Editors Timothy Good and Emily Mendez were more than excited to be tasked with editing the adaptation of the popular PlayStation game, The Last of Us. In our latest interview, both Timothy and Emily share their approach to making the game come to life on the screen, the collaborative process, as well as the importance of queer storytelling.
PH: Hi Timothy! How are you today? Can you provide a bit of your professional background and how you became interested in editing?
Timothy Good: I am very well and am honestly still processing the incredible response to The Last of Us. It’s been an overwhelming feeling to see all of the very hard work we put into the series be seen and more importantly, felt, by so many.
I grew up in Oak Park, IL which was the home of Frank Lloyd Wright’s first decades as an architect. As a young child, my parents took me to his Home and Studio Museum where they offered us special blocks to build our own houses. It turned out I loved piecing things together – from there came LEGOs and then model airplanes. I would buy the actual tiny bottles of paints that were required to make sure every detail was exact, and I displayed them on a shelf in my bedroom. During this time, I was also really obsessed with movies, and I was specifically moved by THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK because it had a shocking relationship reveal and a sad ending that I kept coming back to over and over. All of these factors were bubbling inside of me when I discovered that the public high school in my town had a state of the art Television Production Studio. I was immediately drawn to the editing system which at the time was a linear ¾” tape to tape system. I loved creating musical montages with images, and I became quite quick with the controller, to the point that the Studio’s Instructor paired me with a producer in Chicago to help make a short sales video for a local day nursery in town. I learned so much from that experience as both editor and camera operator, while the producer helped me discover ways of working I never imagined. I was sold. Editing was architecture, emotion, rhythm, and creating a feeling in others and myself. I was determined at this age to follow this wherever it led. I went to Northwestern University, studied film and broadcasting of all types, and focused heavily on editing wherever I could. I loved the people I met, and to this day many of us are still connected and close. This was also the rise of non-linear editing and something called the AVID was installed late in my senior year – I was able to learn a bit about it, but not enough. That came when I decided that the only place I could really dive into editing was in Los Angeles. I moved 9 days after graduating and ran up against a huge wall. I was no longer in a situation where I was privileged to have guidance and structure. I had to figure everything out on my own. But thanks to writing hundreds of letters and a lucky connection to New Line Cinema’s post production department, I was able to get a job on a movie where I moved from PA to assistant editor and was able to get into the Editors Union from that. From there, I assisted for several years and was mentored by Norman Buckley, ACE. He was the ultimate reason that I learned the true craft of editing. All of my instincts and feelings felt like they were in the right place, but he guided me towards how to manage and structure and create the art and craft of what I was so desperate to do. Thus began my career as a professional film and television editor.
PH: Can you share some of the projects you've worked on and how those projects have impacted your career (and mindset on your work) thus far?
Timothy Good: My very first editing credit was a co-editor on a series called FASTLANE, produced by John McNamara with McG and Stephanie Savage. As you can guess, the other editor was Norman Buckley. He graciously asked me to help him while he went to work on the pilot of a series called THE O.C. with McG and Savage and an unknown young writer named Josh Schwartz. Once that was picked up to series, I worked with him and editor Matt Ramsey and continued training as an editor. I was lucky enough to be asked to assist Ramsey on a pilot Savage, McG and Shaun Cassidy were making called THE MOUNTAIN. When it was picked up to series, Mr. Cassidy asked me to be one of the editors. I remember that moment so clearly. Though THE MOUNTAIN lasted only one season, I was next hired by Mr. Cassidy on his high budget sci-fi series INVASION for ABC and learned how to hone my craft from 6 different incredible directors, including Rod Holcomb, the director of the E.R. pilot, and Steve Shill, an Emmy Winner for DEXTER. Once again, that series lasted only one season, but at that point, the final season of THE O.C. was about to begin production and Schwartz and Savage asked me to be their lead editor. It was a completely thrilling homecoming to a show that I had trained to be an editor for, but never had the opportunity to lead edit an episode. I dove headfirst into the series – this time reteaming with Norman Buckley as a director now, which was incredibly rewarding. By the end of that season, Savage and Schwartz asked me to edit their pilot of Gossip Girl. I spent 3 years editing that series, some of the very best work I have done to this day.
