Knowing the Rules of Editing and When to Break Them with André Rodrigues
André Rodrigues is an award-winning editor known for his impeccable comedic timing and exceptional taste in the cutting room. He was most recently celebrated for his editing work on Abdou Cisse's (ProdCo) BAFTA-nominated short film ‘Festival of Slaps’ and two acclaimed short films at this year's BFI London Film Festival.
André has become the go-to editor for brands in the entertainment space, from back-to-back projects for streaming giant Netflix to traditional broadcasters ITV and BBC. He has also worked with sports and lifestyle brands such as The North Face, Schuh, Nike and EA Sports and is trusted by directors such as Guy de la Palme (Caviar), Amy Becker-Burnett, Ben Mege (Caviar) and Piers Dennis (RiffRaff).
André sat down with LBB to look back on the days of filming and editing skits in his childhood home, his latest inspirations as well as his recent work for Lando Norris’ brand Quadrant.
LBB> The first cut is the deepest: how do you like to start an editing project?
André> At first, I like to re-read the treatment, storyboard and any creative notes, catch up with the assistant that prepped the project, then I’ll dive in and go through the footage. If there isn’t any sync dialogue I put on a playlist that matches the vibe of the edit, it helps me to get in the mood while selecting. Then I just try to instinctively and roughly add my selects to the timeline and see what works, what doesn’t and then start shaping the edit bit by bit.
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?
André> From a young age I watched a lot of TV and films. My parents got a hi-8 camera so I started filming skits with my younger brother, and this is when I discovered editing. I realised over the years that it’s a bit like a muscle, the more you practice it the stronger you get. So when I was an assistant, I used to say yes to any editing project I could get my hands on alongside assisting. I think the biggest challenge is to develop a taste.
More recently, I’ve found that going to the theatre to watch plays, musicals, opera, going to galleries and listening to music really inspires me. Discussing it with my friends and colleagues afterwards also gives great insight into different audience points of view. It’s so easy to be insular within our industry and it’s important to venture outside our specific discipline and see how other creatives are provoking emotion with their work.
LBB> How important is an understanding of story and the mechanics of story?
André> If you are working on a scripted project, it’s good to know where the story beats are and what is the narrative point of view. As with any rules, it’s important to know them, and then learn how and when to break them.
Story and rhythm are closely related for me because my job is to decide which shots to show in which specific order to make the audience feel a certain way. And that works for montages too. I think if you know where you are starting from and where you want to get to, it’s up to you to make up the roadmap.
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?
André> I do love to cut to music because it gives you a base, let’s be honest it does half of the work! But I usually try to work without music on my assemblies so the rhythm comes from the footage itself first. Emotion can come from pauses and acceleration and music can enhance that if it’s there in the footage. But you can also manipulate it a bit and that’s when it feels like magic.
LBB> Tell us about a recent editing project that involved some interesting creative challenges.
André> I’ve worked on the launch film for Quadrant, Lando Norris’ brand. The treatment was amazing and the production values were incredible. The script was a succession of vignettes with fun visual transitions but it felt it could be better by having a guiding thread. After seeing the footage of Lando designing the logo, I thought ‘that’s it, that is our thread for the edit!’ And the more I was digging into the footage the more we realised we could interweave those scenes and build an exciting and fun edit while showcasing the brand.
LBB> How important is your relationship with the director and how do you approach difficult conversations when there is a creative difference of opinion?
André> I feel so lucky when directors trust me with their projects. I’ve never really had difficult conversations because I think I’ve worked with directors that want my input or question things in such a safe way that I never had a big creative difference of opinion.
What I really enjoy is ‘finding’ the film/project in the edit suite with the director and making the best version that we are both proud of.
LBB> What’s harder to cut around – too much material or not enough? (And why?)
André> Too much material is definitely harder especially if it’s good material too! You find yourself asking ‘Am I using the best shot? Is this delivery better than the other?’ Too much footage just forces you to be brutal. The beauty of editing is that each editor would edit the same footage in a completely different way and with more footage there are so many more possible versions. When there isn’t enough footage, it forces you to push creativity further but it’s easier because you’ve had the chance to study all the footage really closely. I do really believe that limitations make you think outside the box to find creative solutions.
