The Musical editors Chris Chandler and Devin Dulany discuss cutting a dark comedy that turns professional frustration, romantic jealousy and middle-school theater into an increasingly elaborate act of revenge. For Devin, the project began years earlier when he edited the original AFI short that eventually became the feature, while Chris brought a background in comedy that includes Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dave and Blindspotting. Directed by Giselle Bonilla and written by Alexander Heller, The Musical stars Will Brill as Doug Leibowitz, a frustrated playwright working as a middle-school theater teacher while dreaming of a more important career in New York. When Doug discovers that his ex-girlfriend Abigail, played by Gillian Jacobs, has begun dating his nemesis, Principal Brady, played by Rob Lowe, he decides to sabotage Brady's pursuit of a prestigious Blue Ribbon award by secretly replacing the school's planned production of West Side Story with an original musical designed to create the worst possible publicity for everyone involved. The film began as an AFI Conservatory short before Bonilla, Heller and several members of their original filmmaking team expanded the idea into their first feature. Devin edited that original short and returned for the feature, while Chris joined the team as both editor and post producer. The movie premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before receiving a nationwide theatrical release. In our conversation, Chris and Devin talk about expanding a premise that worked at short-film length into a feature, maintaining the movie almost entirely through Doug's increasingly distorted point of view, and finding the right editorial balance for a protagonist whose commitment to his own grievances is essential to the comedy. They also discuss working with Will Brill's intensely serious performance, preserving the sincerity of the young cast, building the escalating revenge plot, and holding back enough of the school production to make the final performance deliver on everything the film has been promising.

Chris Chandler is an editor whose credits include The Musical, Blindspotting, Dave and Curb Your Enthusiasm. His work spans comedy, music-driven storytelling and character-focused television and feature filmmaking. Chris received an ACE Eddie Award nomination alongside Roger Nygard, ACE for the Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 11 finale, "The Mormon Advantage." In addition to editing The Musical, Chris served as the film's post producer, helping guide the project through an abbreviated post-production schedule leading into its Sundance premiere.

Devin Dulany is an editor and filmmaker whose work includes The Musical and the AFI short on which the feature was based. An alumnus of the AFI Conservatory's Editing program, Devin was part of the original group of filmmakers who developed the project during their time at AFI and later reunited to expand it into a feature. Before attending AFI, Devin worked professionally in editorial in New York and Los Angeles, cutting commercials, trailers, documentaries and narrative projects while also developing his own work as a director and cinematographer.

Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Hear Chris discuss his work on the Starz series BLINDSPOTTING. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.

Finding Emily editor Phil Hignett returns to The Rough Cut to discuss cutting a romantic comedy built around music, timing, chemistry and the difficult balance between letting a joke land and giving a relationship enough space to feel real. Working with director Alicia MacDonald, Phil helped shape a film that draws on the pleasures of the classic British rom-com while giving the genre a younger, more contemporary point of view. Directed by Alicia MacDonald and written by Rachel Hirons, Finding Emily stars Spike Fearn as Owen, a musician and sound engineer who becomes determined to find a woman named Emily after discovering that the phone number she gave him is missing a digit. His search leads him to Emily Raine, played by Angourie Rice, an American psychology student who agrees to help him while secretly using his increasingly elaborate search as material for her academic work. As Owen's quest spreads across campus and begins attracting attention, the relationship developing between the two of them becomes far more important than the person he originally set out to find. Music is central to the identity of the film, from Owen's own musical life to the Manchester setting and a soundtrack that helps establish the rhythm and emotional tone of the story. In our conversation, Phil talks about cutting comedy and romance within the same scene, shaping the chemistry between Owen and Emily, working with fast overlapping dialogue, using music as an editorial engine, and knowing when a two-shot or a held reaction can say more than another cut. The discussion also gets into some of the film's more unusual editorial challenges, including the way Owen's search spreads through social media, the large number of Emilys who become part of the story, the balance between making Owen's behavior feel romantic and allowing the audience to question it, and the film's distinctive use of music during some of its biggest emotional moments.

