We’re honored to share that we’re nominated for a Webby Award for best editing for the trailer we cut for Martin Bell’s film “Ward 81 Voices”.
Voting is open for the people’s choice award now until April 18th! Click the link here to cast your vote.
Editor: Chris Franklin
Color: Chris Ryan at Nice Shoes
Mix: Tom Jucarone at Sound Lounge
Music: “God Bless the Child” by Eric Dolphy
Senior editor at Big Sky Edit, NYC on morning rituals, connecting with people and why rhythm is profoundly human.
Valerie Lasser is a senior editor at Big Sky Edit, NYC. Cutting commercials for over 25 years with agencies nationwide. Other works include music videos, documentaries, and short films. During her career as an editor she has been dedicated to teaching the craft. Active volunteer for many non-profits mentoring up and coming talent in the world of post production with the tools and mindset needed for success in today’s industry. Part of what drives this native Long Islanders creativity is the spontaneity and support of her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Huge supporter of animal rescue.
LBB> The first cut is the deepest: how do you like to start an editing project?
Valerie> The morning ritual is the most crucial to me. Up at sunrise; walk with my dogs, and exercise (pickleball or yoga if I am lucky). I am far more productive, and detail oriented throughout the day with some zone minutes packed in before nine. A great final cut starts with organisation, and it’s worth the extra time up front. I need to prepare for a proper introduction to the footage I am about to meet for the first time. By the time I have clients in the room, I have a very intimate relationship with their footage and can speak to it in ways that answer their questions as well as surprise them.
LBB> Non-editors often think of editing just in technical terms but it’s integral to the emotion and mood of a film. How did you develop that side of your craft?
Valerie> Before I was 10 years old, I would record a lot of radio broadcasts on my dual cassette boombox. Then I would secretly place some audio cassette tape recorders around my friends or families’ houses during gatherings and ask people questions without knowing they were being recorded. I would later edit interesting mix tapes combining music, foley sound effects, and dialogue to give to my grandparents for their anniversary, as one example. Not long after I started this, people began to make requests. It was incredible to me at that young age that I could make a room laugh, cry, or both within a two-five-minute playback. The biggest take away from it all was acknowledging at such a young age the passion it took to work and edit until it hit a cord. That amazing feeling you get from connecting with people (an audience) is what sparked my journey.
LBB> How important is an understanding of story and the mechanics of story?
Valerie> In print, “editing” is considered the final touches or corrections. For film directors and film editors, editing equates to storytelling. The application is just the tool used to glue the pieces together. It’s crucial to understand the original idea, and with ads, it’s a collaborative effort. Once I have the footage, I can zero in on the nuances that lend to a dilemma, progression, and resolution. Good storytelling exceeds expectations, especially with the element of sound design. As “a picture is worth a thousand words”, a sound can be worth a thousand pictures. Mastery lies in grasping story mechanics and its profound visual and auditory impact.
LBB> Rhythm and a sense of musicality seem to be intrinsic to good editing (even when it’s a film without actual music) – how do you think about the rhythm side of editing, how do you feel out the beats of a scene or a spot? And do you like to cut to music?
Valerie> Rhythm is profoundly human, and the basis of how we express ourselves. When I am working on a cut, most of my ideas are heard in my head before seen. The sound of it coming to me before the visual. I spend a lot of time walking at quiet hours like minutes before sunrise, and it’s in these silences where the melody of nature can quickly become chaotic. Regardless of editing with or without music, the ability to sense warmth, distance, aromas, and flavours in a scene remains paramount. These sensations stem from the sequence's inherent rhythm, a natural cadence born from our own experiences. Most intriguing is the rhythm of silence. It can serve as a pivotal bridge between two crucial moments in the story, whether bookended by music, dialogue, or sound effects.
I also love cutting music videos, which is “cutting to music”, but not necessarily syncing to the beat. Music videos entail storytelling of their own. It’s just as important to understand the lyrics and create a feeling as powerful as the song itself in a good edit. More often than not it’s an action within the scene that hits a beat rather than a cut.
LBB> Tell us about a recent editing project that involved some interesting creative challenges.
