shots Awards 2015: Editing House of the Year

The shortlist of Final Cut’s output contains an impressive body of work. Can you feel, over a period of time, when the company is really firing on all cylinders?

Rick Russell [founder] You can feel the buzz of creative energy even before the finished work is out there, with directors and creative teams deep in huddled conversations in our open space before they return to the fray of the edit bay.That’s always a good sign.

Final Cut has been around now for 21 years, growing the company from a small core team to the full editor roster we now represent, most of whom have worked their way up from runner to senior established editors.

I really feel that the talent and quality of work across the company has never been stronger. Our New York and Los Angeles cutting rooms have also hit their stride with some stellar talent which we’ve both grown from within and hired from the field of feature films.

The shortlisted work is also very eclectic, with comedy, VFX and emotional work all present. Is that mix something you specifically aim for?

The diversity of genres that were entered is testament to the variety of directors we’re fortunate to work with. Our editors curate their own careers, developing relationships with directors with diverse skills and aesthetics over a period of years.

We have always encouraged editors to work on a wide spectrum of genres, from music videos, commercials, short films and now broadcast dramas and features. I believe it’s vital for a well rounded editor to gain experience in as many genres as possible as it informs both technical skill and creative sensibilities.

This is the second successive year in which Final Cut has won Editing House Of The Year. What do you put your continued successes down to?

The key ingredient is the strength in depth of the editors we have and their dedication in aspiring to create the best work. It really makes a difference when you see other good work around you which inspires to keep the standards high. I was lucky enough to start my career at The Film Editors where they worked with the likes of Ridley and Tony Scott, Adrian Lyne and Hugh Hudson on iconic work for Levi’s and Apple.

We have always been keen to encourage and develop young talent from within the company and it makes a huge difference to train in a company which is regularly working on such a high level of creative. There is also a natural competitive edge between editors but I like to think it’s in a healthily good-humoured and collegiate way.

Can the editing of a spot sometimes be an overlooked cog in the production wheel?

I wouldn’t say ‘overlooked’ but we do sometimes feel our contribution is taken for granted. Editors are the drummers in the band. We have to be comfortable with not being in the limelight. However, our contribution is central to the overall finished piece. We have to be across everything, the music choice, the mix and the online post.

Most editors would say that the greatly reduced time we seem to have these days, from the arrival of rushes to the approval date, is in danger of adversely affecting the time we have to craft an edit thoroughly. This is one of the myths of non-linear editing that everything can be done at breakneck speed.

Yes, technically it can. We can literally make hundreds of new edit sequences a day, but surely the process of editing is to hone the film down to the best and most considered final cut. Editing is about making smart considered decisions, not throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Joe Guest also won Editor Of The Year at the 2015 shots Awards. Is that double whammy important?

That was a great double hit. Joe was shortlisted for best editor the year before and lost out. He was robbed! So it was all that sweeter to get the combined accolade this time. I think it showed both individual excellence and the impact of the whole roster. Joe has such a consistent strike rate of great work all through the year with a range of directors; his long collaboration with Dougal Wilson stands out as great partnership. I often find myself boasting to family and friends about how (the royal) ‘we’ edited the John Lewis Christmas spectaculars.

What piece or pieces of work from the shortlist did you most enjoy seeing come to fruition?

I had a sneak preview of Joe’s edit of John Lewis’ Monty’s Christmas and saw it develop from empty background plates to the fully formed CG character. I couldn’t help welling up with the rest of the great British viewing public when seeing the final film on air, while trying to remind myself – it’s a CG penguin!

That’s the sign of great filmmaking, when you’re swept along with the story even though you know the technique that went into making it. I was also struck by the craft on Dan Sherwen’s Honda Ignition spot, which showed the impact great sound design has in selling the edit. This level of sound had to be mainly achieved in the edit room for the metaphor to work convincingly to impress the client prior to the visual post being executed.

So often it’s assumed that our focus as editors is the picture cut, but the sound is key to the tone, pace and shape of an edit. It’s a key factor in storytelling and comedic timing and therefore has equal importance in crafting an edit.

What does winning Editing House Of The Year at the shots Awards mean to you?

This award is unique to shots in that it recognises the output of work from the entire roster of an editing company. It is also an international category which makes it even more competitive.

I also feel it is an award that can be credited to the entire team at Final Cut – runners, reception, engineering, production and accounts. Without the stellar back up and front of house welcome, the editors would not be able to concentrate their creative juices as effectively. There’s the creative side of editing and also the vital quality of reliable and efficient service to back it up.

Receiving this accolade two years in succession has been an extraordinary achievement about which we’re all dead chuffed. Bring on 2016!