We’ve interviewed all kinds of behind-the-scenes people, from producers to directors to photographers to songwriters to graphic designers. So why not add an editor to the list? We recently interviewed Jeff Stone, editor of the Awakening and This Is Home video to get the scoop on just what goes into the editing process of a Switchfoot music video!
Land of Broken Hearts (LOBH): Hey Jeff, thanks so much for doing this interview with us. First, to give our readers a clearer understanding of what you do, can you describe the editing process for us? What is all involved?
Jeff Stone: Editing is basically telling the story the director wants to tell. For films, it’s the final step in the process–some say the most important. You’ve got to watch all of the footage—and try to remember everything you see and then piece that together in a cohesive way that will not only be interesting to watch but make sense to the viewer. It’s easy to become so familiar with the story, or the progression of your music video, that you’ll leave out a piece that the audience needs to know…and you’ll leave them behind.
LOBH: You worked on the Awakening and This Is Home videos. How did you get chosen to edit them?
Jeff: Brandon Dickerson was the director of both music videos–we’ve had mutual friends for years, never had the chance to meet until this video. Apparently, I come highly recommended… because he didn’t even ask to see any of my previous work!
LOBH: Wow! So what was your favorite video of the two? Why?
Jeff: Out of the two videos, I’d say I enjoyed “This Is Home” more. I recently watched “Awakening” and while it’s enjoyable, the quality of the image on This Is Home just blows me away. It was shot on the RED camera, which is basically the next best thing to shooting on film. In the cutting room, we could hardly believe that it was not shot on film…and it hadn’t even been color corrected (a process that the footage goes thru after the cut is that greatly improves the image’s color).
LOBH: Was there any cool footage in the videos that got cut out? What do you do with the extra footage?
Jeff: There was PLENTY of amazing footage that was cut out of “Awakening”. Tony Hale and Adam Campbell are such great actors—they were basically given the green light to do what they wanted—and we ended up with too much. The video was really about deciding what was the best of the best, not just what was usable. All that extra footage exists somewhere on a hard drive…possibly to never be seen again. For “Home” we had a similar amount of outtakes, most of which was hard to cut out.
LOBH: How long did it take you to edit Awakening? How long did it take you to edit This Is Home?
Jeff: Awakening was originally a 4 day edit, we ended up going almost two weeks. Our cut was done in 5 days, then we had to begin the process of creating the game footage. We cut the footage in the computer, printed every frame on multiple printers and then had too many guys cutting, organizing and manipulating those cut outs. Photos were taken and we then cut that footage into the video and composited it onto the TVs. Phew. Home was around 7 days. Much more manageable and straightforward. We working with Disney and the Narnia people, so part of what we were dealing with was the availability of footage from the film. More than once we had to replace shots we really wanted to use.
LOBH: Did you get to meet/work with Switchfoot?
Jeff: I didn’t meet the band on either of these shoots, but our paths have crossed in the past.
LOBH: Did the finished product(s) end up differently than what you visualized?
Jeff: The vision for the videos was Brandon Dickerson’s, from my first thoughts on his ideas I think the videos turned out better than I expected. Or even than he did.
LOBH: How did you get involved in the editing buisness?
Jeff: I’ve been editing professionally for 3-4 yrs now. I started cutting informational training stuff in college and some short films. I moved to CA after I graduated and did some volunteer videos for friends and churches, people saw my work and wanted to hire me. And it all built from there.
LOBH: What do you most enjoy about your job?
Jeff: I enjoy the storytelling process. In music videos, its a story told to music. Films, its taking a script and what’s shot and piecing that together to make a movie. Long hours are tough, but when people see and enjoy your work, it makes it worth it.
LOBH: Any advice for people who would like to go into that type of work?
Jeff: Be persistent. I got my first film job by calling an editor once a month for almost 6 months…without a call back. He eventually needed someone, and I was in the front of his mind.
LOBH: Good advice. Okay, lastly, we have what we call our Land of Broken Hearts Three, three questions we ask to everyone we interview:
1. What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given/heard?
Jeff: In a roundabout way, I heard that confidence speaks volumes. Whether its work, relationships, friendships, whatever. Be confident–or fake it.
LOBH: 2. What’s one question you’ve never been asked and the answer?
Jeff: One question I’ve never been asked? This one.
LOBH: 3. What’s one song you wish you had written?
Jeff: Each Little Mystery by Seven Mary Three. It’ll blow you away. Don’t think there is a video, but I’d do it if asked.
LOBH: Jeff, thanks for your time and good luck on future videos!