What happened to my mindset during those formative experiences was that I was able to focus heavily on creating architectural relationships between characters, often using multiple shifting eyelines to elevate a dramatic experience within a scene. I was dialing in on how actors moved within a space, how I could create a consistent performance with multiple takes (often required when dealing with younger actors who might not get it all in one) and creating what I now understand is a signal-based editing style. Every cut had to have a direct purpose to the emotional storytelling, and I had to be able to defend every decision I made from a story or character perspective and not just fixing a technical problem. I had figured out what kind of editor I was – which felt like the same person I have always been – someone dedicated to details, design, and bringing forth an emotional response from the audience.
This approach dovetailed really well on my next major project when I edited 3 seasons of the J.J. Abrams series FRINGE. I used my purposeful editorial style to help the team create a wonderful emotional story of a very real family navigating an unreal world. I learned so much about using silence and music from the showrunners J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner, all of which I integrated into my craft knowledge. I helped Mr. Wyman edit his feature film DEAD MAN DOWN directed by Niels Arden Oplev (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO) and worked with Oplev subsequently on the first season of Stephen King’s UNDER THE DOME series produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.
Then came a shift in my career. As luck would have it, John McNamara (of FASTLANE) was setting up to make a series about Charles Manson with David Duchovny and, after 12 years since we’d last worked together, he wanted me to come on board as lead editor and a creative post producer of AQUARIUS. I was allowed to direct an episode in the second season, which gave me an entirely new perspective on how critical editing is to the process of making television. This led to a 4 season run editing, producing and directing on the medical ethics drama THE RESIDENT with one of my heroes, the editor turned director, writer and showrunner Amy Holden Jones. Jones has one of the most brilliant editorial minds, and she really helped me focus on exactly what matters to take a story and structure it in the most effective way. A chance encounter on another short-lived show led me to edit seasons 1 and 3 of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY – which was the ultimate use of the editing style that I have been working on for over 2 decades now. And then came THE LAST OF US.
PH: How did you become involved with The Last of Us?
Timothy Good: Oddly enough – not how one might assume. I have known Craig Mazin for many years through my husband, Elias Madias, who is a fellow screenwriter. They have been friends for a long time. I was just the husband who also lived there. Every so often, Craig and his wife, Melissa, and a variety of other writers would come to our house for some form of dinner party and game night which I loved hosting. It once involved a potluck style with recipes from the 1970s that folks dared each other to eat. At one of these dinners, Craig shared his trailer for CHERNOBYL with the group, and I was completely transfixed by the material in a way I haven’t been in ages. I reached out to Craig and said that I would love to work with him on anything else he does in the future. I promised I was not just a husband but also a dedicated film editor, and he had seen my work on THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY as his kids were fans. Almost 3 years later, one of THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY directors was hired onto THE LAST OF US and that created the perfect conditions for me to finally get to work on one of Craig’s projects.
PH: What did preparation look like on your end for this project?
Timothy Good: I had none! A scheduling conflict led to me being hired late in the process, so, I was thrown into the world of THE LAST OF US immediately upon landing in Calgary, Canada to begin working alongside the production. I never played the game and still have not! My first assignment was Episode 3, after which I was asked to edit the pilot.
PH: Episode three has been a fan-favorite episode and the most talked about so far. Did you expect such a reaction to Bill and Frank's story?
Timothy Good: I suppose I didn’t expect the extent of the reaction, but I did expect some reaction to it – both positive and negative. I knew that it was good because the director’s cut had made Craig Mazin “cry so hard it hurt.” That was a good sign since he was the author. I had poured my heart and all of the experiences in both my life and this craft that led me to this point into that episode. It was the best screenplay I have ever read and I may never read better.
PH: How about the negative response the episode might've had for some viewers?
