The Rough Cut – Details, episodes & analysis

Frankenstein editor Evan Schiff ACE first began his journey as an assistant editor on Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth (2006). Over the next, nearly two decades, Evan would establish himself as an action movie editor to be reckoned with.  He would flex his cutting chops on films like John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017), John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019) and Bob Odenkirk's action debut, Nobody (2021).  Evan would also drop by the MCU to cut The Marvels (2023).  But to hear Evan tell it, it was hardly his skills as an action editor that would prompt Del Toro to hire his former assistant editor to cut Frankenstein.

Produced, written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, and based on the 1818 novel by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz. The film follows the life of egotistical scientist Victor Frankenstein whose experiment in creating new life results in dangerous consequences when his monstrous creation comes to life.

(In Evan's own words...) Originally from Syracuse, NY, I started my career in the film industry at the age of 16, between my junior and senior years of high school, with an internship at Stan Winston Studio (now Legacy EFX). After graduating from high school and being accepted into USC's film production program, SWS hired me back to do tech support as their Systems Administrator and eventually their in-house VFX Editor. I worked there part-time for all four years of college and full-time for one year after. While at USC, I got bit by the editing bug. I found that, even more than creature or visual effects, I loved sitting in the editing bay for hours on end putting my student films together. So a year after graduation, and five years after starting my job at Stan Winston's, I started to pursue editing full-time. It was slow at first, but eventually I got my first few jobs as an assistant editor, and things took off from there.

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KPop Demon Hunters editor Nathan Schauf was already a trusted teammember at Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) when has was asked to "lend a hand for a bit" on this new action-comedy musical. Not long after, lending a hand turned into leading the way, with Nathan leaning on his years of experience cutting animation to help craft the film into a worldwide hit that would become Netflix's most streamed content of all time.

KPop Demon Hunters follows Rumi, Mira, and Zoey, a world-famous K-pop girl group known as Huntrix.  Unbeknownst to their fans, Huntrix secretly uses their music and performance abilities to fight and protect the world from demons. While balancing their lives as global pop stars with their mission to keep demons sealed away, the group faces their biggest challenge when a rival, all-demon boy band called the Saja Boys emerges to steal their fans and threaten the world.  

Since joining SPA in 2020, Nathan has contributed to an array of animated projects, including Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, the latest entry in the beloved monster franchise, and Genndy Tartakovsky's R-rated comedy Fixed. He has also played a key role in several other projects in development.  With over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Schauf's career spans animation, gaming, virtual reality, commercials, sports, and independent films. 

Schauf earned a degree in Electronic Media and Communication with a minor in English from Texas Tech University. He currently resides in Orange County, California, with his wife, daughter, son, and their cat, Todd.

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Andor editor Yan Miles partly attributes the decision not to extensively use the Stagecraft "volume" technology as the reason why his series has a distinctly different look and feel to other shows under the Star Wars banner. Instead, Andor leans into real-world environments, capturing the grit and authenticity that Yan believes enhances the narrative. Another significant factor in that differentiation is Tony Gilroy's writing, where the narrative complexity lies. Despite knowing the ultimate fate of characters like Cassian Andor, the series thrives on the uncertainty surrounding minor characters and their arcs. It's in these uncharted territories that the tension in Andor finds its heartbeat.

Season 2 of Andor continues the chronicling of Cassian Andor's journey as he becomes a key figure in the burgeoning Rebel Alliance against the Galactic Empire. The season covers the four years leading up to the events of Rogue One, with each arc spanning a year. 

Yan Miles ACE, BFE is an acclaimed film and television editor whose work spans some of the most prestigious and visually dynamic series of the last decade. A member of both American Cinema Editors and British Film Editors, Yan has brought his keen sense of story and rhythm to internationally celebrated productions such as The Crown, Sherlock, and Game of Thrones. Known for his ability to blend emotional nuance with bold editorial choices, his work has helped define the tone and texture of modern prestige television.

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Ted Lasso editors, Melissa McCoy and A.J. Catoline re-join this episode of The Rough Cut podcast to tell us about what goes on in the cutting room to make all the magic from the locker room.

Ted Lasso is an AppleTV+ series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt, based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NBC Sports' coverage of the The English Premier League. The premise is that American college football coach Ted Lasso is recruited to coach an English Premier League team, AFC Richmond, despite having no experience in English football.

Michigan native, Melissa McCoy is an editor and producer, known for Ted Lasso (2020), Rush Hour (2016) and Whiskey Cavalier (2019).  Melissa won an ACE Eddie for her work on Ted Lasso in 2021.

Emmy-winning editor, A.J. Catoline is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and USC's Master of Professional Writing Program, and a Board Member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 700 IATSE. He is a picture editor working in television and documentary film in Los Angeles. He attended the American School in Paris and grew up in Falmouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

In our discussion with Ted Lasso editors, Melissa and A.J., we talk about:

• Not doing the notes, just making them disappear
• VFX for football teams that don't have any balls
• The way Sudeikis lays his cards out on the table
• Making a mega montage
• One last look back on Lasso

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THE LAST OF US editors Tim Good, ACE and Emily Mendez are the perfect example of mentoring in action.  Paying forward the mentoring he received from editor Norman Buckley, ACE, Tim has always looked for ways he could elevate assistants into the first chair.  Building on her work with Tim on THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Emily was more than ready to grab the editorial reins when the time came for THE LAST OF US.

