Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1515786
36 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E sound design and music. And we did that many times over as we worked the changes with Dave, Jon, and the directors. And once we start production, the process starts over again since nothing is ever the same once it's shot. The cuts were always evolving and improving. James: Right from the beginning, there are big conversations about planning and execution: locations, stunts, shot design, camera coverage, and more, all of it regard- ing what parts of the story need previz. Very early on, we craft all these elements to get a sense as quickly as possible of what's working before we move forward into production. Dana: We are editing a first cut of each episode a minimum of three times: first as a radio cut, where we guesstimate the pacing, which is hard to do with only dialogue and no visuals. We finesse that radio cut with vi- suals that are provided by our previz team. Cinemontage: And how does it work when you are ready to show a cut toDave Filoni andJonFavreau? J a m e s : W h e n w e ' r e i n e a r l y e d i t s e s s i o n s w i t h D a v e a n d J o n , i t ' s familiar territory going over story, char- acter arcs,visual eects, pacing,and tone. What's different and unique is that Dave issuch a great artist, he candraw new story beats on the spot — and those illustrations are critical in determining what shots are needed to makea sequence work better. Rosanne: Dave and Jon know where they want the story to go. We'd try things, add/remove story beats or shots, work with visual eects, and make trims after trims. The whole process is very collaborative. Dana: The speeder bike sequence with Sabine riding down the highway in the finalversion of episode 1 matches the previz cut pretty closely. We spent a lot of time on this sequence early inthe process, and it might be one of the very few scenes in the whole series that stayed as close to the previzcut as it did. Cinemontage: What makes Star Wars thrilling to watch is when you have intense action sequences that intercut with other action sequences. Is all that scripted or do you figure it out in editing? Rosanne: Both. We always cut to script first so Dave can see what he envisioned. And we also try things in the room. For example, in episode 2, the big action inter- cuts — at the shipyard with Ahsoka (played by Rosario Dawson) and Marrok, and the transport chase with Hera (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Chopper — were different than what was scripted. While working in the room, we experimented and found dierent parts to intercut to make the whole sequence more exciting. Dana: We addeda lot of intercutting in both episode 1 and episode 4. In episode 1, we intercut shots of Ahsoka and [her droid] Huyang in the end sequence to help build the tension. Episode 4 had a lot of lightsaber fights, sowe intercut between Ahsoka/Bay- lan fighting and Sabine/Shin fighting much more than what was scripted. Finding those right moments to intercut was challenging, but in the end, it all worked out with a won- derful balance. Cinemontage: It might be every editor's dream to cut a lightsaber duel. What's that like? DANA: It feels very much like a dance except the dancers are fighting with lightsa- bers. Having incredible actors who train hard for the part, fantastic stunt doubles, clear choreography, and beautifully shot footagehelpsthe vision become apparent. That's not to say we don't use visual eects to speed things up, remove frames to make a hit look sharper, and apply other helpful tricks we learn along the way. The lightsaber fights between the Jedi Masters are much different than that of their Padawans. For example, in episode 4, the Sabine/Shin lightsaber duels can some- times feel like two kids fighting whereas the Ahsoka/Baylan duels are much more pow- erful. Baylan Skoll (played by the late Ray Stevenson) is such a huge force ofnature,so the choreography ismuch more forceful. It creates dierent challenges in the editing, but it's truly a joy to work on. Rosanne: I've always had a great appre- ciation for martial arts, so cutting all the lightsaber duels was very exciting to me! I watch the dailies thoroughly before build- ing the sequence. I do my best to elegantly weave the actors with the stunt performers and make sure every clash is thrilling and impactful. I lift frames and try other tricks to enhance the moves. Then I watch again before I hand over the sequence to my assistant editor, who starts to add the temp sound while I lay in the temp music. Then I fine tune yet again as I watch the duel come alive. James: To sell the believability, I always favor the principal actor on camera because they'verehearsed so many times with our stuntcoordinatorsand stunt doubles. They know the beats exactly, which helps me figure where the double is most likely to replace our principles. Therehearsalsare recorded, which helps me know where the beats fall since I'm not on set. In episode 6, Sabine is on Peridea when she getsam- bushed by bandits and has to take them out if she's to find Ezra. I'd say 95% of that fight is Natasha, except for a few moments when she takes hard falls. When I first got the dai- lies, I didn't realize she was so athletic and skilled as a saber-wielding fighter. Cinemontage: How much temporary sound and music work do you add in your early cuts, knowing that eventually it all goes to sound editors and mixers at Skywalker Sound? Dana: Skywalker Sound got involved very early during editing because we some- times had the wrong lightsaber sounds, or we needed them to design something more specific that we didn't have the capacity to do. As for music, we always add temp music, but Dave would definitely tell us if we were off base in terms of tone or what he wasthinking andsteer us in the right di- rection. Music can be so personal that it can be dicult to find temp music to fit exactly what the director/showrunner is thinking. Rosanne: Every editor works dierent- ly. I believe having a cut with good sound design and temp music helps to build the tone and pacing. I always focus on the performances first until I have a good rough cut, before I lay in any kind of temp sound. For example, in episode 5, when Ahsoka