Timothy Good: In my analysis, there are two camps of negative responses to that episode – the first camp are gamers who insisted that the series follow the game to the letter, and to them I don’t have much to say. That’s not my decision, and Craig and Neil Druckmann (the co-creator of the series and Creator/Director of the original games) have been clear that the series had to make some detours to not just present a shot for shot recreation of the game. The second camp of negative responses were mostly homophobic, and the ultimate feeling I got from that experience is that the intensity of the venom and review bombing towards this episode meant that we were massively successful in portraying a universal human story. That doesn’t sit well with those who would choose hatred of the “other” and discrimination. To me, this was their attempt at sabotaging as much as they could what they knew would connect so many others around the world in opposition to their unflinching bigotry.
PH: Can you share some of the small details that you've been able to infuse into some of the episodes that some of the viewers might have missed?
Timothy Good: There are so many small details that I’ve infused into the episodes that it would be impossible to list them all. I tend to take a very surgical approach to performance – what I mean by that is that if I don’t like how a performance works in terms of the exact rendering of the dialogue or the pacing between the lines, I will adjust it using the craft of editing. This means replacing words, or even syllables from other takes if I feel it necessary for the emotional performance to be at its best – shortening pauses from a character’s multiple lines if I feel they are excessive, and splitting the frame in half to create a shot or a pace that didn’t exist in production and I need it to happen now. Luckily, the fans of TLOU are incredibly sharp so most every little detail that was infused into the series was pointed out - from giraffes on the road in episode 2 to the Naughty Dog Game Company logo on the keychain in episode 7. But perhaps my favorite detail that I was partially responsible for was the moment in episode 3 when Frank (Murray Bartlett) stares at the mantlepiece before the final dinner with Bill (Nick Offerman). Decades prior, when Frank first met Bill, Frank took a moment with this same mantlepiece, which was coated in a layer of dust and contained old black and white photos of most likely dead relatives, antique boxes and dusty wine bottles from the past. So when I was watching the dailies for the final dinner, I saw that in Murray’s coverage, he was staring at the mantlepiece which was off camera, and then smiling before Bill entered. I recognized when looking at the wider image of the scene which included the mantlepiece that it had now contained fresh flowers, other vibrant plants and was beautifully lit. Since this reaction was not in the screenplay itself, I decoded that Frank was recognizing that he had a purpose in this life. I never found out if it was something Murray came up with on his own, or if Craig or Peter Hoar (the director of the episode) had come up with this on the day, but I just saw it and said to myself – this is the moment that sums up the entirety of their relationship, and it can’t be overlooked. So, I carved the space for this moment before the actual scene took place, and despite looking for cuts to help us with our run time – this was never on the table. It is a wonderful small detail that I hope the viewer can look at again and recognize that this small gesture feels integral to the impact that their relationship had.
PH: How would you describe your collaborative approach? What was it like working alongside Emily?
Timothy Good: I am very interested in the collaborative process. I find that it elevates a central idea and allows it to flourish in its best form. What that means for me is that I love to get feedback. I will spend several hours working on some central idea for a sequence or a scene, but then I want to open it up immediately to feedback and critique. I don’t like scenes to hide in the shadows. Inevitably, someone else is going to be able to enlighten me to some other idea, be it central or peripheral, that improves on the existing material. I welcome ideas from anyone. It doesn’t mean that I am going to perform every one, but I want to make sure I am open to others so I don’t trudge forward with story blind spots. In that respect, I love working alongside Emily because she has a similar desire to watch the process of editing and ask questions as we go. Emily would sit in with me once her assistant editor duties were completed and we would go through scenes cut for cut, experimenting with ideas, auditioning concepts, and making sure no stone was left unturned. Once that scene was complete from an editorial perspective, then we would discuss the idea of how the scene can be elevated by sound design. Since Emily is so gifted and adept with the creative art of sound design, that became her big creative contribution to the episodes at first. But in addition, I would often allow Emily to edit scenes and provide her with feedback to help her create her own editorial style as she learns the craft. It is a very symbiotic relationship which I value so much.