Valerie> I will hit on a recent project which was shot with real people vs. actors. They were given a scripted version of the “storyboard” to read, but asked to ad lib with a brilliant interview led by the director. The challenge is to always show your client the board, but then hopefully something better. We knew we had what the brand “expected”, but we found a way to creatively construct a performance that was better. We are always fortunate when we land on the same page with the creatives and the director with a spot everyone loves.
LBB> In the US we know that editors are much more heavily involved across the post production process than in Europe - what’s your favourite part of that side of the job?
Valerie> The collaboration. There’s no greater feeling than the moment a picture is locked and we can prep for finishing. I applaud the amazing colour and graphic artists I have been honoured to work with over the years for their amazing talent. I feel very close to the mixing artist since I do all my own sound design, and I would say this is a close second to my favourite. The most gratifying part is having the trust and confidence in the amazing assistant editor that has seen the job from beginning to end. They serve as a sounding board through the whole process and their attention to detail throughout the project shines in the finishing stages. Like with any craft, it’s in the learning and the teaching where we all expand our talents. I learn something new every job from the amazingly talented people I am blessed I work with.
LBB> What’s harder to cut around – too much material or not enough? (And why?)
Valerie> That’s tough to answer. Every job presents challenges. When you’re talking too much footage, some would argue there is no such thing. Too much could also mean less intention, but more creative opportunity to mould something unexpected. The same could be said for not enough. To have to create footage to complete a story could have endless possibility too. I would have to say both are not easy, but if you’re an editor chances are you accept both challenges because that’s what we love to do.
LBB> Which commercial projects are you proudest of and why?
Valerie> As a creative partner with Ogilvy, I cut an American Express ad “Members Projects” which explored the history of the brand utilising footage from 50 years of archives. It was my “Riding Giants” moment reviving archival footage from film to one inch tape, to Digi Beta, and working with our amazing VFX team to make a spot that was greatly celebrated in the advertising world. I’m truly in love with the process, and honestly proud of every project I work on, but this one was a little more special.
LBB> There are so many different platforms for film content now, and even in advertising something can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of hours. As an editor, are you seeing a change in the kind of projects you’re getting from brands and agencies?
Valerie> The biggest constant change is that projects are aiming to please more specific audiences across a multitude of platforms. No matter the length of the content, it’s just as important for an editor to understand the story we are trying to tell as it is the audience we are telling it to.
LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? What films or spots epitomise good editing for you?
Valerie> Joel Cox has always impressed me with his very sincere style and has collaborated with Clint Eastwood on many films. Walter Murch is my biggest influence for his attention to sound, “Apocalypse Now” would be a great example. Dede Allen has edited some of the most amazing work in the history of filmmaking, and through her career has helped evolve the role of the editor. Not only her attention to sound, as she was a sound editor first, but she has also brought up many amateur directors in her earlier days. That’s a few, but there are just too many to mention in one answer because I cannot get enough of all the amazing new work coming out every day. Quinten Tarantino is someone I would love to work with.
LBB> How does editing in the commercial world differ from the film world and TV world?
Valerie> Short form for me has the power of pressure; I think I work better at times under pressure. With deadlines and tiers of approvals the challenge is pleasing the many before the world.
I love a good documentary, as they require a lot of collaboration with the director up front. In a perfect world, the doc becomes something more than anyone expected in the edit room.
With scripted films or television, it’s a little more mechanical at first, then you finesse it and bring it to life adding style and technique.
LBB> Have you noticed any trends or changes in commercial editing over recent years?
Valerie> All forms of editing have become more available to everyone as well as no one at all, and of course I mean AI. I have a hard time wrapping my head around anything that starts with AI. I think it can be useful, but in a very non-human way. With advertising you must have people at the centre of it, people are your audience. Thoughtful and artistic messaging is more powerful than ever, and that’s because of talented people.
Matt is a New York City-based video editor with a diverse background ranging from commercial advertising to music videos and short films. He spent seven years at Blue Rock working up the ranks to Senior Assistant and joined Wax as an Assistant Editor in 2018. He was then promoted to Editor and worked on brands such as Urban Decay, Dick's Sporting Goods, and Avana, before joining the team at Big Sky in 2021. Hailing from Long Island NY, Matt grew up with a strong passion for music, film, and the arts, and is always looking for new and creative projects to work on.
