Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/501792
27 SPRING 2015 / CINEMONTAGE everything. "I didn't really talk to him much, but I think through research we discovered that this is the culture of the Air Force, the culture of pilots," the editor reveals. "They value a cool mind and a steady hand; they're not overly reactive. So we as filmmakers were trying to get a further insight behind that cool mask. And that cool mask feels very real to me — but getting a peek behind it is very interesting and emotional." However, in finding that arc, Staenberg found himself juggling scenes around more than on any other film he's edited. That's because he was searching for greater fluidity cutting back and forth between the two worlds and trying to avoid repetition, particularly during the tense scenes with the family. "For me, rearranging and/or losing some of those family scenes created overall an emotional effect that mirrored the way Tommy feels trapped," Staenberg explains. "It begins to feel like we're walking through a dream or a nightmare — an alcoholic haze for Tommy. Like most editors, though, Staenberg usually looks for ways to shorten moments. But in the GCS scenes where they drop bombs, they always announce the amount of time until impact (between five and 10 seconds). And he quickly realized it was very effective to play that out in real time. But first he had to convince Niccol. Fortunately, he could point to a positive response at festival and test screenings. "It was a realism thing that I discovered for myself on a gut level that we needed to do," he relates. "It's really counter to what I and most editors typically do. It turned out to be a very effective technique that test screening audiences really appreciated." One of the most disconcerting moments occurs when the drone unit witnesses the rape of a woman by a terrorist. It's uncomfortable for characters and viewers alike, especially for the lone female member of the team, played by Zoe Kravitz. But the unit chooses not to act ("He's a bad guy; he's just not our bad guy."). "In a way, it mirrors how the whole movie is set up in terms of Tommy watching events and bombing locations many thousand miles away," Staenberg reflects. "But he's getting affected by it in an immediate way by observing the woman who's sitting next to him, who's also his friend. It's a very interesting dynamic exploring what working like this does to a person." Not surprisingly, Staenberg continues to be drawn to movies about the impact of technology in our lives, and the challenge of staying connected to our humanity. "Somehow, there is that connection," he admits. "It's funny; it's not an accident, as they say in The Matrix. But it's also not totally purposeful. I don't always identify what's going to grab me when I read a script as an editor. And sometimes I can see it more clearly years later, after all those steps I've taken. But, yes, that's what interests me. "Take The Matrix, which is commonly seen on a basic level as an action film," he continues in conclusion. "To me, it was much more than that. And I'm very grateful to Andrew for recognizing that. I'm much more than an action guy." f Good Kill. Photo by Lorey Sebastian/IFC Films