{"id":431,"date":"2017-04-01T08:00:09","date_gmt":"2017-04-01T08:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/?p=431"},"modified":"2024-12-11T14:55:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T14:55:47","slug":"in-conversation-with-bafta-nominated-film-editor-joan-sobel-ace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/2017\/04\/01\/in-conversation-with-bafta-nominated-film-editor-joan-sobel-ace\/","title":{"rendered":"In Conversation with BAFTA Nominated Film Editor Joan Sobel (ACE)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"joan-sobel-editor\"<\/a>The Norwich Film Festival continues its monthly featured interviews with the incredibly talented BAFTA nominated film editor Joan Sobel (ACE).<\/p>\n

Joan began as a first assistant editor on such projects as both of Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Kill Bill<\/em> films. She then moved to the principal editor with\u00a02002\u2019s\u00a0Oscar winning short film\u00a0The Accountant <\/em>and the 2<\/em>005 feature film,\u00a0The Quiet<\/em>.\u00a0 Since then she has worked with Tom Ford twice on A Single Man and Nocturnal Animals. <\/em>Some of Joan\u2019s additional editing credits include Admission <\/em>&The Perfect Guy<\/em>.\u00a0 The Norwich Film Festival is also delighted to welcome Joan as one of our 2017 film judges. <\/em><\/p>\n

Joan, firstly congratulations on the nomination for a BAFTA in editing at this year\u2019s festival – Nocturnal Animals was an incredible film and offered a master class in editing a variety of different stories. So this leads me nicely on to our first question:<\/p>\n

NFF:<\/strong>\u00a0 Working on a project such as Nocturnal Animals<\/em> must have been quite a demanding and overwhelming process at times. I was wondering how you as an editor manage this process. What is your typical process like when you sit down to edit a scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0 <\/strong>I always have the script in my head, so that I know exactly where this scene falls within the story, and what this scene conveys in relation to what has come before and what will come after, even though none of those scenes have been filmed as yet.\u00a0 Once I receive the dailies for a scene, I re-read the preceding scene, the scene that I\u2019ve received the rushes for, and the scene that follows.\u00a0 Then I watch all of the dailies for the scene and take copious notes, almost exclusively about performance.\u00a0 I make decisions based upon performance as to where I want the scene to go\u2026.what moments I want to emphasize\u2026.which nuances that an actor is displaying that I want to make sure ends up on the screen.\u00a0 These might be the tiniest of gestures, but they convey everything\u2026.often more than the dialogue, at times.\u00a0 Then I dive in!\u00a0 Building and sculpting and making decisions every second.\u00a0 Working and massaging the scene over and over until it is flowing into the narrative, connecting the visuals, and especially, supporting the performances.<\/span><\/p>\n

NFF: <\/strong>Previously working with the brilliant director Tom Ford on A Single<\/em> Man<\/em> \u2013 Did this make it easy for you both to work collaboratively together on Nocturnal Animals<\/em>? If so, why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0<\/strong> Yes, because I instinctively can get quite close to what Tom\u2019s intentions are while he is still actually shooting the movie, and while I am editing alone in the cutting room.\u00a0 Working together on A Single Man <\/em>made collaborating on Nocturnal Animals <\/em>almost symbiotic.\u00a0 Even without talking with Tom on a daily basis, I could tell from how he was directing the film and the actors where he wanted the scene to go.\u00a0 And if I was off base, we would then work it out together in the cutting room.\u00a0 The creative collaboration was and is incredibly exciting.\u00a0 Tom is brilliant and his creativity is positively explosive!\u00a0 What an incredible joy it is to work with him!<\/p>\n

NFF:<\/strong> Nocturnal Animals<\/strong><\/em> is multi-layered in its storytelling \u2013 what was your favourite scene to cut in the movie? And what is it about that scene that resonates for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0 <\/strong>Wow\u2026.there are so many.\u00a0 Just from a performance standpoint, I would have to say the scene with Laura Linney and Amy Adams.\u00a0 They were on fire, and their chemistry as Mother\/Daughter was electric.\u00a0 Every take was brilliant.\u00a0 That scene is integral to the understanding of Susan\u2019s motivations and choices throughout the movie and throughout her life.\u00a0 The scene on the side of the road, when Ray abducts Tony\u2019s wife and daughter was an incredibly challenging scene to cut.\u00a0 Besides the amount of characters and the handheld cameras swinging back and forth, the challenge was in very slowly building the tension until it became unbearable. \u2026.of placing the audience in the shoes of both Tony and Ray\u2026.of being drawn and repelled by Ray, questioning his motives as Tony does, and questioning Tony\u2019s actions or non-actions.\u00a0 It was a study of, an emotional journey through society\u2019s definition of male behavior\u2026what is considered strength and weakness\u2026.of the capacity for good and evil\u2026.of decisions good and bad\u2026of regret for those decisions.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\"4100_D007_00692_R<\/a><\/p>\n

Above Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal portrays Tony Hastings, Robert Aramayo as Turk, Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Ray Marcus and Ellie Bamber as India Hastings (NOCTURNAL ANIMALS)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

NFF: <\/strong>Was there any particular scenes that you wished had not been cut from the final version\u00a0of Nocturnal Animals<\/em>?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0 <\/strong>No.\u00a0 Tom was never precious with any scenes that we both felt should be cut from the final, and he wrote the script!\u00a0 Now that is unusual.\u00a0 But it was clear when a scene wasn\u2019t necessary, when it wasn\u2019t adding to the story or to the characters.\u00a0 Being precise and sharp and getting to the heart of this movie was what we both wanted in telling this story.\u00a0 So those scenes just fell away and weren\u2019t missed.<\/p>\n

