Steve Shaw on Nurturing an Editor’s Sixth Sense

Steve Shaw was born in Portsmouth, but spent his teenage years bouncing between the East Midlands and the Algarve, eventually landing in London to study at Ravensbourne.

After interning at Blink in his first summer, he found himself skipping lectures the following year to be on set. Before long, the degree was out the window and Steve was working full-time at newly-expanding Somesuch.

For the next five years, Steve cut his teeth as a director’s assistant to Daniel Wolfe, Kim Gehrig, and Aoife McArdle among others. Upon leaving to become a freelancer, the relationships stuck. He continued traveling the world on large-scale productions, assisting and directing second unit for Aoife, Autumn de Wilde, Rollo Jackson, Sam Hibbard and Steve Rogers.

In 2020, Steve made the transition into editing. Since then, he’s continued to collaborate with leading directors, working on Kim Gehrig’s 2023 Super Bowl campaign for Apple Music. His work has already earned nominations at both the Young Arrows and the UK Music Video Awards in 2024.

His first short film edit went on to win Best Australian Short Film at MIFF 2025. His passion for directing and knowledge of production has become an invaluable accompaniment to his bright start as an editor.

Steve sat down with LBB to discuss his approach to starting a project, common misconceptions around editing and his proudest work.

LBB> The first cut is the deepest: how do you like to start an editing project?



Steve> I like to immerse myself in the job before I’m scheduled to begin. That way, if a director has a moment – whether in pre-production, on set, or even as early as writing their treatment – I’m familiar with what they’ve been developing and can contribute ideas confidently.

Once the rushes are in ,those first few days are invaluable, the more time put in at the start of a project with meticulous organisation always pays dividends. I aim to move quickly when people are in my suite whether that’s throwing on my headphones to build a sequence under discussion or pulling up the right takes instantly. Hunting for material on the day just kills momentum. I usually find that by the time I’ve loaded and selected the footage, I already have a fairly clear idea of how I want it to come together. 



Oddly, I’m not into jigsaw puzzles*, but if I were, I know I’d probably sort every piece into its own bowl by colour and shape. It’s how I cook – like I’m teaching a recipe on a Sunday morning broadcast with each ingredient ready to throw in. By doing so, you remove any opportunity for the garlic to burn while you’re focussing on preparing the next part of the recipe.

*When I likened a commercial edit to a jigsaw puzzle with another editor they rightfully said, ‘kind of, only the image on the box keeps changing.’

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?



Steve> I do think it’s a common misconception. When I used to be a researcher for treatments, my friends would joke that I just sat on Google all day. There was a craft to finding the right reference in that role and it came from being able to accurately put yourself in the mind of the director you were working with, just as they were with the characters and worlds they were creating.

In the same way with editing, there has to be an emotional understanding of the motivation of a scene and where the space should be created in order to guide the viewer’s interpretation of it.

The great thing about this industry and my job is the variety it offers. We’re often required to learn about things we wouldn’t usually be exposed to in order to properly navigate the material we’re given.

Every project you work on will provide an opportunity to learn and an obstacle to overcome. That emotional comprehension continues to develop through lived experiences at work or otherwise.

LBB> How important is an understanding of the story and the mechanics of the story?

Steve> It’s crucial to understand the story you’re tasked with helping to tell, the mechanics of it are arguably where you become most influential.

It’s not always possible in commercials but in longer formats, I have always found it important to spend time talking with the director about themes within the script and where an idea or motivation behind a character originated.

The better your connection with the story, the easier your decision making becomes.

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?


Steve> There is a rhythm that resides in the footage, whether it be from performance or cinematography. Identifying it is probably the thing that’s most inherent in all editors, and utilised as a sixth sense when selecting. Music therefore doesn’t always create the rhythm but instead harmonises with one that pre-exists.

During my brief spell at university, I had an equally fleeting life as a DJ. I’d brazenly play in large capacity night clubs that we had access to, with the ability to project onto enormous screens behind the decks… and even into the bathrooms. I’d spend weeks building little music videos for each track I intended on playing. Landing visuals to the perfect section in a track was so satisfying, even if my audience was standing at a urinal. I can’t help but experiment in the same way very early on in the edit.

LBB> Tell us about a recent editing project that involved some interesting creative challenges.



Steve> Last year, I worked on a music video for Jeshi directed by my good friends Sam and Tom (Blackwall). They were using a lightweight 360-degree-panning camera rig which allowed them to capture and wrap out of locations with great speed.