PH: How did you and Emily highlight Elle's love life in episode 7?
Timothy Good: The best strategy we utilized to highlight Ellie’s love life is that we made sure that we were playing into the hopes, the elation, the fears, and the complexity of first love by grounding it firmly in Ellie’s point of view. Add to that a situation where it is a uniquely queer love story, and the stakes are higher because if the feelings are not reciprocated, then it means that the entire relationship may be broken. As gay people ourselves, Emily and I both understood these intense feelings, and we monitored Bella Ramsey’s performance of Ellie to make sure we highlighted what it might feel like to be in her shoes. For example, we wanted to see in the mall how Ellie is able to transition from feeling hurt and maybe even unworthy or unattractive (when Riley claims she can’t imagine her in women’s lingerie) to the enhanced heartbeat of the feeling when the person you love is holding your hand and telling you to close your eyes and surprising you with an unexpected wonder – and then making sure those feelings are suppressed into the very teenage way of playing it cool and pretending that those moments didn’t just happen. We wanted to be able to show that Ellie is expressing feelings of love, but initially in a very coded fashion that could be interpreted as just close friendship and easily dismissed as an obvious misunderstanding. And ironically, when Riley told Ellie she couldn’t imagine her in women’s lingerie, that in and of itself created an unfortunate misunderstanding because at that very moment Riley awkwardly exposes her own feelings for Ellie, but in that coded way that can easily be laughed off. Sadly for Ellie, it made her think she was not attractive. In the end, it was all about staying close to Ellie and allowing her feelings to be experienced by the audience. However, once Ellie realizes that they are about to be torn apart by circumstance – she loses that pretense and challenges Riley, even giving her space to explain her intentions for this night, right up close, not unlike how Frank gave Bill the space to answer the question “Who was the girl you were singing about?” in Episode 3.
PH: What's the importance of queer storytelling for you? How did you collaborate with Emily to bring those stories to life on-screen authentically?
Timothy Good: It is absolutely of critical importance to me, especially now that we are in what feels like a regressive era against queer people, for no apparent motivation other than cheap and hopefully fleeting political gain. It is critical for me to be able to help show what it truly is like to inhabit this skin – these feelings – and hopefully to show the world that we are no different…except that we have had to hide ourselves and often live in fear of revealing who we are. It is one thing to not be able to hide a characteristic of yourself, but it is quite another when there is an option to hide who you are.
Episode 3 gave me that opportunity to pour every experience of my life as a gay man, every struggle, every nuance, every coded conversation, but mostly the joy of being able to live your life freely and to have that life seen as respected. The authenticity of our abilities to bring those stories to life lies in the collaboration of many other queer partners who were key components of THE LAST OF US cast and crew including but not limited to Murray Bartlett (Frank) and Peter Hoar (director of episode 3) helping encode authentic performances on the day. We of course had Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Liza Johnson (director of episode 7) collaborating to mold a young girl’s perspective of falling in love with your best friend and what it feels like to open yourself up to that person. There were many, many creative individuals in the queer community who helped along the way, but in the end, it was left to Emily and me to interpret those feelings for an audience in a way that was hopefully not cloying, not pushing, not manipulative, but presented in a realistic and grounded way that would feel like a universally held understanding between the characters and our audience.
PH: How long was the entire editing process and how did the episodes you edited differ in approach?
Timothy Good: We started working in early September 2021 and finished the sound mixes around mid-January 2023. There were multiple directors for the series so there was, per usual, a slight deviation in the way that directors would stage events, but our job for each was to try to maintain a consistent and grounded approach that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann had decided was the best way to highlight the story and relationship arcs that were crucial to the success of the whole endeavor. That roadmap really served us well.
PH: Why did you choose to incorporate flashbacks throughout the series? How critical were those flashbacks to the story as a whole?