NFF:<\/strong> You have worked on some incredible films including First Assistant for Sally Menke on Kill Bill. <\/em>Quentin Tarantino is another masterful storyteller and director.\u00a0 How was it being part of this process? As an editor, what did you take away from working on a film such as that?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS<\/strong>:\u00a0 <\/strong>Working with Sally and Quentin was a huge learning experience.\u00a0 Sally was a great editor and I miss her enormously\u2026.especially her sense of humor.\u00a0 Sally cut for performance.\u00a0 When I look back, I realize how much I approach editing as Sally did, how much I learned from her about pacing, and tension, and when to build something up and when to let go.\u00a0 She was a master at that.\u00a0 I loved to see what she would do with a scene after the dailies came in.\u00a0 Always exciting\u2026.and that\u2019s what I feel about editing.\u00a0 It should always be exciting how a story is told.\u00a0 Sally would strive to be concise, to find the essence of the story.\u00a0 I am the same.\u00a0 The challenge is to tell a story in a different way\u2026..from a different perspective or to abstract it.\u00a0 I never want to be bored watching a movie.\u00a0 And working with Sally and Quentin\u2026..you were never ever bored!!!<\/p>\n

NFF: <\/strong>Editing, is quite a competitive field. How did you break into the editing business? And what was it about being an editor which really grabbed your attention?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS: \u00a0<\/strong>I started out as an illustrator, and was always drawing and painting since I was a child.\u00a0 I was a studio art major in college, also dabbling in photography and film\u2026but more on a conceptual level.\u00a0 I was completely enamored with Maya Deren!\u00a0 I also watched movies from when I was little\u2026.with my Mom.\u00a0 Watched everything, from Fellini to Bu\u00f1uel to John Ford to Bette Davis to Lubitsch.\u00a0 I was in love with movies.\u00a0 When I was in my 20s, a friend of mine shot a documentary short and wanted to know if I would like to work in the cutting room gratis as an assistant.\u00a0 I did and never looked back.\u00a0 It was everything that I loved about drawing and photography and telling stories and performance. Basically, I was extremely motivated and extremely in love with cinema.\u00a0 I lived and breathed movies. When I moved to Los Angeles from New York to pursue film editing, I both persevered and was incredibly lucky to be in the right place at the right time!<\/p>\n

NFF: <\/strong>Thinking about budding editors out there who are trying to break into the industry \u2013 do you have any advice for those wanting to get into the field of editing? Any top tips??<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0<\/strong> Yes.\u00a0 If you are truly passionate about movies, then see everything\u2026especially old movies (and I\u2019m talking OLD!).\u00a0 Go back to the early days of cinema\u2026to the silents.\u00a0 Study movies by seeing them\u2026there are so many that even if you mention their names, I instantly get excited and want to watch them all over again.\u00a0 If you really love movies, and if you are willing to put in the long hours and hard work, and if you can stick with it even when things look grim\u2026you will make it!<\/p>\n

NFF: <\/strong>I am interested to learn about how do you adapt your approach to editing for so many different projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0 <\/strong>Because every project is new and fresh and exciting.\u00a0 It is a puzzle to solve and there are endless possibilities of how to solve it.\u00a0 And there are the performances\u2026.watching the actors and nurturing and protecting their performances\u2026.and then seeing what happens when you cut those performances together is truly magic.\u00a0 When I am editing a scene, I am feeling what the actors are feeling and what you hope the audience will be feeling.\u00a0 My approach is to keep it fresh\u2026always.<\/p>\n

NFF: <\/strong>and how do you select what films you want to work on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS:\u00a0<\/strong> I select the films that I want to work on based upon if my response to the script, the actors cast, and the director.\u00a0 All 3 of those are crucial.\u00a0 You can read an amazing script that doesn\u2019t translate into an amazing movie.\u00a0 The reverse doesn\u2019t quite work the same as it\u2019s extremely rare for a bad script to result in a good movie.\u00a0 However, with the right actors and a great director, it\u2019s amazing what the results can be!\u00a0 Always surprising, which is good!<\/p>\n

\"Joan<\/a><\/p>\n

(Above is a small selection of film’s edited by Joan Sobel)<\/p>\n

NFF: <\/strong>Since you started working as an editor, how\u00a0has new technology changed your job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS: \u00a0<\/strong>Well, I do love working on Avid\u2026I\u2019ve been on an Avid since 1996.\u00a0 However, there is a misconception with digital technology that it makes editing faster.\u00a0 Editing is all about thinking and making decisions.\u00a0 You need that time to think and to sit with the picture and that time to also step away from the picture.\u00a0 When we were editing on film, that crucial time was built in to the schedule.\u00a0 The new technology has eliminated-that time, and it is a mistake.\u00a0 I would never want to cut on film again\u2026..the Avid is so facile and you can keep your previous cuts and refer to them so easily.\u00a0 But losing that thinking time, and that time to step away hasn\u2019t helped movies to be better.<\/p>\n

NFF: \u00a0<\/strong>Finally, can you tell our readers a little bit about the next project you will be working on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

JS: <\/strong>I am actually working on a recut and it\u2019s been yet another incredibly creative experience that I am very much enjoying.\u00a0 And the actors\u2019 are wonderful!<\/p>\n

Interview by Craig Higgins (Co-Director Norwich Film Festival)<\/p>\n

The post In Conversation with BAFTA Nominated Film Editor Joan Sobel (ACE)<\/a> appeared first on Norwich Film Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Norwich Film Festival continues its monthly featured interviews with the incredibly talented BAFTA nominated film editor Joan Sobel (ACE). … Continue ReadingIn Conversation with BAFTA Nominated Film Editor Joan Sobel (ACE)<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danyusports.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}