Phil Hignett is an editor whose credits include Finding Emily, Sex Education, Stath Lets Flats, Wedding Season, Renegade Nell and Am I Being Unreasonable? His work spans television, features and commercial editing, with a particular emphasis on comedy, performance and the precise timing required to balance humor with character. Phil began his career in commercial editorial before moving into long-form work, eventually collaborating with filmmakers including Ben Taylor and Alicia MacDonald. His work on Sex Education was recognized with a BFE Cut Above Award for Best Edited Series: Comedy, shared with fellow editors Steve Ackroyd, David Webb and Izabella Curry.

Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Hear Phil discuss his work on season three of SEX EDUCATION. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.

The End of Oak Street editor John Axelrad, ACE returns to The Rough Cut to discuss cutting a science-fiction thriller that takes an ordinary suburban family and abruptly removes every familiar rule of the world around them. Working with writer-director David Robert Mitchell, John had to balance large-scale spectacle and mystery with a story that remains grounded in the relationships between the members of one family. Written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, The End of Oak Street begins when a mysterious cosmic event rips an entire suburban neighborhood from its surroundings and transports it to someplace unknown. The Platt family soon realizes that understanding where they are may be less immediately important than simply surviving, forcing them to depend on one another as the familiar streets and homes around them become increasingly dangerous and unrecognizable.

John Axelrad, ACE is an editor whose credits include Ad Astra, The Lost City of Z, Papillon, Antebellum, Chevalier, Spaceman, Krampus, Crazy Heart, Two Lovers and We Own the Night. A graduate of the USC School of Cinema-Television, John began his career in assistant editorial before moving into the editor's chair and has worked across science fiction, drama, horror and historical filmmaking. He is also an active mentor to emerging editors through organizations including American Cinema Editors and the Academy Gold program.

Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Hear John discuss his work with assistant editor Jared Simon on ANTEBELLUM. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.

Spider-Man: Brand New Day

Spider-Man: Brand New Day editors Nat Sanders, ACE, Harry Yoon, ACE and Gina Sansom join The Rough Cut to discuss helping director Destin Daniel Cretton take Peter Parker into a deeper, more grounded chapter of his story. Nat and Gina began the film together during production, with Harry joining them for the director's cut, bringing together three editors who had each previously collaborated with Destin on projects ranging from Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings to Wonder Man. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Spider-Man: Brand New Day finds Peter Parker (Tom Holland) fighting crime full-time as Spider-Man in a world that no longer remembers him. As Peter watches MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon) continue their lives without him, the pressure of his isolation begins to trigger a transformation he may not be able to control. At the same time, a new threat emerges in New York, drawing Peter into a conflict that also brings him together with Frank Castle / The Punisher (Jon Bernthal), Bruce Banner / Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Jean Grey (Sadie Sink). The film also stars Tramell Tillman and Michael Mando. For Nat, Brand New Day continues a long creative relationship with Cretton that stretches back to Short Term 12 and includes The Glass Castle, Just Mercy and Shang-Chi. Harry previously worked with Cretton and Nat on Shang-Chi, while Gina came to the film following collaborations with Cretton on American Born Chinese and Wonder Man. Brand New Day also marks Gina's first feature as an editor. In our interview, Nat, Harry and Gina discuss dividing the film between three editors, working in close proximity to production at Pinewood Studios, shaping Peter Parker's darker and more emotionally complex story, and using previews to test radically different versions of the film. They also talk about finding the right balance between practical action and visual effects, managing the reveal and evolution of Jean Grey, preserving Peter's emotional point of view in his scenes with MJ and Ned, and collaborating with composer Michael Giacchino as the film developed through post.

Nat Sanders, ACE is an Academy Award-nominated editor whose credits include Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, Short Term 12, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Glass Castle and Just Mercy. A longtime collaborator of director Destin Daniel Cretton, Nat has worked with him from independent character dramas through large-scale studio filmmaking. Nat received an Academy Award nomination alongside Joi McMillon for editing Moonlight and has twice won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing.

Harry Yoon, ACE is an editor whose feature credits include Minari, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Thunderbolts*, The Fire Inside, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, First Man and Detroit. Harry's work spans intimate character dramas and large-scale action films, with a particular focus on maintaining performance and emotional point of view within complex visual storytelling. Spider-Man: Brand New Day reunites him with Destin Daniel Cretton and Nat Sanders following their work together on Shang-Chi.

