What do you do as supervising editor on The Incredibles?
I’m the supervising editor, but I’m basically the only editor on this film. Sitting side by side with the director, I choose the most effective shot for each scene, taking into consideration composition, timing, camera angle and depth of field. My responsibilities start early in the production process and end with the very last details.

Through editing shots in the reels, I become the liaison between the director and the rest of the supporting staff: set design, lighting, art design, layout, sound design and music. I lead a crew of assistant editors, additional editors, production assistants, coordinators and a manager, who all play an integral part in my everyday efforts to edit a film.

How is it different from editing live action?
In live action you assemble the footage as being the best of what you have to choose from after the footage is shot. In animation you edit the existing storyboards together and if you want a more dynamic shot to emphasize something, you just order it up from the story department.

Can you briefly explain the editorial process?
First, the story department will board out the sequence according to the script. After it’s revised a few times it’s sent to editorial in a digital format to the Avid, a digital cutting tool [or film editing system]. Then I assemble the boards so that the director is able to see the script brought to life through visual interpretation. From there we are able to see where we need to develop more character, more story, more tension or more action. It’s important to get the blueprint of the movie as close to final in this early bare-bones version as the actual animation is very time-consuming and expensive.

When that’s cut, we record scratch dialogue, usually done by people here at Pixar. We digitize that and cut it into the Avid. Then we add sound effects and temporary music. Basically, when you’re looking at storyboards, you want to help the brain visualize as much of the movie as possible.

When does the scratch dialogue get replaced?
Typically right after the “green light” is given to make the movie. Early in the pitch process the director usually has in mind the voice actors he wants for the film, which helps sell the idea to the studio. Once it’s green-lit, the deals to the actors are made. Dialogue is recorded, cut into the reels by the editor and director, sent off to layout to get the camera and set correct, and then it’s off to animation.

Do people ever fall in love with a scratch voice?
That happens all the time. As soon as you cut that new actor in for the first time, you think, “Whoa, this doesn’t feel right.” You’ve been listening to the scratch for about one and a half years—that’s a long time. But the more you hear the new voice and get used to it, the better it sounds. It’s an improvement over scratch because they’re professionals and it’s what they do for a living.

What happens after all the sequences come in from the story artists?
After it’s cut in board form and everyone’s happy with it, then we have someone go in and do After Effects [a program that creates camera moves]. It’s probably one of The Incredibles director Brad Bird’s most utilized tools. After Effects gives you a great idea of what a shot is going to be—the speed at which someone runs or how quickly you want to pan over the sky. That will save time and money down the line.

And what happens next in editorial?
We send the storyboards to the layout department. Layout does the set designs, taken from the storyboards. Once the animators have a 3-D set to work in, the story reels are issued to animation. After shots are animated and approved by the supervising animator and director, they trickle back in to editorial, one at a time, totally out of order. We will then cut that into the reel and have a sweatbox session.

Sweatbox session?
It’s something new for Pixar. It’s an editorial shot review. The term actually comes from the early days at Disney, where 25 people would stand in an 8-by-8 room, looking at film and sweating (back then they were using hot lamps). So we get all the heads of all the departments in one room and look at the shots with continuity in mind. We pinpoint a glitch or problem and figure out how to fix it and move through departments that way. They make changes, send it to editorial, I cut it back into the reel, and then we do another sweatbox.

There are so many animators working on the film—does this ever pose a challenge editorially?
You’d be amazed how many shots don’t hook up because there are so many different people working on them. My job is to make sure that animation hookups are right. I may call for a couple more frames or trim a few to make something work. On a daily basis I’m trimming or extending.

What happens after animation?
When it’s finalized, it goes through lighting and shading. Finally, the shot will come back again to live in the Avid, and then it will be sent to the photo science department, where it’s put to film.

Rumor has it that film editors never sleep. Is it true? Do you sleep?
I actually do sleep. People say to me, “You’re the calmest editor I’ve seen at this place.” My assistants are great, which makes it easy to pull off. It also helps to love what you do. And I love this movie and working here. I got my start in Hollywood, so I can appreciate Pixar a lot more, being treated like a human being rather than how you get treated in Hollywood. And the hours—I work normal hours, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., which was never the case down in Los Angeles.

Speaking of your past, how did you get started in film editing?
This was not a plan of mine, to be here. I was going to follow my dad in the business world. He’s in sales—the general manager of a dairy company in Southern California. So I got a business degree and then worked for a couple of years in sales wearing a suit every day and knowing that it wasn’t for me. In 1990 I moved to Florida for a job selling computer software for a hardware dealer who had an early system of the Avid. I was very curious and would play with it off-hours. Meanwhile, my sister did an internship in Los Angeles for the first season of America’s Funniest Home Videos. I was just talking to her one day and was telling her about this really cool system [the Avid] that this guy got. She said, “That’s what all the editors here use. If you ever get bored there, you should come out here.”

How long did that take?
A couple of months. I started as a production assistant for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I worked my way up from there. I went from a production assistant to visual effects coordinator, then was bumped up to assistant editor and eventually got an associate editor’s credit. And that was it—I’ve been cutting ever since. I was associate editor on The Iron Giant and stayed at Warner Bros. for Osmosis Jones. I was at MTV for a little bit when Pixar called me to come up here. It’s been cool. It’s been a good ride.

Has editing movies affected the way you watch movies you haven’t worked on?
It hasn’t killed my enjoyment, but it kind of numbed the magic of movies as a viewer. I very rarely get swept up in a movie anymore. I’m constantly dissecting movies when I watch them. I certainly learn new ways of doing things all the time, and it is one of the best ways to research my craft. You can discover new ways to be more economical through cutting, how to create more impact by a simple cut, and certain mistakes to avoid.

Are there any editors you look up to?
Walter Murch is pretty much my hero. He’s done everything … the Godfather films, Apocalypse Now. He’s done a lot of groundbreaking stuff that we take for granted. Of course, Lee Unkrich is also an editor who I highly respect. Pixar is at the top of the animation game, and Lee has been one of the guys to bring Pixar where it is today.

Do you have any advice for someone who is interested in film editing?
Go to Hollywood and don’t be afraid to do anything. I was a production assistant and on my off hours at 8 p.m. I would sit for two hours and watch the editor. If it’s something you want to do, take the P.A. job and work hard at that and learn all you can. The most difficult part is getting into a company, but once you do that, the doors open. You gotta make the best of it. You have to let people know what you want and just keep at it. And nowadays, anyone can learn the technical aspects of editing with Final Cut Pro and by watching a lot of movies.

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