Behind The Edit: Richard & Colleen Halsey, ACE (Part 2)
I’m so excited to write about this second part to this Richard & Colleen Halsey, ACE Interview on the Behind The Edit series because this one is going to help a lot of up and coming Assistant Editors out there. To be honest, this is my favorite part of the interview because this section targets my mission statement of what Ask The Fonz is really all about - helping aspiring Film Editors. If you haven’t checked out Part 1, go ahead and read that first because I don’t want you to miss out on the incredible behind-the-scenes stories and experiences that Richard & Colleen shared during their time editing Rocky, Edward Scissorhands, and Sister Act. It was all eye-opening and interesting to hear about so be sure to check it out. Anyway, let’s get started on Part 2, which focuses on advice for up and coming Film Editors!
What do you look for in an Assistant Editor, especially in a high stressful environment?
“Someone with a Personality that suits you and someone who is extremely organized”, Colleen says. And I couldn’t agree more. For me, Personality is always ranked #1 whenever I’m looking to hire or refer someone. I ask myself, “Can I be around this person for 12-14 hours in a day? Does this person have a good vibe/energy to them? Do they look enthusiastic about the job? Are they that type of person that’s willing to learn new workflows? Team player? etc… All questions about Personality!
Of course I will want to know if they can also do the technical skills of the job but most of the time, you can learn it on the job. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still practice how to use Avid or Premiere, it’s just weighed less on the scale compared to someone’s Personality. The best scenario is that you have both a great personality and you’re proficient in both Avid and Premiere. But starting out in this field, it’s impossible to have time to learn everything and to also have a life (please have a life outside of editing). So don’t worry too much if you don’t know how to do something, but be confident that you’ll be able to figure out everything that’s thrown at you.
Colleen adds, “You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your Assistant so it must be with someone that you can get along with.” Not only does this mean in the editing room but it also means at lunches, carpool car rides to screenings, meetings with other Directors/Producers, everything outside of the cutting room as well. This is why it’s important that you both work well.
And as an Assistant Editor or potential hire-e, you should also be asking these same questions when you’re interviewing with your potential employers. It needs to be a two-way street. If a red flag pops up during the interview that you aren’t comfortable with, listen to it. You have every right to turn down a gig because you don’t jive well with this person(s) or work environment. Listen to your gut.
Side note, there’s always potential of burning a bridge here since some people take rejections personally so be aware of that. It’s just the way it is. Remember, you don’t have to accept every job offer. Make sure it’s the right fit for you because your happiness and mental well-being should be prioritized always.
Richard’s Three Rules of Editing (and in life).
“Rule #1: Be Organized.
Rule #2: Trust Your Instincts.
Rule #3: Always Tell The Truth.
Rule #3 is the hardest.”
Ha! I love that, it’s extremely true in a lot of ways. Rule #3 sticks out to me because in editing, it’s really hard to follow this. To me this means, tell the truth of the story. Telling the truth of the story comes with a lot of hard decisions in the editing room. Removing a sequence because it’s not helping the story, or not having enough in the movie to help give more context to the story and coming up with a way to. These are hard decisions that Editors make on a daily basis.
When I was working with the Halsey’s, I was always reminded of this Rule because in every difficult conversation about whether to cut or keep this scene, it always went back to… are we telling the truth? Are we serving the story? Are we being honest to the characters and the arcs? Are we helping the macro-message of this film?
It motivated every little decision. Enter Rule #2.
Rule #2 goes hand in hand with Rule #3 because trusting your instincts is a very important skill to have as an Editor. I would always experience that intuition of it “feeling right” and would always follow it. However, it did not come easy. I always second guessed myself.
One of the greatest things I’ll cherish when I was working with Richard & Colleen was that they made me edit scenes with them. Richard would sit next to me as I cut the scene with him, literally talking over his thought process as we worked. What I found incredible was how sure Richard was in every edit he made. Him and Colleen were extraordinary fast Editors and their timing was impeccable. This was over 20 years of practice and “trusting your instincts” at play. It was like watching a professional basketball player in warmups shooting three pointers over and over again. Normal for them but awesome for the fans.
I remember when we were doing music editing for one of the films, there was a particularly difficult scene to place our score in. We worked for a while trying to figure out the best way to accommodate the score. Richard then came up with the idea to add a sound effect so that the music could get buried in the sound effect and it would motivate the score, creating a seamless transition. It worked. It was incredible to watch. This particular style can actually be seen throughout his movies if you pay attention to the music editing. He will have a music sting that will always end on an action or buried music underneath soundfx to create a smooth transition. I found it countless times in Rocky.
And lastly, Rule #1 is a common trait that both Richard and Colleen uphold. Colleen compares the film editing room to a library, all the shots must be organized or else, everything will be impossible to find.
