|
You've recently edited the movie Love
Me Not - so first of all, what's that movie about?
The
story is about a young woman named Jenny. Lost in the idea of “true love”, she is constantly let down until the pain finally drives her to
madness and she ends up kidnapping and tying her current boyfriend Brad to
a chair for a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner. Surrounded by a bloody
massacre of ex lovers, Jenny tries to make a point that the pain and
suffering she has gone through was never justified. Brad is soon to become
the new ex and must fight for survival under the name of love.
How did you get involved with the project in the first place? My
friend Michael Coulombe [Michael
Coulombe interview - click here] got me on board. I have been friends with him for
several years and have cut together some of his other short films as well.
I joined in on a new production company called Horror House Media,
which I
quickly took an interest in because I love the horror genre. Michael has
been the director of three of the company’s short films and I hope to
continue working with him as time goes on because I love the direction we
are heading in. Now
what can you tell us about your editorial approach to Love
Me Not?
The
basis of my approach is different for every project, but for Love
Me Not I was also recording sound on set. I was then easily able to point
out necessary footage and sound we would need in order to make the
post-production process run more smoothly.
I then make a rough cut with dialogue, temp music, and footage. I
solidify the cut, go back in and put in all the sound effects and finish
off with color correction.
On the edit, how closely did you work
with director Michael Coulombe [Michael
Coulombe interview - click here]? And since this isn't your first
movie together, do also talk about your previous collaborations? And how
have you two first met even?
Most of the time during the shoot I was right next to Michael, viewing the
monitor and making sure he wasn’t missing any necessary shots. We have a
brotherly relationship so we feel comfortable calling each other out on
mistakes or if something is just not working out for the story. Our minds
think alike and so the editing process runs very smoothly because I
already know what he is going for. On previous collaborations, starting a couple years back, I was very
much a newbie. I would try and help out as much as I could with his
smaller projects but with time my skills have tremendously gotten better.
We had taken a year break from working with one another, but then I got
back on the bandwagon with him when he told me about Horror House. I cut
together one of his previous short films, Soundbite, which turned out
very well.
We met six years ago on a feature film called Discarded. He
was the script supervisor and I was only a production assistant at the
time. We immediately connected on the four week shoot and have kept in
touch ever since.
|
|
You also did the sound design for Love
Me Not, right? So what can you tell us about that aspect of your
work?
Sound design is my favorite part. I usually add in some sound effects
during the first rough but then I get extremely detailed once the cut is
finalized. For this shoot I recorded a lot of sounds on set but I also had
to record a lot of my own sounds on my own terms. Almost all of the audio
that comes from Brad when he is tied up was recorded on a separate day. I
then had to create all the sounds for the axe kill as well.
A sound effect is usually never just one sound, but a combination of 3-6
different sounds. For example, to get a realistic axe cutting into flesh
sound effect, I recorded wet pasta being squished and an egg cracking in
my hand with a mixture of the yolk plopping onto the floor. I then added
the swing of a bat, an axe cutting into wood to add the heavy impact, and
then finishing it off with the squirting of blood.
All of these combined create a very realistic and brutal sound as she axes
away at Brad and so I tend to get very detailed with my sound design and
combine sounds in many different ways throughout this film. Any future projects you'd like to share?
At the moment I look forward to the next Horror House
project. I do not
know of anything going on just yet.
I am working with another friend right now on a horror/mystery
called Phone Home. I will also continue to work on many other short
films including some of my own. What
got you into editing to begin with, and did you receive any formal
education on the subject?
As
a kid, my imagination was running wild. I had a lot of energy to burn off
and I was constantly on the go. Since my dad is also in the entertainment
industry I was surrounded by movies constantly. At the age of 8 my father
gave me a camcorder and so I began to shoot little short films with my
friends. Years went by and I realized I wanted to become a director. I
found it fun to piece images together to tell a story and so I started to
learn Final Cut Pro and cut together several of my own projects. I then
went to film school and graduated with an emphasis in Editing and Sound at
California State University of Northridge. I now work as an editor at a
post-trailer house in Burbank on home entertainment trailers, content, and
featurettes. What can you tell us about
your filmwork prior to Love
Me Not? I
went through a phase of shooting strictly on film. I have a Super 16mm
film camera that I bought about a year ago. I was shooting a couple of my
own short films but realized that shooting on film, although a beautiful
process, is very expensive and so my interest in shooting on film is put
on hold for now. I honestly love working on other people’s projects. I
enjoy helping other’s visions come to life. There is something very
satisfying about that. So I work full time but on the weekends I try to
work on as many other projects as I can to keep my creative juices
flowing. How would you describe yourself as an
editor? This
is a tough question. I would say that I am detailed, intuitive, and a
perfectionist. I notice every issue, every flaw, every small detail, and so
cutting for me can be difficult at times because I am never fully
satisfied with anything that I cut. I really have to know when to stop,
otherwise I would continue to work on something forever. I will say that I
enjoy slow-burns. I like playing out scenes, getting a feel for the
environment and letting a mood settle in. That to me is powerful and it
connects very much through the visuals and the sounds I create. Music is
everything to me but lack of music can also be equally as powerful.
Editing is a lot of fun to me because there are endless amounts of
directions you can go to create an effect, and I love that.
Editors, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire
you? I
don’t have many editors that inspire me but in terms of filmmakers: Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, David Lynch, John Carpenter, Roman
Polanski, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, Wes
Anderson, Brian De Palma, Paul Thomas Anderson… so many more! Your favourite movies? Some
of my favorite films are: Chinatown, Dances With Wolves,
Boogie Nights, Halloween,
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Shaun of
the Dead, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, Star
Wars, Clockwork Orange, Goodfellas, Alien,
Pulp Fiction, Drive, Whiplash, Blue Velvet,
… and many more. ... and of
course, films you really deplore? I
am not going to name off specific films but I really do not like any of
the Marvel films nor do I like superhero movies that often. I loved
Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the original
Superman from 1978, but most of
the Disney films in general these days lack soul and strictly revolve
around making a quick profit. Disney
to me is not helping out the
entertainment industry, and so any film they make at moment I will not see.
I am a heavy believer in original ideas, that is why I appreciate
filmmakers like Jordan Peele and Yorgos Lanthimos for coming up with new
an interesting concepts. I think the industry needs to head in a
slower-paced direction. Less films a year and a heavier focus on
compelling and moving stories.
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
|
|
 |
Your website,
Facebook, whatever else? No
website, no Facebook. I like to work through word of mouth, and examples of
projects I’ve worked on posted on YouTube and Vimeo. Anything else you're dying to
mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Not
much else to say but thank you for this opportunity. I really enjoyed your
questions and I hope the readers find my responses intriguing. Keep
dreaming and keep watching movies!
Thanks for
the interview!
|
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