Timothy Good: Ultimately, that is the decision of Craig and Neil and their process of writing. Building off of their excellent scripts, in the editing room I work to make sure each of these small side stories inform the character and intentions. The pilot contained two mini sonic flashbacks and one visual flashback moment – the shot/reverse shot couplet of Joel and the US Army soldier 20 years in the past – which was something I integrated at the very end of the episode, just before Joel beats the FEDRA soldier to death in the present. In combination, those were part of a triptych approach to build an understanding of the internal life of Joel and invite the audience to relate that despite the 20 years that have passed since Sarah’s death. Not a day goes by that Joel doesn’t have private moments of emotional duress where he relives the moment where he could not save her. Those feelings overwhelm and motivate Joel to attack the FEDRA soldier threatening Ellie and the hope was that the flashbacks justified the ferocity of the violence to the audience.
PH: Did you have a sequence that was most impactful to you? Why?
Timothy Good: I have so many, but one that I have been thinking a lot about lately is the sequence that starts with Ellie having a heart-to-heart talk with Sam (Keivonn Woodard) in episode 5, culminating with the death of Sam and his brother Henry. After watching over 40 days of dailies for this cross-boarded pair of episodes (4 and 5), I had become so intimately close to the characters of Henry and Sam due to their exquisite performances. I knew that this sequence – which I saved for last – would be very difficult to do, both editorially and emotionally. I spent many hours watching every frame of the night scene and the subsequent morning’s events. The conversation at night utilized multiple forms of communication including vocal and ASL (American Sign Language), but primarily with a child’s “Magic Slate” (which allows one to write on a wax pad covered by an acetate sheet so you can lift the sheet when you want to erase what you’ve written and start over). The scene had a lot of “lines” so I designed an approach where you never saw the same editorial presentation for the magic slate with each successive line – sometimes you would see what was being written – other times it would be revealed to you. Sometimes it was from the writer’s POV – sometimes from the POV of the person waiting to see what was being written. As I neared the completion of the scene, I recognized something in the lighting of the wide shot that made Ellie look like a religious icon – silhouetted in front of a circular lamp’s light. And in that moment, I realized that this scene was about Ellie believing that she is a saint-like figure that can promise to cure Sam from the infected bite that should doom him to infection himself. Everyone has told Ellie at this point that she is special, and she believes it. It is not known by the audience at this point whether this is true or not, but I felt the audience would be suspicious that it would not work. To counteract/assuage that suspicion, I used one of Gustavo Santaoalla’s beautiful cues from the game that imbued tenderness and care during the moment that Ellie promises Sam – foregrounding her character’s benevolence versus the plot of whether it would work or not. For the remainder of the episode, we used no music until the viewer saw the Magic Slate that reads “I’M SORRY” as a marker on Sam’s fresh grave. This was a choice I initially made because I knew how devastating the next scene would be when Henry kills an infected Sam and then, unable to live with that decision, kills himself as well – all within the span of seconds. I learned how much Craig values restraint and raw emotional presentation so this would fall in line with that mantra. I basically blockaded myself in the edit bay for several hours to work it all out, utilizing a combination of eyeline crosses designed by director Jeremy Webb to showcase the shifting dynamics within the scene. It was heartbreaking to see the reactions of both Pedro and Bella in their respective characters – so much so that the violence of the suicide gunshot was not shown in favor of the reaction of Ellie seeing this in front of her. I had a very hard time showing this scene to people, as I knew how much they would be moved, but also because I was feeling the effects of seeing this moment over and over. I gave that sequence every ounce of my own emotions and techniques, to honor the incredible work done by all in creation this tragic story. It is one of the best sequences I have ever been entrusted.
PH: What challenges did you encounter, and how did you approach those?