As always, the deadline was tight, so I decided to take to the road with them, editing from the crew van. What was brilliant about it, was that we were able to work in new ideas with each setup and essentially shoot for the edit itself.

What was not so brilliant was, that I was working with footage that was continuously spinning whilst being driven around the winding roads of the Welsh countryside.

LBB> How important is your relationship with the director and how do you approach difficult conversations when there is a creative difference of opinion?



Steve> The relationship is everything. My years as a director’s assistant serve me well in that respect. If you share the same passion and understanding of a project as the director, then it’s easy to create a collaborative environment. I learned early that it’s always worth trying every suggestion.

The edit suite should be a place of experimentation and it’s important to not be overly precious about your own ideas making the final cut. I’m lucky enough to work with friends but also develop relationships with new directors. In both situations, you won’t always agree on everything but that’s where the best ideas are usually formed. Besides, Trim has some lovely-smelling candles that eliminate tension it seems.

LBB> What’s harder to cut around – too much material or not enough?

Steve> What’s your deadline? I’d have to say, not enough material is harder to cut around, but as mentioned, I do like the time to properly ingest the footage and commit it to memory. More options often save you when issues with continuity arise.

You might overhear an editor in the kitchen grumbling about 30 hours of footage arriving for a 30 second spot, and I’ll hold my hands up to have been one of them, but we love it really, it’s the schedule that irks us.


LBB> Which commercial projects are you proudest of and why?



Steve> It’s still early days for me, but I already have a few projects I’m fond of.



Dan DiFelice directed a beautiful film for The Valuable 500, a group formed from CEOs making a public commitment to advancing disability inclusion in the workplace. The footage was exquisite and it’s one I watch back with admiration. It also got me my first award nomination at the Young Arrows.

Another I’d mention is ‘Ginsters’, directed by Rosie May Bird Smith. It was our first project together and it was a lot of fun. She had captured a ton of improv lines and they were all hilarious. It was a great exercise in pulling together a structure without conventional storyboards and ended up being everywhere on TV, so Mum saw it. 


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?

Steve> There’s a lot of talk around attention spans nowadays and I guess that’s more down to audiences not being as captive as they once were and having more agency over skipping content immediately. I’m fine with it, as long as the concept is tailored to its life on screen.

It’s widely accepted now that the shorter cutdown will inevitably be a part and parcel of the job, but we’re starting to see a thirst for the bigger cinematic narrative-led campaigns alongside the thumb-stoppers.

I did contemplate reorienting the TV in my suite by 90 degrees for a recent vertical edit but after some thought, considered it a step too far.

LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? What films or spots epitomise good editing for you?

Steve> Honestly, my first exposure to seeing editors work was during my days at Somesuch, and for the most part, they were cutting at Trim. So it was a dream realised when I joined their roster, as a lot of the people that I look up to reside there.

There was such a buzz around the next thing to drop and there was always a feeling of ‘they’ve done it again.’ I continue to be inspired by them and the wealth of new talent we have coming through.

It’s hard to put your finger on what makes an edit great, because it’s all in service of the idea. Sometimes it’s loud and obvious and other times it’s not there to be called out at all. If I had to pick one, it would be Sam Sneade’s cut for Glazer’s Guinness ‘Surfer’.



As a film student, some of the great film editors are studied, which inevitably leads to an appreciation of them. There’s an embroidered motif in one of the suites at Trim reading ‘What Would Thelma Do?’, a great mantra for all editors. The first editor I hunted on IMDb after leaving the cinema was James Haygood of ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Panic Room.’

LBB> How does editing in the commercial world differ from the film world and TV world?

Steve> Well, I’m only on my second short film, but the two worlds do have their contrasts. I guess, the main one would be the amount of voices in the room.

In long form, it feels like you enter the process earlier in a way. You are afforded more time to dissect the script and explore ideas in service of creating the best interpretation of the story.

In shorter form, you are predominantly working with a script that has already been confined to parameters outside of your control and there are many people to appease along the way.

Both have their benefits and challenges, at heart I am a people pleaser, and I take great joy in achieving the goal I’m tasked with in all formats.

LBB> Have you noticed any trends or changes in commercial editing over recent years?

Steve> There are often times you identify a trend forming when reading the treatments that come in, but I guess that is advertising in a sense – following a zeitgeist will extend reach.

Right now, there’s a lot told through the lens of gen z, which means the use of phones. In a technical sense, the major change is AI creeping in… ChatGPT told me to delete everything I wrote after this.