#440 – {Extended Edition} Cut/daily Meets... Dune Prophecy's Editing Team
You're reading the extended edition of the Cut/daily Meets... interview with the Dune Prophecy editing team. This version includes the full answers from every editor.
If you want the regular-size edition, click here.
Enjoy!
This is the first ever Cut/daily Meets... interview to feature four editors.
But you're in for a treat with some sage advice from the quartet of editors who brought HBO's Dune Prophecy to the screen.
These are all seriously experienced editors.
Dune: Prophecy is an intricate series with a large ensemble cast to manage, character and narrative arcs to interweave and a huge universe to establish and explore.
The kind of challenging problems editors relish to tackle!
Unabridged or curated - the choice is yours!
As I asked some bonus questions, and there are four times as many answers, I've curated or trimmed the team's responses into this regular-sized edition of the interview.
However, you can read the grande, unabridged edition here.
Which you should absolutely do if you want double the fun.
Spoiler Alert: There are minor plot details ahead.
What was your process for co-editing episodes and how did that differ from your solo episodes?
AA: Collaborating with Anna on episode six was incredible. The episode was such a massive undertaking that we ended up an hour and 20 minutes long. So, you can imagine that we had several cuts that were much longer in previous iterations before that.
Anna and I bounced scenes off of each other. We asked for each other‘s opinions more often than I would on a solo episode. It was really nice getting each other‘s creative take on a scene.
Sometimes, it was just based on our availability that day - if one of us was free to do the notes on a scene and take another pass at it, one of us would just jump right on it. It was nice because Anna and I really value each other‘s opinions, and we have a similar editing style, so our collaboration really meshed.
I’ve been a fan of her editing since I met her on season 2 of Westworld. I truly think that the episode is much better because we were working together.
For example, the mind-killer sequence in episode six was a huge collaboration between the two of us because there could be so many ways that sequence could be cut. We passed it back and forth many, many times. We pitched each other different ideas. We talked through different options with visual effects, and we ultimately landed on the version we felt was the best.
The way it was shot was that both of our actors were on blue screen. They had practical ice below their feet, and their costumes were practical, but everything else could pretty much be anything we wanted, which inherently leaves a lot of room for play in editing.
We could manipulate it to be whatever we want; we can make them see whatever we want, and we could make them walk in any direction we want.
In collaboration with visual effects, we created transitions between young Valya and our present-day Valya. So overall it was just a really big collaboration that was made better because we were using two brains instead of one.
AH: My approach to both solo and collaborative editing is the same at a core level.
What I love about co-editing is having another perspective from the get-go. We initially split episode six in half, but we would watch all of the dailies regardless of whether we were cutting a particular scene or not.
Amelia is such a smart and intuitive editor. It was invaluable to me to have somebody I could go to and get their take on that day’s footage. Our back-and-forth dialogue on the episode continued throughout our time working on it. We’d pass scenes back and forth if one of us needed a fresh take on something or if one of us had an idea we wanted to show.
Having a co-editor also made the notes process much easier. We never really stuck to our assigned halves. We would always dive in and help wherever our time could be spent best.
Amelia and I have a very similar editing style and aesthetic, but we each bring different talents to the table. That meant that we could each tackle notes that suited us best.
Solo editing can sometimes feel like you’re a bit adrift at sea. Having a collaborator as talented and as enthusiastic as Amelia made the process so much better. I really feel like we were able to bring out more in the episode than either of us could have alone.
SR: Originally, I was slated to edit episode 5, but due to the size and logistics of our show, Mark and I decided to co-edit it. I completed an early assembly, and then Mark took a pass and worked on the director’s cut.
It was such a joy to step away, let Mark and the director, Anna Foerster, shape the episode, and then come back with fresh eyes during the Producers’ Cut. I absolutely loved what Mark and Anna had done with it, and diving back in at that stage was incredibly rewarding.
Mark is the best collaborator, so getting to be on Evercasts with him and work together in this way was such a delight. This episode really took a village—our amazing assistant editors, Brian Santistevan and Tim Kuper, both earned additional editing credits on it as well.
It was such a collaborative effort, and I couldn’t be prouder of how it turned out.
How did you develop the editorial differences between the inner-mind sequences and those in reality?
AA: We were really intentional about establishing a language for each of these kinds of sequences. We can play outside the box of traditional editing rules when we’re in a mind space or in a dream.
In editing, we found that the flashes of the thumper, for example, worked really well when we were in the language of a dream sequence. We discovered this while trying different versions of Emeline’s dream at the top of episode 4. So then, we began to implement that in other dream sequences.
We also discovered that letting the sands of Arrakis start to invade the dream’s physical space (like the sand pouring from the walls in the well of the sisterhood during Emeline’s dream). So, once we started to feel like certain elements were working in these sequences, we began to implement them in other places as well.
AH: I had two “inner-mind” sequences in the episodes I worked on: Lila’s agony trial in episode 2, and Valya experiencing the “mind-killer” virus in episode 6.
In both of these sequences, it was important for the creative team to start the inner-mind portion in stillness. We wanted the audience and the character to be grounded in a new space, and to create an eerie tension with the unknown around them.
As both of the sequences evolved, so did the pace and the chaos. In Lila’s agony, she is thrown into this dark, cavernous, mostly silent space. As she starts to move around and explore her surroundings, we start to hear more of the sounds around her.
As her ancestors start to take form and surround her, the cutting becomes more frenetic to reflect the actions of the ancestors, and the sound and music become a cacophony mirroring the chaos in Lila’s mind.
In Valya’s mind-killer space, we start with Valya on a relatively quiet ice field. We take a beat to allow Valya and the audience to explore their surroundings. We hear the disembodied voice of Valya’s brother, Griffin, and hear him crashing through the ice.
The pace of the sequence now increases as Valya runs to save her brother. The cutting becomes more frenetic as Valya’s fear increases, and slows as she calms to mimic the effects of the virus on her brain.