LBB> Which projects are you proudest of and why?
André> In the ad world, I’m really proud of Quadrant as it was a very quick turnaround project and my first commercial at OkayStudio. Recently, I was also really proud of NYX x ‘Wednesday’ as I returned to work with Guy de la Palme who is a great collaborator. OkayStudio handled the offline, the VFX, grade and online so I saw each step of the process and was so happy that Alex O’Brien put their magic touch on the grade and the VFX team brought the whole world of Wednesday visually too. And it’s not everyday you get to use Danny Elfman’s music for an edit!
For me this project blended what I love about working in commercials: a cinematic look, a well-known brand and a punchy fast paced visual script. What’s not to like!? In the film world, ‘Festival of Slaps’ directed by Abdou Cissé was an amazing experience as we won Best British Short at the BIFA and then got to go to the BAFTA Film Awards!
I’m also really proud of ‘Sweetheart’ directed by Luke Wintour, which is about the secret underground queer scene in the 18th century. As a queer person, I love being able to bring those stories to the screen and working with Luke and the whole team was a delight – it was a 90% queer crew and you could feel it on set. It premiered at Sundance this year and I was lucky enough to attend it thanks to the producers – being part of such an international festival has definitely been one of my highlights this year.
We are also nominated for an Iris Prize this year and I can’t wait to meet all the other nominees.
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?
André> I feel that online content isn’t a dirty word anymore because our world is more and more digital and even when making a TVC you always have social edits alongside. And let’s be honest, we all watch a lot of YouTube! Even under the umbrella term online content, there’s so much variety. So I love that I can be editing a 15-minute comedy with drag queens to tie in with the new season of ‘Bridgerton’ or a 15-second advert encouraging people to use JustGiving.
LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? What films or spots epitomise good editing for you?
André> A lot of my editing heroes are the ones I used to work for as an assistant editor. I’ve learned so much from Russell Icke, Nick Hindson, Sam Rice-Edwards, Eve Ashwell, Jack Williams, Gaia Boretti and James Forbes-Roberston but I’ve also learned a lot from editors I was coming up alongside like Greg Hayes, Kevin Corry and Amanda Marie Rose. All these people were formative and still are in my development as an editor – I especially enjoy sharing my edits with fellow editors to see what they make of it and receiving honest (and sometimes ruthless) feedback.
As for ‘good editing’, I remember my first editing epiphany I had was when I watched ‘The Man with a Movie Camera’ by Dziga Vertov – it’s a silent film so it's editing at its purest and I was blown away by how engaging it was. I grew up in France, and commercials were looked down upon, especially when I was studying film there. When I moved to London I discovered that adverts can have strong stories and a message too while still selling the product. When I was starting in the industry Dougal Wilson’s John Lewis ad ‘The Long Wait’ impressed me immensely: the pace, the music, the performance, it's just the perfect Christmas advert really.
LBB> How does editing in the commercial world differ from the film world and TV world?
André> The commercial world is definitely a bit more fast-paced with quicker turnaround times which means you have to make decisions quickly. I think that’s a strength when it comes to taking on film or TV projects.
It makes you more confident technically and creatively. You’re likely to have encountered a similar situation in a commercial project where you need to compress the narrative or make something clearer in a concise way, for example. I think there is merit to dipping your toes in both worlds and it only strengthens your editing muscles.
LBB> Have you noticed any trends or changes in commercial editing over recent years?
André> I think people value authenticity (or the appearance of it!) so the tone of adverts seems to be becoming naturalistic in general. Sometimes I think it can come across a bit too earnest if I’m honest, and at the end of the day I think people know we are trying to sell them something.
And also, social edits. We are always on our phones so reformats, six-second edits – they are now all part of deliveries. It’s great when they are thought through, it’s less fun when you have to force it and it doesn’t feel like it was really part of the original brief but nonetheless as I like to say ‘whenever there’s a problem, there’s always a solution’
