Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/462877
40 CINEMONTAGE / WINTER 2015 happens now, which is too bad. At the end of the day, even though everyone was tired, the editor, director, DP and other department heads would be together watching the footage. Bill would have his notes and sit with Peter, who would explain what he was trying to do. You would get so much information. Then, if something looked weird — say, there's a makeup issue or something — everything would get solved quickly because everyone saw it together. Now, everyone's watching it in her or his own space in the hotel, or wherever. It's funny because while somehow that's more efficient, in other ways it's less. There's a kind of camaraderie that used to be that doesn't seem to happen now. CM: How did you work with Anderson? PT: When Bill sat down to cut the scene, he would mark ins and outs with a grease pencil for the pieces he liked, and then I'd take the rolls and pull those pieces, grouping them in wides, mediums and tights for each performance. You would see and hear his process because you'd be assembling it; I'd see what he had chosen and what he hadn't because I was at dailies. It was such a lesson in what's important. That was a huge thing for me. Another was seeing different screenings: editor's cut, director's cut, etc. You see how it's honed and refined. CM: How did you make the leap from assistant to full editor? PT: Because I did all those films with John Sayles, I kept assisting longer than I might have. He cuts his own films and loves doing it. But he would give me a few scenes to cut, really for my own development, so I was an additional editor for a while. In between, I would cut smaller stuff like an NYU grad film or a documentary. Then John helped Karyn Kusama get Girlfight going and she asked me to cut it. CM: You've done four films with her now. What working process have you two developed? PT: I've always been on location with Karyn. She will often call me on her way to or from the set and give me a redux of the previous day. Or we'll get together on the weekend to talk through what she was trying to do with something, especially if it's not self-evident in the footage. I find it incredibly useful. This means I can get closer in my first pass to what was she was going for. We have a similar sensibility, or perhaps I've learned her sensibility. Karyn likes to be spend time in the cutting room. I've worked with directors who are there all the time, and others who are never there, and there's value to both. Now that we've done so many films together, though, she's able to step back a little more, which I think is good for her process. It's nice if the director has a bit more perspective, and can go off and come back while you're trying this and that. But it starts with what she does; she's great with actors and very hands-on with design and cinematography. Once the footage comes to me, it's just a process of getting to the heart of the character with her. What I try to do on any film is talk to the directors about anything that might be a creative reference for them: other films, art, music, events, anything they've been referencing creatively. I take notes and keep coming back to it when I'm cutting. If there are references to films or music they like, I immerse myself in the feeling they're going for. CM: How did that apply to The Invitation? The Invitation, The Invitation, LLC.