Art of the Cut

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Joel Negron,ACE about editing Project Hail Mary.Joel was last on Art of the Cut for his work on the Disney film, Jungle Cruise. Joel’s other work includes Thor: Ragnarok, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Cocaine Bear, and 21 Jump Street.Today we’re discussing cutting a six-hour first assembly down to about 2 hours, his approach to exploring dailies, and his best tip for not losing an important moment.If you want to read along with this podcast, go to the BorisFX blog site at:Borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with four of the editors on the buzzy new Amazon Prime series, Young Sherlock. With us are Cheryl Potter, Calum Ross, Phil Hookway, and Tim Murrell.Cheryl’s been on Art of the Cut before, starting back when she was an additional editor for Pietro Scalia, ACE, on Ridley Scott’s The Martian. We’ve also talked to her about the TV series, Snowpiercer. Her other credits include The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.Tim Murrell has edited features like Monkey Man and 21 Bridges, and TV series like The Terror and Patrick Melrose.Philip Hookway has edited TV series, Deep State, Being Human, and Torchwood.Calum Ross has edited TV series including Loki, The Devil’s Hour, Sex Education, and Not Another Happy Ending. Today we’re discussing the importance of in-person collaboration for the edit team, the power of adjusting the tonal dial “just so,” and the benefit of re-thinking how the show begins.You can read along with this interview and see images of the editing crew, the trailer and even a timeline screenshot at the BorisFX blogsite:borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Nathan Schauf about his ACE and Annie-winning editing of the Oscar-winning Sony Pictures Best Animated film, KPOP Demon Hunters currently available on Netflix.Nathan’s other work includes Overwatch: Origin Stories, World of Warcraft: Harbingers, and additional editing on Penguins of Madagascar, among many other projects.Today’s discussion includes how the movie itself rejects ideas that don’t work for it, how animation sometimes has intercutting that isn’t scripted, and finding the right spots to take the foot off the gas pedal for JUST a moment.If you'd like to read along with this podcast and see the trailer, clips, the timeline screenshot and more, check out the BorisFX blog at:borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Axel Geddes, ACE about the latest Pixar film, Hoppers.Axel and I talked previously about Toy Story 4 for which he won an ACE Eddie. He also has Annie nominations for Best Editing for Toy Story 4, Toy Story of Terror, and Lightyear. His other credits include Finding Dory, and second editor or additional second editor work on Lightyear, Turning Red, Toy Story 3, and WALL-E.Today’s discussion includes how a character’s POV affects the film’s  score, the editor’s role in sculpting the performance of a single shot, and how being a musician can help an editor in ways you may not have considered - maybe it’s time to take up the ukulele…If you'd like to see some really cool exclusive images, like LOTS of timelines, PIXAR storyboards, and photos of the editing crew, visit our blog!borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Yvette M. Amirian, ACE, who just won the ACE Eddie Award for Best Edited Feature Film (non-theatrical) with her work on A Winter’s Song.Yvette (and her editorial team) received an ACE Eddie nomination for Best Edited Reality Series for Whale Wars. She was also an editor on John Singleton's L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later, which was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary Special. She also edited the film The Integrity of Joseph Chambers and the reality TV series, Dating Around, among many other projects.Today’s discussion includes Yvette’s approach to montages, the value of intercutting scenes, and using transition shots for maximum effect.If you'd like to read along with this interview and see photos and the trailer and a timeline screenshot of the film, please visit the BorisFX website for the Art of the Cut blog:borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with director/editor Josh Safdie and his co-editor co-producer and co-writer, Ronald Bronstein. Safdie and Bronstein are nominated this year for Oscars for Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing for Marty Supreme. Safdie has an additional nomination for the film for Best Achievement in Directing.The pair has worked together for almost two decades on such films as Uncut Gems, Good Time, Heaven Knows What, and Daddy Longlegs.Our discussion today includes the importance of editing the film linearly – not looking at dailies until after the shoot - and being in love with their flawed main character.If you'd like to read along with this interview and see the trailer, clips and stills from the film, visit the BorisFX.com website and check out the Art of the Cut blog:borisfx.com/blog/aotc.

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Stephen Rivkin, ACE, who was one of the editors on James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash. The other editors included Cameron himself, Nicholas de Toth, Jason Gaudio, and John Refoua. Steve’s been on Art of the Cut before when we discussed the previous Avatar film – The Way of Water. Steve also edited the first Avatar film, for which he was nominated along with John Refoua and James Cameron for an Oscar, a BAFTA, and an ACE Eddie Award. He won an Eddie for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He was also nominated for ACE Eddies for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Other films include Alita: Battle Angel, Ali, The Hurricane, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and My Cousin Vinny. Today our discussion includes how the Avatar films use a unique two step process - first editing performance alone, then editing the final shots created with those performances, and on co-editing with the film’s director, James Cameron, ACE.If you'd like to read along with this interview and see the trailer, video featurettes, clips and images from the film, visit the BorisFX.com website for the Art of the Cut blog.borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with editor Mark Strand, ACE, who is nominated for an ACE Eddie for Best Edited Drama Series for his work on HBO’s The Pitt.In addition to The Pitt, Mark’s work includes Shameless, Animal Kingdom, Rizzoli and Isles, Longmire, Nip/Tuck, and others.Our discussion includes  how the show was not supposed to have any music, how geography matters to the editing, and the value of subverting audience expectations when cutting.If you want to read along with this interview and see exclusive images, like the floor plan for The Pitt and timeline screenshots of Mark's nominated episode and the pilot, visit BorisFX's blog site.BorisFX.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we’re talking with editor Viridiana Lieberman about the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-nominated Best Documentary, The Perfect Neighbor. The film was also nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and the Audience Award at SXSW, it won the Cinema Eye Honors Award for Best Directing and Viri was nominated for Best Editing. Viri was also nominated for an ACE Eddie and won the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Editing.Viri was last on Art of the Cut for her work on the documentary, Carlos. Her other work includes directing and editing the ESPN film, Born to Play, and editing on docs like The Sentence, 30 for 30, and Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power.Our discussion today includes using structure to hook the audience, how sometimes an iPhone is an editing tool, and why the term “b-roll” is cringe-worthy.If you want to read along with this interview and see exclusive photos, check out the BorisFX blog atborisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut a discussion of the Oscar-nominated Best Picture, Train Dreams with editor Parker Laramie.Parker was the 2025 Winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at Sundance for the documentary André Is an Idiot. He has also been nominated for 2 Emmys and a Cinema Eye Honors Award for his writing and editing on the non-fiction program, Allen v. Farrow. His other work includes the feature film Sing Sing, and the TV mini-series Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, among many other projects.Our conversation today includes: how a background in documentary editing helps with editing narrative features, creating dynamics by changing structure, and the power … and danger … of a cut to black.If you'd like to read along with the podcast and see a trailer, behind the scenes photos, a timeline screenshot of Train Dreams - in Premiere - visit the BorisFX.com blog siteborisfx.com/blog/aotc