Study Film History.
An interesting tidbit that came up during the conversation I had with Richard and Colleen was the lack of Film History knowledge aspiring Film Editors had. I myself am guilty of this because there’s just too many movies “to watch”, however I’m going to try to find the time to watch all of these movies. Richard/Colleen recommend starting with the AFI Top 100 Movie List.
They also mentioned that it’s important to know the inventors of filmmaking back then, Edwin Porter, Geroges Méliès, Thomas Edison, The Lumière brothers, etc. Know their contributions to film editing and how their career shaped our industry today. I actually found a great YouTube video that talks about the history of Film Editing and how it came to be. See below:
Watch Foreign Films.
In addition to studying film history, Richard recalls that when he was growing up, he was exposed to many foreign films. It helped broaden his perspective in films and in life. I remember when I was working with Richard, and the Oscar ballots would come out, he would always talk about the Foreign Film category first because he felt so confident in which film would win. To this day, Richard loves watching foreign films and is inspired by them.
I actually just finished watching an Indian film recommended to me by one of my followers on Instagram, Tumbbad (2018), an Indian-Hindi directed by Rahi Anil Barve & Anandh Gandhi, and found it to be one of the most interesting movies I’ve seen in a while. Give it a watch if you like horror/suspense because this one is a must-see and it also adds a layer of metaphors and life lessons as well underneath the story.
After I watched this, I realized, how many other stories and movies out there have we not heard of yet because it’s not “Hollywood” or made popular through studio-backed productions. I would’ve probably never watched this if it wasn’t for one of my followers telling me about it. Crazy to think about.
And with all of this movie-watching and studying of foreign films, be sure to apply them in your creative process. That means gaining inspiration from them, picking apart the editing (what you liked about it, what you didn’t like), and also watching a story unfold from a different perspective. Pay attention to all of that.
Research before Interviews.
The next topic that Richard/Colleen talked about was doing your research before your interviews with Producers, Directors, or Editors. This one is really important because you want to make sure you know a little bit about the work that they’ve done when meeting with them. It also shows interest and enthusiasm for the job.
It’s almost like attending a book club meeting without having read the book for that week. You might get by from broad and general themes but you don’t have the specifics and context in order to participate at a high level successfully.
At the very least, look up the credits that the Producer, Director, and Editor have done and familiarize yourself with them. If you have time, watch the films they’ve done to get a sense of their work. If it’s a television show, watch as much episodes as you can before the interview - most shows are formulaic and follow a rigid style so you’ll learn a lot just by watching several episodes.
Coming up with a list questions about the show before you interview always helps. Especially when the interviewer asks at the end if you have any questions - it’s a good way to show interest when asked that question. Everyone loves talking about the behind the scenes secrets on their shows. You’ll find a lot of Producers, Directors, and Editors have lots of stories to share when you ask them about past experiences.
Shadow your Editors as much as possible.
The last topic that I brought up in this episode was about the 1-on-1 mentoring aspect of the job. I personally feel like it’s fading a bit due to the demanding work required in such tight turnarounds. It’s unfortunate because that’s my favorite part of being an Assistant.
I remember when I was working with the Halsey’s, they made it a point to have their Assistants drive the machine while sitting next to them talking through their thought process. It was honestly the best experience an Assistant Editor can have that wants to learn how to become an Editor.
Therefore, I’ve carried on this goal in trying to shadow my Editors as much as possible on my gigs after that because it truly is the best way to learn. This will come more easily during the Director’s Cut because you’ll already be taking notes for your Editor during this time.
Also, if you have time, try to edit a scene or two after-hours, it will greatly improve your editing muscles and force you to experience the obstacles that your Editor has gone through.
Ultimately, I think the best way to learn is by doing the actual editing and learning from your Editors at work by shadowing and asking questions.
Sign up for my 1-on-1 Mentorship.
Well, thanks so much for stopping by. I really hope you found this blog/interview insightful and useful for you. Just wanted to mention that I offer 1-on-1 Mentorship calls to help you get your career started in Hollywood. I’ll give you my expert advice on your specific situation and help you map out your next steps in order to set yourself up to be a successful Hollywood Editor. If you’re serious about this and want to learn how to break in, please sign up here. I really love working with passionate film editors that want to get into this industry because I was just like you. I really hope to chat with you very soon!
Don’t forget to follow me on all the social media platforms under the handle @askthefonz - I give out lots of free editing advice on a daily basis.
Also, check out this video version of this blog on my YouTube channel. Lastly, Part 3 of this Halsey Interview will be up very soon so make sure to tune in for that too. Thanks again for stopping by, and see you on the next blog!
-Alfonso