone and work your way up to it - maybe start with 1-2 days of the week and then the rest of the time, you can eat by yourself. However, try to always have lunch with your crew. On the flip side, if you want to be extra social, introduce yourself to other crews on the same floor as you and have lunch with them.
Make lunch a fun time for you and your crew. My most favorite crews that I’ve worked with, are always the ones that had lunch together - we created the best memories that way.
But getting back to my point, getting to know your Editor/Director during Lunch is just as important as taking notes because it builds trust amongst everyone. And when there’s trust, that means your opinions will be valued as time goes on and you’ll be allowed to enter the creative conversations more - which means more practice for you as an Assistant Editor to learn from and to be a part of.
Remember, it’s all about the practice and the process. And to also have a ton of fun.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you want more information or have any questions on this topic, leave a comment below and I’ll help you out as best as I can. Don’t forget to check out/subscribe to all my free content on YouTube and social media channels (@askthefonz) as well for more topics like this.
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Thank you so much for reading my blog and hope you got something out of this. ‘Til next time.
-Alfonso