THE LAST OF US is set in 2023, twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society.  The series follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), a smuggler tasked with escorting an immune teenager named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a post-apocalyptic United States.  The creative force behind the video game on which the series is based is Neil Druckmann.  One of the game's legion of fans was writer / director Craig Mazin (Chernobyl). The two would go on to successfully pitch HBO on the concept of adapting the game into a series.

In addition to THE LAST OF US, Tim is known as both an editor and producer for his work on such shows as The Umbrella Academy (2019) and Fringe (2008).

Emily Mendez is known for The Umbrella Academy (2019), The Resident (2018) and Light as a Feather (2018).

In our discussion with The Last of Us editors, Tim and Emily, we talk about:

• How to SUCCESSFULLY adapt a video game into a series
• Sound design...the assistant's advantage
• When 1 episode + 1 episode = 1 pilot
• The benefits of bottle episodes
• Meaningful mentoring

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The Blindspotting editing team of Craig Hayes, Varun Viswanath ACE, Chris Chandler and Trevor Penna collectively crafted a show unique in both its structure as well as its visual style.  On the audio side, the show is underscored by a soundtrack that pays homage to the Bay Area roots of Blindspotting creators, Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs.  Hayes and Viswanath took on the task of cutting Season One, while Chandler and Penna split editorial duties for the sophomore effort.

Taking place six months after the events of the film Blindspotting, the tv series begins with Miles, Ashley's partner of 12 years and father of their son, suddenly being incarcerated.  The situation leaves Ashley to navigate a chaotic and humorous existential crisis when she and her son Sean are forced to move in with Miles' mother and half-sister.

Craig Hayes has cemented a career as a spirited and versatile editor. He studied film at Ithaca College in New York, which inspired Craig to hone his craft and move forward in his career.  From there, Craig worked as associate editor on Gus Van Sant's To Die For and M. Night Shyamalan's Lady in the Water, and as assistant editor for Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.  Craig was also first assistant editor for the award-winning HBO series John Adams.  Craig has recently worked on the critically acclaimed The Hate U Give, directed by George Tillman Jr. as well as being nominated for a best editing award for HBO's Righteous Gemstones.

Varun is a Film & TV Editor based in Los Angeles, CA. He is a member of the American Cinema Editors and the Motion Pictures Editors Guild, and has an MFA in Film Editing from The American Film Institute Conservatory. His work on What We Do In The Shadows was nominated for Best Edited Comedy Series at the 2021 ACE Eddie awards.

Blindspotting is Chris's first full series as an editor. Prior to this series, he was an assistant and co-editor on FX's Dave, as well as HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, which he refers to as his "master class training in comedy and storytelling." He received an ACE Eddie nomination for his work co-editing the "Curb" Season 11 finale, "The Mormon Advantage," alongside one of his mentors, Roger Nygard ACE.

Trevor began his postproduction career assisting editor Tim Roche on shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and WandaVision. Following those jobs he then took on lead editorial duties for the Apple TV+ series, Mythic Quest.

In our discussion with the Blindspotting editing team we talk about:

• Making magic out of monologues
• Musical misunderstandings with remote editorial
• Fluidmorph and Animatte...it's all Fluidmorph and Animatte
• Nailing the needle drops to honor Oakland artists
• Cutting choreography

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Meet the editor of the film Blindspotting, Gabe Fleming

Hear Trevor Penna talk about his work on Mythic Quest

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EXTRAPOLATIONS editor, Greg O'Bryant has once again teamed up with writer/director Scott Z. Burns, this time to take on the challenge of creating an entertaining, educational and hopefully motivational series about the future effects of climate change.  Delivered as an anthology series, one of the more daunting tasks for the team would be managing the often dramatic shifts in tone, as well as the delicate balance between drama and, on occasion, comedy.

Taking place in the not-too-distant future, but over the span of thirty-three years, EXTRAPOLATIONS shows how the effects of climate change have become embedded into people's everyday lives; through eight interwoven stories that explore the intimate, life-changing choices that must be made when the planet is changing faster than the population.

Greg first began his partnership with Scott Z. Burns on the latter's political drama, THE REPORT (2019).  Greg would also edit an episode of the series, THE LOUDEST VOICE (2019) that Burns helmed.  In addition to his work with Scott Z. Burns, Greg is also a frequent collaborator with show runner, Nick Antosca.  Their partnership first began on CHANNEL ZERO, a SyFy Channel anthology series based on the popular Internet "Creepypastas" Candle Cove, The No-End House and Butcher's Block.  Subsequent projects with Antosca would include Hulu's original series, THE ACT, as well as the Netflix series, BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR.  Greg also edited the tv series, THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE, adapted from the film by Steven Soderbergh...who directed CONTAGION...written by Scott Z. Burns.