Timothy Good: Considering the incredible material, actors and directors we were blessed to work with, most of the challenges we encountered were based on production issues that were outside of anyone’s control – such as weather! A very specific instance was in episode 3. Bill and Frank have an argument outside where Frank reveals that he has been chatting with Tess and Joel and wants them to be their friends. Unfortunately, a bank of clouds appeared after they made the turnaround to Bill’s side. Frank was in full sun, but Bill was now in full shadow. Add to that, during some of Frank’s takes, his white T shirt was showing through his sleeves while mostly it was not – normally this would not bother me, but because it is white – it sticks out like crazy when you try to edit shots back to back when it is not there. These were pretty big issues, and we were tasked with figuring out a way to mitigate. Ultimately, the decision was made to edit the scene strictly for performance and architecture and see if we could adjust the scene in color timing. We did just that, and we were reminded that a good scene and great performances will overrule perceived production issues. Alex Wang, our genius VFX Supervisor was also able to remove the white T shirt whenever it popped up inadvertently. In the end, no one notices until I point it out.
PH: As an editor, how did you get to keep the heart and core of each character or story line through your editing choices?
Timothy Good: For me, it is always about building character and relationships through nuance and negative spaces. I want the audience to be able to hyper focus on the characters, and specifically their faces and body language, to question their motivations, to guess at their intentions, and to wonder about their honesty. If they are also talking at the same time, or someone else is talking while they are reacting, the audience’s attention is divided into the puzzle solving of the dialogue being said and the emotional detective work of the characters - which I prefer. This is where I feel my approach helped the audience relate to both Joel and Ellie, and even the perceived villains like the character of Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey) who wants to kill Henry Burrell (Lamar Johnson), but only because she has lost her own brother due to Henry’s decisions. I try to follow the emotional processes of each character by foregrounding their decisions, transitions, and reactions – and not necessarily flood the scene with fast-paced dialogue. I then try to balance whose transitions are of the most critical importance at any given moment and hope that the audience will be able to follow the thread of the characters’ arcs as the story moves forward.
PH: What have you learned (professionally and personally) about yourself as an editor over the years?
Timothy Good: Quite honestly, I’ve learned that I am a perfectionist, which is a double-edged sword. I cannot allow a scene/sequence/act/episode to go by without making sure I have given it my best efforts, even before making changes with our collaborators. This applies to anything I have done in the past and will do in the future. However, I am doing my best to balance my life because I have also learned that the only way to be able to bring any kind of relatability and insight to the work we do is to experience as much life as you can.
PH: Can you share any upcoming projects?
Timothy Good: My only upcoming project is to make sure that I am available for season 2 of THE LAST OF US. At the moment, I am returning to the wild, so to speak, to re-experience life and other cultures. This helps me maintain and elevate my ability to tell intimate personal relationship stories, no matter how large and unwieldy the world is around them – and that’s ultimately what I love doing.
PH: Hi Emily! How are you today? Can you provide a bit of your professional background and how you became interested in editing?
Emily Mendez: Hello! I’m doing great, thanks for asking. I’ve been interested in editing since I was a teenager. I would use my family’s old handycam to re-create my favorite films with my siblings, Zach and Melissa. Windows Movie Maker was my software of choice during those early days. This all led me to studying film and editing at TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, and the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. After graduating from AFI, I worked in behind-the-scenes/EPK editorial for a couple years at a company called NR8R in Los Angeles. I then made my entrance into television, where I’ve happily been ever since.
PH: Can you share some of the projects you've worked on and how those projects have impacted your career (and mindset on your work) thus far?
Emily Mendez: My first television show was a FOX drama called Rosewood. This was my introduction into television assistant editing. On that show, I was lucky enough to work for Nicole Vaskell who is an incredibly talented editor. It’s always difficult to get that first job as a television assistant without any previous television experience, but Nicole was the one who took that chance on me. Eventually, Nicole and I moved to another FOX show called The Resident (which happened to have another editor on the show named Timothy Good!). It was on season 3 of The Resident that I eventually paired up with Tim. I met so many incredible people through that show, where I saw a shining example of what a healthy and supportive post production team looks like.
PH: How did you become involved with The Last of Us?
Emily Mendez: When Tim got the offer for The Last of Us, we had been working together as a solid team for a couple years. I was so excited (and grateful) that he wanted to take me with him to this special show!
PH: What did preparation look like on your end for this project?
