Mastering Film Editing -- With the Kindest Cuts
Try out that clich茅 鈥� 鈥渢he whole is greater than the sum of its parts鈥� 鈥� on Waf谩 Jaffal, 2019 grad in Filmmaking. She鈥檒l likely tell you that the art also lies in culling, arranging and connecting the parts.
Just as some students have a knack for coding or architectural drawing, you could make the case that Waf谩 comes by filmmaking naturally. 鈥淔ilm was one of those things that I was automatically drawn to,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t’s like seeing a particular painting in a museum and it’s the only one that catches your eye and sticks with you. Choosing filmmaking as a career was the only听path I wanted.鈥�
While film students tend to gravitate to one sub-discipline or another, Waf谩 kept her eye on a specific prize: editing. 鈥淚 decided to pursue editing when I took a class at Woodbury,鈥� Waf谩 recalls. 鈥淚t was pretty much my favorite course because it was the true creative, most freeing outlet for me.鈥�
Which doesn鈥檛 mean film editing isn鈥檛 collegial.听 Interacting with the rest of the crew is how magic happens on the screen. 鈥淲ithout an editor, you don’t have a movie,鈥� she says. 鈥淓ditors are a necessity to directors, producers, executives, etc. We constantly have 鈥榟igher-ups鈥� come into the editors’ bay for notes, what they like, what they don’t, how they want to reorganize an episode, to make it a clearer story for the viewer. It’s very collaborative.听
鈥淓ditors shape the writing in the cuts the episodes go through,鈥� she says. 鈥淭here is an editor’s cut, director’s cut, producer’s cut, then network cut.听 It鈥檚 all about how finely the crew can sculpt an episode.鈥�
In a town packed with filmmakers and film programs, Woodbury stood out the old fashioned way: through word of mouth. 鈥淢y high school best friend suggested Woodbury and recommended that I get a campus tour,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen I arrived, I fell in love and immediately听submitted an application. This very hands-on film program is what truly hooked me.鈥�
Surprisingly enough, her on-campus muses proved to be psychology professors. 鈥淚 have a minor in psych and taking their classes — more specifically Viken Yacoubian’s classes — were amazing,鈥� she says. 鈥淢ovies and TV shows manipulate our emotions all the time, and taking those classes really made me feel like I can reach an audience.鈥�
Among off-campus muses, Waf谩 is inspired by the work of Chris Lebenzon, editor of 鈥渙ne of my favorite films of all time鈥� — Sweeney Todd, Demon Barber of Fleet Street. 听鈥淚 love editing to music myself and that movie is a musical, so I learned a lot about pacing and beats and moments from the editor’s work,鈥� she says.
Waf谩 secured an internship with a YouTube channel and quickly went to town. 鈥淭he guy who ran the channel posted a video one day saying that he needed an editor, so I immediately sent him an audition of my work,鈥� she recalls. 鈥淲hen I got hired my boss was very much like, 鈥楧o whatever, use this internship as a creative space.鈥欌�� Turned out that one of the videos she edited was among the most viewed on the channel. 听鈥淔elt pretty validated,鈥� she says.听 Waf谩 is currently working in post production on the HBO series, Westworld.听 “Interacting with the editors and watching each cut as we get closer and closer to the final project is thrilling,” she says.
Validation didn鈥檛 stop there. Woodbury recognized Waf谩 for the 鈥淪trongest Overall Work from the Class of 2019鈥� 鈥� an accolade she still can鈥檛 quite believe.听 鈥淭hat’s pretty crazy huh?鈥� she says. 听鈥淪ince I was a freshman I worked on senior theses, did an American Film Institute shoot. I did a lot. Sophomore year, I was already a 1st assistant director on a thesis shoot. When it was time for my senior thesis, I felt so ready. 听I was the first to shoot, got all the permits done, found locations, we did so much. Getting the award in front of my family made it wrap up college in a pretty bow, ya know?鈥�
Next up, she鈥檚 doing what she can to get in the union and start cutting TV shows. 鈥淟ong term, cut features,鈥� Waf谩 says. 鈥淲ho knows? Maybe even direct one day.鈥