Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1544083
differ vastly from a human's. They masterfully captured facial ex- pressions and emotions, which was much harder than the editing." Can you talk about your collaboration with the VFX team and some of the sequences that were challenging? Stefan Grube: "The benefit of working on a VFX-heavy movie is the necessity of decision-making. We had to make bold decisions early on for these huge sequences that they were building––unlike a mov- ie with few VFX, where you get towards the end, and every reel is kind of open for change. But we had a great team. Our VFX editor, Ben Howdeshell, was the most 'can-do' part of our process, helping us create and modify elements to streamline the editing. He fabricated these amazing temp shots for us to use early on because those big sequences take time to make." David Trachtenberg: "Dan calls Ben his secret weapon because he can do so much to a rough cut, and it immensely helped the editorial process. Dan had a very specific direction and vision as far as VFX was concerned. He was there in every review and involved in every single detail, leaving nothing to chance, which allowed us to focus on our role as editors and trust that we had everything we needed." "Also, this was the first movie I did on this scale of visual effects. What I found interesting was that there were so many different VFX techniques, including some practical effects. For example, in the scene where Dek lis up Thia and carries her off, she did it practical- ly—she just pretended she was legless, and it worked. I love that sort of movie magic." "We were secretly making an action/adventure, as opposed to an action/horror movie..." What was the thinking behind having two editors on this film? David Trachtenberg: "The studio wanted two editors because the turnaround was too tight for one person. Although I had never co-edited before, I wasn't nervous because Stefan had experience working this way and had some insight into the process. Plus, I've known him for years. He cut Dan's first feature, 10 Cloverfield Lane. We first met during one of those friends-and-family screenings." What are the challenges and the benefits of co-editing, espe- cially with respect to ensuring a unified creative vision? Stefan Grube: "One of Dave's strengths is super measurable: he is very fast. I'm not nearly as fast as he is, and his ability to come up with great ideas so quickly was super helpful day to day. It was a har- monious partnership." j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 6 c g w 9