Arianna Tomasettig - Editor
Editor
Experience 15+ years
“If it takes years for you to get to the editing chair, don’t let yourself feel like you’re doing something wrong. Looking back, the years I spent working my way up were invaluable. Use that time to learn from the established editors around you, not only about editing techniques but also how to work a room, collaborate with clients, and use your voice.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
I’m an editor at creative post-house Final Cut, working on commercial campaigns, music videos, short films, and, as of late, I am now a feature film editor as well. My clients vary from brands including Meta, Vrbo, and Tinder to artists such as Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, Jack White, and Marvin Gaye.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
It really depends on the kind of project I’m working on and the stage we are in. Most days start with a check-in with my team. Shout out to our producers and assistants who make every day so much more enjoyable and allow me to really focus on the creative stuff, knowing they have my back with everything else. Generally, after getting a brief from the director and/or agency at the beginning of the project, I have a couple of days alone with the material. At this stage, I try to take my time watching the dailies, taking in and memorizing all the nuances and coverage of the various scenes, which comes in handy when clients ask for alts or when trying to solve a problem. After pulling selects, I assemble a cut without worrying about the length. I just let the material do what it wants while having fun with it. I’ve been working on a feature recently, so the process is a bit different. We’re currently at the stage where the director comes for in-person sessions, and we go through each scene and work together to make it as strong as possible.
How did your career in post production begin?
My career path has been very linear. Upon moving to London after college, I hand-delivered my resume to the top 4 editing houses in Soho and spent many months working in retail, waiting for a runner position to open up. Eventually, Final Cut offered me a position, and I spent the next few years working my way up while cutting my teeth editing music videos and obscure art/fashion videos. Once I transferred to the US office, one of those videos landed me my first commercial campaign.
What has been your career highlight?
I have a few: 1. Being added to the same roster as the editors, like Rick Russell, who cut some of the music videos I used to obsess over when I was in high school. 2. One of the first music videos I worked on while working my way up was for MC Riz. Over a decade later, I got to work as an additional editor on Sound of Metal, staring at Riz Ahmed’s face once again and falling in love with editing narrative all over again. 3. Some of the music videos I worked on (my pride and joy) have earned various accolades, including a couple of Grammy and Cannes Lions wins. 4. Taylor Swift sitting on the floor of my edit suite with a glass of wine, chit-chatting about her girlfriends while we were working on her music video (did I shamelessly use this anecdote to try to impress family members in their teens? I sure did. Did it work? Nope).
Who are your role models in post?
There are many of my peers that I look up to (Final Cut editors’ body of work speaks for itself), but Amanda James has always been at the top of my list. I remember going through her work, frame by frame, analyzing her editing choices, marveling at the smoothness of it all and her unquestionable sense of rhythm and skillful storytelling. When I was assigned to assist her, it really felt like I hit the jackpot. She modeled for me the art of perseverance at a time when female editors were often overlooked in favor of their male peers. Thanks to her, I can now immediately tell if video and audio are off-sync by as little as one or two frames. And since we are celebrating Girls in Post, I have to mention Margaret Sixel (Editor of Mad Max Fury Road) and Jill Bilcock (Editor of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge), who single-handedly put editing on my creative map. These women will always be legends in my book.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start a career in post?
If it takes years for you to get to the editing chair, don’t let yourself feel like you’re doing something wrong. Looking back, the years I spent working my way up were invaluable. Use that time to learn from the established editors around you, not only about editing techniques but also how to work a room, collaborate with clients, and use your voice. Those are also the years to say yes to any kind of project that comes your way so that you can own your skills. The time spent making something out of the low-budget, badly-shot projects is valuable because once you land the high-production projects, they will feel easy in comparison, and you will have accumulated quite a few tricks in your editing tool belt along the way.
Share a favourite piece of your work:
The music video for Raphael Saadiq’s ‘Stone Rollin' will always have a special place in my heart. It was one of the first music videos I cut after moving to LA, and it felt like a pivotal moment in my career. A few months later, I was promoted to editor, and the rest, as they say, is history.
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