In our discussion with EXTRAPOLATIONS editor, Greg O'Bryant, we talk about:

• Not crossing the streams of comedy and drama
• The only geography that matters
• Why you need sixty mice
• Entertaining and educating for the sake of motivating
• Learning to love VFX, while still bemoaning blue screen

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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: VOL. 3 editors Fred Raskin and Greg D'Auria find themselves in familiar territory; collaborating on a James Gunn project.  But their twenty-year plus relationship dates back much further than their work with Gunn.  The two first collaborated on Tarantino's KILL BILL: VOL. 1 (2003).

In James Gunn's final installment of the "Guardians" trilogy, Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. If the mission is not completely successful, it could possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

Fred has worked with Gunn on all three Guardians of the Galaxy films, as well as the tv series PEACEMAKER and Peacemaker's origin film, THE SUICIDE SQUAD (2021).  In addition to his work with Gunn, another prominent director that Fred is known to cut for is Quentin Tarantino.  Fred handled the editorial duties for DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012), THE HATEFUL EIGHT (2015) and, most recently, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019).

Editor Greg D'Auria has crossed paths with Fred Raskin on more than one occasion in their careers.  Also a veteran of the "Quentin Tarantino Extended Universe", Greg has worked as assistant and editor on films such as KILL BILL: VOL 1 (2003) and DJANGO UNCHAINED (2012).  D'Auria also lent his editorial talents to films like FAST & FURIOUS 6 (2013), F9: THE FAST SAGA (2021) and the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY HOLIDAY SPECIAL (2022).

In our discussion with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 editors, Fred and Greg, we talk about:

• VFX being the tail that wags the...raccoon?
• Cutting a film without reading the script
• Bowling for sound effects
• The family business of temp tracks
• Final thoughts on the Guardians trilogy

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Hear Fred and Greg talk about their work on Gunn's PEACEMAKER

Listen to Fred and editor Chris Wagner discuss Gunn's THE SUICIDE SQUAD

Editor Fred Raskin talks about cutting Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

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The POKER FACE editing team of Garland, Ducsay, Qaasim and Swain might sound like a formidable name for a law firm, but their real talents lie in making a great "howcatchem" show with noted director and series creator, Rian Johnson.

POKER FACE is a murder mystery series stylized as a character-driven, case-of-the-week mystery, with each episode adapting the inverted detective story format popularized by COLUMBO.  The series centers around Charlie Cale, a casino worker with an innate ability to detect lies, traveling across the United States on the run from a casino boss following a suspicious death. Along the way, she encounters colorful characters and solves homicides in a variety of settings.

Accomplished editor Glenn Garland, ACE has over three decades of experience plying his skills on fan favorite tv series such as; STAN AGAINST EVIL, PREACHER and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, as well as feature films like; HALLOWEEN (2007), KING OF CALIFORNIA and the infamously unreleased THE FANTASTIC FOUR (1994).

Editor Bob Ducsay ACE has forged a tight collaborative bond with director Rian Johnson, going back to their first film, LOOPER (2012).  And although POKER FACE is only their first tv series together, the quality of their feature work has already been recognized by audiences, critics and the industry at large.  The pair were recently honored with the inaugural Variety Creative Collaborators Award at the 10th annual Middleburg Film Festival.

Rock drummer turned editor Paul Swain has brought his natural sense of rhythm to such projects as; THE UNICORN, THE EX-PM and THE MOODYS, for which he won an Australian Screen Editors ASE award in 2014.

Editor by day, swing dancer by night, Shaheed Qaasim's storytelling chops can be seen in shows like; MODERN FAMILY, THE WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND and FUTURE MAN.

In our discussion with the POKER FACE editing team, we talk about:

• Paying homage to 70's procedurals
• Going from swing dancing to swings in tone
• Reinventing the audio and visual languages throughout
• Teaching your audience how to watch the show
• Holding off on temp score until you really need it

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Hear Bob's interviews about his work on Rian Johnson's; KNIVES OUT, GLASS ONION and THE LAST JEDI.

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INVITATION TO A MURDER editor Kristi Shimek, like the protagonist of her new film, is not afraid of a challenge when it comes to figuring out how to piece a complex story together.  Having already amassed a credit list that is both long and varied, Kristi is equally comfortable cutting a classic whodunnit as she is with a rom-com or a grizzly horror flick.  Part of that comfort may come from feeling at home, quite literally and figuratively, with the her frequent director and full-time husband, Stephen Shimek.

Set in 1934, INVITATION TO A MURDER tells the tale of how a reclusive billionaire invites amateur sleuth Miranda Green and five other, seemingly random, strangers to his remote island estate in the south of England.  When one of the guest turns up dead, Miranda must get to the bottom of the malicious plot behind the gathering.  As the weekend progresses, the clues about why they have been invited begin to unfold along with a sinister mystery.

In our discussion with INVITATION TO A MURDER editor Kristi Shimek, we talk about:

• The present and possible future of remote editorial
• Making room for personal time, even when you're married to the director
• Leading the audience through a mystery with and without the protagonist
• Developing the characters without delaying the dynamics
• What Kristi wishes they would teach in film school

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