Today on Art of the Cut we speak with three guests: the co-director and show editor and montage editor of the documentary Ladies and Gentlemen: 50 Years of SNL Music.

Oz Rodriguez co-directed the documentary with Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson. Oz directed many of your favorite SNL Shorts, and has also directed episodes of Goosebumps and Nobody Wants This. 

John MacDonald was an associate producer on SNL. He’s an editor, composer and segment producer on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. You’ve probably had some of his YouTube videos running on repeat. 

Jimmy Lester has been nominated for a Documentary Emmy for  Stockton on My Mind. He’s edited episodes of Wu-Tang Clan: Of Mics and Men, History Channel’s FDR series, and the doc, Getting Naked: A Burlesque Story.

This discussion includes - among other things - why so many editors are also musicians, the value of a great assistant editor - and how to be one - and the art of using a talking head.

This is a really good show to check out the blog, which has many exclusive images that help show how the montage, in particular, was edited. Visit:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with the director and editor of the documentary film Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.

Director Raoul Peck won the Cannes Golden Eye Award and was nominated for a Palme d’or. He was nominated for a DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. He won a BAFTA, an Emmy and was nominated for an Oscar and an Independent Spirit Award for his previous film, I Am Not Your Negro. 

Editor Alexandra Strauss has been nominated for three Cinema Eye Honors Awards for Outstanding Achievement in editing including one for this film and two others you’ll hear about in the interview: I Am Not Your Negro and Exterminate all the Brutes.

This discussion includes - among other things - the ethical considerations of showing violence, how tone affects pace, and how the director/editor relationship can open the director up to be more objective.

If you'd like to read along with this podcast and see clips and trailers and stills from the documentary, check out:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Harry Yoon, ACE about his editing of the film The Fire Inside.

Harry has been on Art of the Cut before for his work on the films Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Minari - for which he was nominated for an ACE Eddie, also The Best of Enemies, and Detroit. He’s also been on for the TV series, Beef, for which he won an ACE Eddie. 

This discussion includes - among other things - working with a first time feature director, streamlining a narrative to increase impact, and how to build a scene that was never shot.

While you're listening you can also READ ALONG with this interview and see exclusive photos and clips and the trailer. There's a cool timeline screenshot and a picture of Harry's assistant editors with the STORY WALL in the cutting room!

Borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with writer/director/editor, Brendan Bellomo of the Oscar-nominated documentary, Porcelain War. The film was nominated for an ASC Award for cinematography for its cinematographer, even though it was his first time using a camera. It won the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary. It won the PGA Award for Producing, won the Australian Screen Sound Guild Award and the HPA Award for Best Sound, and won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize award.

This discussion includes - among other things - determining the structure of the film based on emotion, why color grading needed to be part of the off-line edit, and how the editing pace was determined by the personality of the documentary’s subjects.

You can read along with this interview and see images including the timeline and clips and trailers on the BorisFX blog at:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with director, writer, editor Sean Baker who was nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing for his film, Anora. He was nominated for BAFTAs for Best Film, Best Editing, Best Casting, Best Screenplay and Best Director. He won AFI’s Movie of the Year, and was nominated for an ACE Eddie.

Sean’s other feature films include Red Rocket, Tangerine, and The Florida Project.

This discussion includes - among other things - why he chose to edit for himself, the importance of sound effects in a movie with no score, and Sean’s aversion to editing shot/reverse shot.

You can read along with this podcast and see trailers, clips and photos on the BorisFX blog site.

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Dávid Jancsó, the editor of The Brutalist. 

David’s been busy! He also edited last year’s Monkey Man as well as films like Evolution and Pieces of a Woman as well as the TV series The Crowded Room and Treadstone.

This discussion includes - among other things - how editing is like Brutalist architecture, the purpose behind fracturing time, and the decisions on what to keep in a movie that runs three and a half hours.

You can read along with this interview and see clips and images at:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Oscar-winning editor - and now DIRECTOR - William Goldenberg, ACE about his directorial debut - the NUMBER ONE GLOBAL MOVIE on Amazon - Unstoppable. Of course, we also have William’s editor - no, he didn’t edit it himself - Brett Reed. Brett and William have been working together for more than 20 years.

William has been on Art of the Cut many times, including for The Instigators, Air, The Outfit, News of the World, 22 July, Detroit, and Live By Night. Billy won the Oscar for Best editing, a BAFTA and an ACE Eddie for Argo. He was nominated for an ACE Eddie for Air, an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA nom for The Imitation Game, nominated for an Oscar for Zero Dark Thirty, nominated for an Oscar and an ACE Eddie for Seabiscuit, and for The Insider… and an Emmy for Citizen X. 

Brett was also on The Instigators. He was an editor on M. Night Shyamalan’s Old. He was also an additional editor on Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, Detroit and Live by Night.

This discussion includes - among other things - the editing skills that helped William transition to director, why - other than their long working relationship - that William chose Brett as his editor, editing handheld footage - and a fascinating bit of Hollywood lore about Led Zeppelin and the movie Argo.

If you'd like to read along with this interview and see the complete clips that we discuss in the interview, please go to:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with editors Scott Morris and Oscar-winning editor Andrew Buckland, ACE about editing James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown.

Andrew’s been on Art of the Cut before for his work on The Girl on the Train, and for Ford v Ferrari for which he won an Oscar and a BAFTA and was nominated for an ACE Eddie. He also edited Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Scott Morris has been on Art of the Cut previously to discuss The Creator and Ad Astra. In various capacities he was also worked on several other movies covered by Art of the Cut including Oppenheimer, Don’t Look up, and The Lost City of Z.

This discussion includes - among other things - the difficulties of editing folk music, compressing multiple scenes into a montage, and the sacrifices made cutting a three and a half hour editor’s cut down to size.

If you'd like to read along with this podcast and see trailers, clips and exclusive photos, check out the blog on:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Nick Emerson about editing Conclave, for which he’s nominated for an ACE Eddie for Best Edited Feature Film, Dramatic/Theatrical.

Nick has been on Art of the Cut before, when we discussed the film Emma.

His other credits include the feature films Lady MacBeth, Eileen, and Greta, and TV series including The Life and Adventures of Nick Nickleby and Life After Life.

This discussion includes - among other things - the importance of slowly “drip-feeding the story to the audience, the use of slo-mo to add weight and importance, and how and when to break the 180 degree rule.

If you'd like to read along with this podcast and see some of the clips that we talk about, please check out:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Louise Ford, ACE about editing Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu.”

Louise has been on Art of the Cut before, when we discussed Eggers’ The Northman.

Her other credits include the features Wildlife, Bad Education, and The Lighthouse among many others.

This discussion includes - among other things - the importance of sound design in horror films including the revelation of her personal secret sauce…her method to maintain emotional continuity and how she deals with the dark themes of her work with Eggers.

If you want to read along with this podcast and see exclusive images, trailers and film clips, check out:

borisfx.com/blog/aotc