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www.postmagazine.com 20 POST FEBRUARY 2016 O S C A R buzz ince Star Wars: The Force Awakens took its place on the January cover of Post, featuring Jennifer Walden's exten- sive interview with the film's post sound crew from Skywalker Sound, director JJ Abrams' Academy Award-nominated ed- itors Maryann Brandon, ACE, and Mary Jo Markey, ACE, both of whom have worked with Abrams on Alias, Mission Impossible 3, Super 8, Star Trek, and Star Trek Into Darkness, spoke with Post about being recognized by The Academy and cutting the newest Star Wars blockbuster. The film, which was shot in a number of locations in Ireland, the UK, Abu Dhabi and New Mexico, was predominantly cap- tured with Panavision cameras at 35mm cinemascope, as well as on Arri Alexas, Reds and 65mm IMAX. It was edited on Avid. According to Julian Smirke, associ- ate editor on the film, the team began on Avid Media Composer Version 7 and had graduated to Version 8.4 by the time the film wrapped, working at an offline reso- lution of DNxHD 115 and storing assets on an Avid ISIS 5000. Speaking to the experience itself, Markey says, "It was surreal that we were going to do [Star Wars], and it kind of stayed surreal. I cut the movie and I approached the film like I would any film, and it was better to work that way, but every once in a while I would stop and say to myself, 'I'm cutting Star Wars.'" Brandon agrees, "I was like, 'Oh my God, we're working on potentially the big- gest film — ever — that masses of people will see. The only way to approach it is like any film you do, and try to keep the emotions and story strong or it would just be too hard — the responsibility to all the fans. You have to keep that at bay." Here, Markey and Brandon discuss their long-time working relationship with Abrams and what it was like to cut one of the industry's biggest blockbusters, which at press time was closing in at $900M domestically. Congratulations on the nominations! How does it feel? BRANDON: "I'm thrilled and honored to be nominated for an Oscar. I think every- one who worked on this film gave it their 100 percent and all deserve recognition. It's so rewarding to hear how much fans and nonfans are enjoying the film. The only way it could get any better is if JJ Abrams were nominated along with us." MARKEY: "Well, in a word, awesome! It seems like everything about this project has been surprising, from JJ telling me he had been offered Star Wars but didn't feel he could take it on, to then hearing from him a while later that he had taken the job and that we were all going to be working on the continuation of the saga. I remem- ber the feeling of unreality that news had to me, and the nomination felt kind of the same. Maryann and I had not of late been included on the list of likely nominees, so I was not expecting it at all. Getting to cut the film was unforgettable in itself, and with this addition, the whole experience feels positively surreal." In your opinion, what do you think was outstanding about the work you did on the film that earned you recognition from the Academy? MARKEY: "Hard to say for sure. Of course, I think we managed to capture the spirit of the original three films, which are beloved by so many, and that was a big part of what has drawn people in. Also, creating characters that feel real and moments that evoke a deep emotional response has always been the most important goal for me in editing a picture. Even if a character is engaged in something like a saber fight, which ob- viously we know is a fantasy/adventure situation, my goal is always to make his/ her internal life completely relatable and 'felt' by the viewer." How would you describe your style of editing on this film? BRANDON: "I think both MJ and myself pretty much focus on telling the story. It's character driven, we find the best perfor- mances, find the message of the scene and relate to the character and move the story forward. I wouldn't say there's a particular style. The film was shot on film and JJ really wanted it to have that real look — have as much of the visual ef- fects and characters as practical as they could possibly be. All the pilot interiors, cockpits are all shot in actual sunlight and they are real shadows moving across BY LINDA ROMANELLO STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS THE OSCAR-NOMINATED EDITORS DISCUSS CUTTING A BLOCKBUSTER Markey (top) says she and Brandon share editing ideas freely. S