Gina Sansom is an Emmy-nominated editor whose television credits include Wonder Man, Our Flag Means Death, American Born Chinese, Reservation Dogs, Silicon Valley, Better Things, Love and Horace and Pete. She received an Emmy nomination for her work on Horace and Pete. After previously collaborating with Destin Daniel Cretton on American Born Chinese and Wonder Man, Gina makes her feature editing debut with Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Hear Nat and Harry discuss their first Marvel collaboration with Destin Daniel Cretton on SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS. Listen to Harry talk about cutting Lee Isaac Chung's Oscar®-nominated film MINARI. Hear Harry discuss his return to the MCU with THUNDERBOLTS*. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

For Avatar: The Last Airbender editor Payton Koch, this job offered a very different kind of editorial challenge from his Emmy-nominated work on Only Murders in the Building. The series has to move between large-scale action, visual effects, martial arts, comedy, mythology and coming-of-age drama, often within the same sequence. It also has to satisfy a fanbase that knows this world extremely well while still making the story accessible to viewers coming to it for the first time. Based on the Nickelodeon series created by Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, Avatar: The Last Airbender is set in a world divided into four nations — Water, Earth, Fire and Air — where certain people can "bend," or control, one of those elements. At the center of the story is Aang, the last surviving Air Nomad and the next Avatar, the one person capable of mastering all four elements and restoring balance to a world at war. Season Two takes Aang, Katara and Sokka deeper into the Earth Kingdom as they search for an earthbending teacher and make their way toward Ba Sing Se, the massive, heavily fortified capital of the Earth Kingdom. Along the way, the series expands its world with new allies, new enemies and a larger sense of the political and emotional cost of the Fire Nation's war.

Payton Koch is an Emmy-nominated picture editor with a diverse range of post-production credits on popular television series, including American Horror Story, Ratched and Only Murders in the Building. His work on the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building earned him multiple ACE Eddie Award nominations, as well as his first Primetime Emmy nomination in 2024. His additional credits include American Crime Story, The Politician, Home Before Dark, Just Beyond and The Boys in the Band. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.

BACKROOMS editor Greg Ng joins The Rough Cut to discuss cutting a film built around liminal spaces, analog horror, slow-burn tension and the challenge of turning an internet-born phenomenon into a feature-length cinematic experience. Directed by Kane Parsons, BACKROOMS expands on the world Parsons first created through his viral YouTube videos, where endless yellow corridors, fluorescent hums, distorted VHS textures and uncanny architecture became the foundation for a very specific kind of dread. The feature stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark, a furniture store owner whose discovery of a strange passageway pulls him into the Backrooms. Co-starring with Ejiofor is Renate Reinsve as Mary, his therapist, whose role in the story grows increasingly central as the film moves deeper into questions of memory, perception and psychological uncertainty. One of the biggest challenges was finding the right editorial language for a film where the space itself often functions as a main character. Greg discusses how the film's pacing intentionally allows characters to move through the Backrooms in near real time, preserving the hypnotic quality of Kane's original work. Rather than cutting quickly from one dramatic beat to the next, the edit often lets the audience remain inside the space long enough for the atmosphere, sound and uncertainty to take hold.

Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Greg tries to maintain a balanced diet of both narrative and documentary editing, and periodically writes about himself in the third person. He is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre and a member of the Canadian Cinema Editors, ACFC, IATSE, the VPA, and other organizations with acronyms. When his nephew asked him what editing movies was like, he said it's just like playing with Legos, but with videos and emotions instead. In addition to these biographical details, Greg has won several awards for editing, which have validated his professional insecurities and made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Some recent credits include LONGLEGS, THE MONKEY, and KEEPER. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.

Tuner editor Greg O'Bryant returns to the podcast to discuss cutting a film that is part crime thriller, part romance, part character study, part music movie and part very compelling argument for keeping your ears covered in New York City.

Directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher, Tuner stars Leo Woodall as Niki, a gifted piano tuner whose hypersensitive hearing makes every day sound almost unbearable. That same extraordinary hearing also gives Niki an unexpected talent for cracking safes, pulling him from a quiet life of tuning pianos into an increasingly dangerous criminal world. The film also stars Dustin Hoffman as Harry, Niki's mentor, Havana Rose Liu as Ruthie, a young composer, along with Lior Raz, Jean Reno and Tovah Feldshuh.