LBB> The first cut is the deepest: how do you like to start an editing project?
Matt> Conceptually I like to understand the emotion I'm trying to convey to a viewer before I start any part of a project. Whether that comes from conversations with a director, the creative team, or even just watching down all the footage. It’s important to understand the emotional intent behind the material you’re working with. Once I understand where I’m trying to get emotionally, I can start to put things together through that lens and see what works and what doesn’t.
LBB> Non-editors often think of editing just in technical terms but it’s integral to the emotion and mood of a film. How did you develop that side of your craft?
Matt> I definitely learned the technical side of things first. You need to know how to execute an idea as it’s happening in your head so you know when it feels right emotionally. Editing is a very fluid process and momentum driven for me. Very much “being in the zone” so the longer it takes to execute an idea the more momentum you lose. Life is about minimising keystrokes for sure, and getting it to feel right definitely comes to mimicking those you learn from and a series of trial and error on your own.
LBB> How important is an understanding of story and the mechanics of story?
Matt> Understanding story is essential to anything you're working on. The structure needs to work in whatever format you’re working on - whether it's short form, long form, music videos, etc. All the editorial tricks, pacing, music and sound design choices all need to function in the larger context of the whole piece, otherwise it’s just not as impactful.
LBB> Rhythm and a sense of musicality seem to be intrinsic to good editing (even when it’s a film without actual music) – how do you think about the rhythm side of editing, how do you feel out the beats of a scene or a spot? And do you like to cut to music?
Matt> Cutting to music can be beneficial when it comes to setting mood or tone, but the picture always needs to work without it. You run the risk of cutting to the track instead of the picture and ending up with the edit feeling flat. I do however think audio is just as, if not more, important than picture overall so designing things sonically while working on the picture helps tremendously to find the pace of a scene. I find myself doing more sound design while cutting and making sure an edit works pacing wise and rhythmically and then adding in music towards the end of the process and then tweaking the picture if necessary.
LBB> Tell us about a recent editing project that involved some interesting creative challenges.
Matt> I just had a project that had some technical issues with the footage. An unpredictable stabiliser made for a lot of unplanned movement and sometimes wobbly and out of focus shots. The challenge then became - how do we embrace the footage we have to work with and what can we do to lean into this stylistically? This resulted in a more abstract edit and sound design than originally intended but it was a creative solution that worked really well and we managed to end up with a finished piece we were all really proud of.
LBB> In the US we know that editors are much more heavily involved across the post production process than in Europe - what’s your favourite part of that side of the job?
Matt> I love being involved in the creative process all the way through finishing. I try to be as precise as I can offline so I love being able to also be a part of the fine tuning in finishing. I particularly strive to be involved in the mix because I feel that it has such a strong impact on the final product.
LBB> What’s harder to cut around – too much material or not enough? (And why?)
Matt> Lacking material is always more difficult in my opinion. The more options you have, the more combinations of shots you can put together by an exponential amount. And although that can be challenging in its own way, that's where you can get really creative and do some unexpected things. When you have too little to work with, you're much more limited with what you can do. And although creative solutions oftentimes present themselves, the road to get there is usually much more challenging and at times the quality can suffer.
LBB> Which commercial projects are you proudest of and why?
Matt> It’s difficult for me to choose one, but the projects where I can leave my creative footprint are the ones I keep close to my heart. Usually the structure is a little looser and the footage is more abstract and that allows the edit to step to the foreground. In my experience this makes the spot better and allows me to do some real heavy lifting creatively. If I can accomplish that, it makes me feel like I've done my job well and contributed to the process in a successful way.
LBB> There are so many different platforms for film content now, and even in advertising something can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of hours. As an editor, are you seeing a change in the kind of projects you’re getting from brands and agencies?
Matt> Definitely. With recent projects there is always a social media aspect. Whether that be creating online only spots or just reformatting TVCs for social media. There's some really great work being done for web only and many of them no longer have time restrictions which is liberating in terms of what can be done in the edit.
LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? What films or spots epitomise good editing for you?
Matt> I have and always will look up to the editors who I've learned from. To me, they're the heroes in my editing career. I admire films or spots where the editing jumps off the screen and is more of the active creative force as opposed to disappearing into the background - Ray Lovejoy’s single famous cut in 2001: A Space Odyssey, for example. It’s a simple match cut, but it's an edit that spans thousands of years and shows the viewer so much story background in such a simple way.
LBB> How does editing in the commercial world differ from the film world and TV world?
Matt> Most of my work is in the commercial world, so switching to long form always presents a challenge for me. I always have to remind myself I have more time to let the unspoken moments breath. In long form you have so much more time to tell a story, and when you’re used to working in much shorter timelines, adjusting to a slower pace always takes a little bit of time.
LBB> Have you noticed any trends or changes in commercial editing over recent years?
Matt> There are always going to be stylistic trends that come and go in the commercial world. It’s an ever evolving medium especially as social media tends to drive trends on a scale we’ve never seen. The spots that stand the test of time are the ones that tell a compelling story and grab the viewer visually no matter what the format or stylistic trends that are happening at the moment. The good spots are the ones you remember years after they were made.
Editor Matt Elias is bringing his highly visual style of storytelling to the roster at New York-based boutique studio Big Sky Edit.
Elias was most recently with WAX, where he worked on ads for such brands as Vans, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Urban Decay, Maybelline and Avana.
Elias got his start at BlueRock (now LVLY), starting as an intern fresh out of SUNY Oswego, where he majored in film and video. While there he worked his way up to a senior assistant editor role, working closely with editor Olivier Wicki. It was from Wicki that Elias picked up what he calls his “frenetic” style of editing--the fashion-focused, visually driven look familiar to regular aficionados of hip hop videos and beauty ads.
Elias is also adept at forms such as docu-style or visual storytelling, and this is what impressed Big Sky founder/editor Chris Franklin and EP Sarah Van Tassel. “What we liked about his work was his feel for moving the story forward,” Franklin said. “His pacing has a lot to do with that; it serves the script or storyboard really well.”
There was a deeper connection, too: Elias had worked at BlueRock with current Big Sky head of production Ali Corsie, who recommended him. “We’ve been looking to expand our roster, and Matt’s personality seemed like a great fit for our team and our culture,” Van Tassel noted. “He’s talented and eager, and we were looking for someone to hit the ground running. Matt’s more than ready for the challenge; he’s down to earth, smart, and very personable.”
Elias said he’s eager to take on different kinds of assignments at Big Sky, moving him into new areas of narrative, such as dramatic and performance work, as his experience and expertise grows. “Your goals are to be able to work in as many styles as possible,” he remarked. “It provides you with more opportunities to learn, while still being able to occupy your own space as a unique talent.”
Franklin believes that for Elias, it’ll be an easy leap. “As an editor, Matt’s able to move fluidly between different styles and genres, and that ability enhances your skills as a storyteller. And by expanding on these skills, it just makes all of your work better.”
“We’re also looking forward to developing new client relationships that match his style,” added Van Tassel, in addition to expanding on our current ones with a fresh perspective, given his reel and his eye.”
Elias says he’s always been interested in film and video, and knew early on that he was leaning towards postproduction. “I was definitely one of those kids who was always playing with their Dad’s video camera,” he recalled, “and was fortunate to have a really great AV program in my high school. We got to try every aspect of video production from pre all the way to post, and I gravitated toward post immediately, so I knew I wanted to be an editor by the time I was 16.
“To me, editing is where the magic really happens, in putting all the puzzle pieces together and seeing your team’s work come to life in a big way,” he continues. “Solving puzzles in a way that can convey emotion to the viewer is really what I love about editing.”
This year, the AICP is commemorating the anniversary of the AICP Awards by putting together 10 videos, each representing a different category in the AICP Awards. The spots feature scenes from award-winning spots—from 1992 to the present. Check out the “Cinematography” spot below, cut by editor Chris Franklin!
To watch the other categories, visit for-craft-that-endures.com.