Emily Mendez: We didn’t have much time to prepare because we went straight from The Umbrella Academy to The Last of Us. However, I’ve always been a huge fan of the game so I was able to lean into that knowledge when transitioning to the show.
PH: Can you share the team's collaborative approach? What was it like working alongside Timothy?
Emily Mendez: Tim is one of my heroes. He is also such a talented editor. I’ve been learning from him since my very first day of assisting him and it has forever changed me! In the cutting room, collaboration is one of the things we prioritize. From the beginning, Tim and I are always honest with each other when reviewing scenes. We are each other’s first audience and we utilize that as much as we can. We also incorporate sound design and music into our cuts as early as possible. Sound is such an important component!
PH: How did you and Timothy highlight Elle's love life in episode 7? Was it something you really discussed at length before diving in?
Emily Mendez: Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann gave us the most beautiful scripts to work with. When I first read episode 7 I was so filled with emotion and could not wait to see it on screen. Tim and I discussed Ellie's love story thoroughly once we started cutting dailies. Dailies are when we really get into the details since we start to see how it's all visually tying together. Left Behind was always my favorite part of the game, so I was beyond thrilled when Tim told me I was going to co-edit that episode with him. Riley and Ellie hold a special place in my heart!
PH: How important is queer storytelling for you? How did you collaborate with Timothy to bring those stories to life on-screen authentically?
Emily Mendez: Queer representation is so important. When I was a teenager, queer movies and television made a big difference in my ability to accept myself. It's a dream to have edited storylines and characters that I would have admired as a kid. It’s possible for an editor to edit anything but when you have real life experiences that you can incorporate into your work it really helps elevate the material. Tim and I put so much care into pulling moments from the dailies that felt truest to us.
PH: How long was the entire editing process and how did the episodes you edited differ in approach?
Emily Mendez: About a year and a half. And thanks to both Tim and Craig, I was able to move from assistant editor to editor during that time. I'm so grateful they gave me the opportunity to do so! Our approach was consistently staying true to the story and characters. During our co-edits, Tim and I would discuss any big scenes we wanted to edit and split up the episodes accordingly. We’d also try to edit scenes that ran along the same storylines. For instance, I was able to edit all the Anna and most of the Marlene scenes in the finale episode. This was a great way to work on as many through lines as possible.
PH: Why did you choose to incorporate flashbacks throughout the series? How critical were those flashbacks to the story as a whole?
Emily Mendez: These were scripted, so it's something we worked closely on with Craig. Using flashbacks was a great way to deepen our connection with our characters. The flashbacks that always bring tears to my eyes are Joel’s flashbacks of Sarah in episode 6. Tim cut that scene beautifully.
PH: What challenges did you encounter, and how did you approach those?
Emily Mendez: One of my biggest challenges was disconnecting from the characters and storylines after work hours. I would carry those emotions home because of how deeply I connected with the material. It was quite a gift, despite the fact that sometimes I did need extra hugs from my dogs after working on some of the heavier scenes!
PH: As an editor, how did you get to keep the heart and core of each character or story line through your editing choices?
Emily Mendez: When I’m watching dailies, I look at every piece we have. As I see bits that stand out to me, I mark them with locators in Avid. I mark things for all kinds of reasons: clarity, geography, story, emotion. These selects help me build the edit in a way that best serves the story and characters. Tim once told me that this is similar to preparing your ingredients for a recipe. This preparation can set you up for success or failure. That analogy has forever stuck with me, and I always strive to find the best ingredients for the scene.
PH: What have you learned (professionally and personally) about yourself as an editor over the years?
Emily Mendez: That I love my job! Every day I get to go to work and tell stories. I've also learned that the process of editing is like a constantly evolving puzzle. I have loved puzzles since I was young, so it's nice to know that I have stayed true to myself.
PH: Can you share any upcoming projects?
Emily Mendez: I’m hoping to have some upcoming projects soon but for now I’m catching up on home projects and spending some quality time with my wife Rachel, our two cats, and two dogs.
Comments
There are no comments on this blog post.