One of the biggest challenges on Tuner was the sheer amount of footage. Roher shot a large volume of material over a short production schedule, giving Greg and his assistant a mountain of performances, musical material, safe-cracking details and improvisation to shape into the final film. Greg discusses how he approached that process by focusing on subjectivity — using the edit to put the audience inside Niki's experience rather than simply moving through the plot.

Sound was another major topic of conversation. Because Niki experiences the world through hyper-sensitive hearing, the editorial and sound teams had to build a language for when the audience enters his point of view. Which meant figuring out how much of that experience to hear, and how to make the effect clear without making it punishing. O'Bryant also talks about working with sound designer Johnnie Burn, composer Will Bates and executive music producer Marius de Vries to balance the film's sound design, live music and score.

Greg O'Bryant is an editor whose credits include the feature film The Report, as well as the television series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Extrapolations and Brand New Cherry Flavor. A frequent collaborator with filmmakers including Scott Z. Burns and Nick Antosca, Greg's work often explores stories with complex tone, subjective experience and ambitious sound and visual design.

Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs.

Hear Greg discuss his work on BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR.

Listen to Greg detail his experience cutting the Apple TV+ series EXTRAPOLATIONS.

Hear Greg talk about cutting the Amazon Prime Video series MR. AND MRS. SMITH.

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The editors of Widow's Bay may not live on a cursed New England island, but after years of working together across shows like Atlanta, Station Eleven and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Isaac Hagy, Kyle Reiter and Jen Bryson have developed the kind of shared creative history that makes them feel right at home in one. Created by Katie Dippold for Apple TV, Widow's Bay stars Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, the skeptical mayor of a strange little island town where the locals believe the place is cursed. Tom would very much like to turn Widow's Bay into a thriving tourist destination. Unfortunately, the island has other ideas. The series also stars Kate O'Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll and Dale Dickey. For Isaac, Kyle and Jen, the show was another chance to reunite with longtime collaborator Hiro Murai and post producer Kaitlin Waldron. Isaac's creative relationship with Hiro goes back nearly twenty years, starting with no-budget music videos before eventually leading to Atlanta. Kyle joined that extended creative family through Kaitlin Waldron and Atlanta, while Jen came up through the same post team, beginning as a post PA before eventually moving into the editor's chair. In our interview, the editors talk about how the show was first described to them as something close to "ten episodes of Teddy Perkins," with additional reference points including Jaws, John Carpenter films, Stephen King stories and the specific textures of rural coastal New England. The island itself was designed to feel contemporary, but also strangely out of time — a place without cell phones, without modern comforts, and possibly without a sensible tourism strategy.

Isaac Hagy, ACE is an editor whose work includes the feature films Waves and The Friend, as well as television series such as Atlanta, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Station Eleven, American Vandal, Chef's Table and Sirens. He has received multiple Emmy and ACE nominations for his work, including recognition for Atlanta and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Across his work in television and film, Isaac has helped shape stories that blend tonal precision, visual invention and deeply character-driven editing.

Kyle Reiter, ACE is an editor whose credits include Atlanta, Barry, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Station Eleven and Black Rabbit. A multiple Emmy nominee, Kyle won an ACE Eddie Award for his work on Atlanta. His editing work spans comedy, drama, surrealism and genre storytelling, often finding the rhythm between deadpan humor, emotional honesty and unexpected tonal shifts.

Jen Bryson is an editor whose credits include Atlanta, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Sirens. After years of working with the post team connected to Hiro Murai, Kaitlin Waldron, Isaac Hagy and Kyle Reiter, Jen moved from post production assistant work into assistant editing and then into the editor's chair. Her work reflects a sharp eye for performance, character detail and the delicate balance between comedy, tension and emotional truth. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs. Hear Isaac discuss his work on SIRENS. Check out Kyle's interview for BLACK RABBIT. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode. Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube.

