For this week’s post series, SHOOT surveyed agency creatives and producers about their relationships with editors. The questions asked were: Define your working relationship with editors. (Are you involved in the editorial process from the outset? Or do you enter the process after the editor has had the chance to do a cut–or cuts–on his or her own? How do you best work with an editor?) If you have been involved in a remote editing situation, how has that impacted your working relationship with the editor? Below are the responses:
Jeff Kling
Executive creative director
Euro RSCG Worldwide, New York
Usually, pre-shoot, the editor’s identity is floating somewhere in the background. I like it when a director brings it up, because it’s important, and because something like my deficient brain is usually making me forget to ask. I’m a huge (like, 400-pound) believer in fixing everything in post, so I should focus on the editor much more than I traditionally have. I’ve been spoiled by producers who have the good sense to book phenomenal editors well in advance. One such editor told me that for as long as he’s been editing, he mentally edits, in his tranquil hours, a single piece of footage consisting only of legs walking down the sidewalk. He figures if he can tell a story with that only, he’s good. I want someone like that cutting my junk. In fact, I want him, specifically (Angus Wall of Rock Paper Scissors, Los Angeles), and his henchmen, cutting my junk.
Most directors stay quite responsible for their film by remote; that’s why most know to bring up the editor well in advance, and to insist on certain favorites. You might never see the director after the shoot, but the director sure as shit sees what you’re making of his or her work. Editors don’t habitually contribute to a spot beyond the edit. To contribute to the spot with great editing is plenty to ask. Plus, the editor and his/her house fatten you on all that great food, and defer to you in a manner that far exceeds your worth. Whom does this not amaze?
Buffy McCoy Kelly
VP/Creative Director
Neiman Group, Harrisburg, Penn.
Working with an editor is like cooking a pot of chili: put in the ingredients, and then walk away. That’s the way you get the best product. Just like with any creative partner, spending time up front to build a solid relationship is key. When you have a tight relationship and the Internet, location is moot. We’re all about letting our editors go nuts, bring their magic to the party, and do what they’re experts at doing.
Cal McAllister
Partner/creative director
Wexley School for Girls, Seattle
We usually have a call with our editor and go over the script, and then another one after he’s seen the dailies. Then we leave said editor alone, just like we’d do with a small child and a chemistry set or book of strike-anywhere matches. We know what we’d do, we want to see what they’d do.
We also have a lot of faith in the editor, and expect them to try different things, solve it different ways. Be smart, but try some crap. Have fun. Make it better than we saw it.
Working remotely is tough. Not because we want to be frame fuckers, but because it’s nice to sit in the back of the room and watch the process, the tweaking, after we’re all generally happy. Or of course when we’re generally not. We sound like idiots when we say, “Did you try this? Did you think about that?” and then the editor has to say, “Of course I did, it’s my job you morons.” We find it saves time when we’re in the room.
Of course, everyone would rather be in the back of the room eating Cheetos and talking about how it was the idiot director’s fault we never got the only shot we really needed. If we have to edit remotely, we suck it up, have a copy of dailies sent to us, burn through all of our long distance minutes and thank God for Quicktimes and FTP sites.
Eric Silver
Executive creative director
BBDO New York
Finding a great editor is like finding a great spouse. It’s someone you don’t second guess and can trust to bail you out of any situation. For the past eight years or so, Gavin Cutler has certainly filled that role. I don’t think I’ve ever looked at a daily. I know the best performance is always going to be selected and, to be honest, it’s at the point where when he shows a cut… it’s usually 99 percent there.
A great editor can make an average director look like a genius. Editors are the most underrated part of the advertising process.
Paul Stechschulte
Art director
Cripsin Porter + Bogusky, Miami
I’ve found that it is always a good idea to give an editor a crack at putting together the spot first. (Assuming deadlines will allow for such a luxury.) They’ve seen scripts (maybe shooting boards), but that’s it. So as they rummage through dailies, they’ll have a different perspective on what’s good. What’s funny. What’s working and what’s not. They should come into the process completely fresh. The best bring unbiased eyes to the project. Assuming that they’re really good at what they do, letting them do their “thing” has always been beneficial to projects I’ve worked on.
I work best with editors who embrace a collaborative process. It’s important for an editor to have an opinion, but also be willing to agree to disagree. They must be willing to try things–even if they don’t make sense out of the gate. Experimentation is key. You may end up back where you started but if you don’t play with the footage, you’ll never get somewhere new.
It doesn’t really [impact the relationship with an editor]. Face to face is what I prefer, but the remote option often is a better use of time and resources.
Jesse Wann
Producer
Wieden + Kennedy, New York
Most editors want the opportunity to spend some time on their own with the footage, and that’s usually a good thing. How much leeway and time I give them on their own depends on the flexibility of the post schedule and my own relationship and confidence in the editor. Your editor is one of the most important people on the project, and can bring a fresh perspective to an idea you’ve been living with for a while. Plus, they have no back story with the footage–they see it honestly. It’s hugely important to be open to and foster a good collaboration with your editor, respecting their instincts and process. That’s how you get the best work.