Spider-Noir

Although the editors of Spider-Noir may have all arrived at the series through different paths, they quickly found themselves working toward the same goal: shaping a superhero story that functions first and foremost as a noir detective tale. For Jennifer Barbot, Tirsa Hackshaw, Eric Kissack, and Geraud Brisson, that meant balancing 1930s atmosphere, modern pacing, dry comedy, stylized action, and the very particular energy of a Nicolas Cage performance. Created by Oren Uziel for MGM+ and Prime Video, Spider-Noir stars Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York who is pulled back into his former life as the city's only superhero, The Spider. The series also stars Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Jack Huston and Brendan Gleeson, and is presented in both "Authentic Black and White" and "True-Hue Full Color" versions. For the editors, that dual-format release created one of the show's most interesting creative and technical challenges. The editors primarily cut in black and white, leaning into the shadows, contrast and classic noir language of the series, while visual effects reviews often revealed the same scenes in color. The result was a show that could feel emotionally different depending on which version was being watched, even when the underlying performance, rhythm and story remained the same.

Jennifer Barbot is an editor whose credits include Your Honor, Raised by Wolves, The Man in the High Castle, Jessica Jones and Dope Thief. On Spider-Noir, Jennifer was drawn to the show's mix of noir style, superhero mythology and emotional character work, as well as the opportunity to help establish the tone of a world that had to feel both period-inspired and contemporary.

Tirsa Hackshaw, ACE has worked across a wide range of television and film projects, including One Piece, Kung Fu, Jupiter's Legacy, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and The Punisher. Having previously worked with Steve Lightfoot on Marvel's The Punisher, Tirsa came to Spider-Noir with both a love of the noir genre and a deep appreciation for the Spider-Verse, making the show a natural fit for her interests as an editor.

Eric Kissack, ACE is an editor and director whose work includes The Good Place, Veep, Black Monday, Rutherford Falls, Pam & Tommy and The Studio. He has also edited feature comedies such as Role Models, Brüno, Cedar Rapids, The Dictator, Horrible Bosses 2, Daddy's Home, Instant Family, Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Bottoms. On Spider-Noir, Eric was especially interested in the show's dry, organic comedy and in finding a rhythm that allowed the humor to breathe without undercutting the detective story.

Geraud Brisson, ACE is a French-American film and television editor whose credits include CODA, The OA, Counterpart, This Close, Shantaram and Lessons in Chemistry. Having previously worked with Steve Lightfoot on Shantaram, Geraud was excited by the chance to explore a superhero-oriented story through the lens of noir. His work on Spider-Noir included sequences that blended action, subjective sound, visual effects and classic film references into the show's distinctive style. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Hear Eric discuss his work on THE STUDIO Listen to Geraud discuss cutting Best Picture Oscar-winner CODA Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube

Although BEEF - Season 2 editors Laura Zempel and Lauren Connelly are working together for the first time, this is Laura's second season working on the series. But despite being new to one another, Laura's and Lauren's talents seamlessly combined to tackle a complex, character-driven "slow burn" with multiple storylines that required a delicate balancing of tone, including both dark comedy and psychological drama. Created by Korean director Lee Sung Jin (Sonny Lee) for Netflix, Season 2 of BEEF stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan as Joshua Martin and Lindsay Crane-Martin, and Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton as Ashley and Austin, two couples; the poor latter two blackmailing the rich former two, using footage Ashley shot of a heated argument which would threaten their image. Similar to Season 1, this incident escalates into a prolonged feud and a game of cat-and-mouse...minus one dog.

In addition to her Emmy®-winning work on BEEF - Season 1, Laura's skills as an editor can be seen in another Netflix series, SIRENS (2025). She has also worked on EUPHORIA (2019-22), DISPATCHES FROM ELSEWHERE (2020) and ROOM 104 (2017-19). Prior to that, she assisted on HOUSE OF CARDS (2014), DEXTER (2011-13) and IF I CAN DREAM (2010).

Originally from Chantilly, Virginia, Lauren graduated from The University of Southern California with a B.A. in Cinema-Television Production. Past credits include television shows such as MO on Netflix, GASLIT on Starz, MASTERS OF SEX on Showtime, THE STRAIN on FX, and THE SON on AMC. Recent feature films include SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE for Amazon Studios, A TOURIST'S GUIDE TO LOVE on Netflix, and Rodrigo Garcia's FOUR GOOD DAYS, which premiered at Sundance. Visit ExtremeMusic for all your production audio needs Hear Laura discuss her work on BEEF - Season 1 and SIRENS. Subscribe to The Rough Cut podcast and never miss an episode Visit The Rough Cut on YouTube