Emilie Aubry - Editor
Job title - Editor
Experience - 5+ years
“Keep doing this out of passion, with the best intentions. It’s going to be challenging but you don’t have anything to prove to anyone— be patient.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
I am a French queer editor living in the US, repped by Work Editorial. I work mostly on commercials, branded content and short films. This has been my focus now. I was editing mostly music videos for the past 10 years and I recently stopped. I feel like I reached a point where I wanted to do different type of projects, push my creativity and get out of my comfort zone. I really don't like to do the same thing over and over again. I still have so much to see and so much to explore-- for example, a big dream of mine is to edit TV series.
What does an average day look like in your post production working world?
I work differently on each project. When I start, I like to go through the footage with some music on. I change the music as the footage go, to get a vibe, get inspired and already gathering ideas in my head, on my timeline and on my notebook. I write down key words, edit ideas, order ideas, etc... It's very important for me to be alone during this process. Sometimes I work on in complete silence, if it is a lot of dialogue. Then it depends, I either edit as I go or I edit after putting selects together. Sometimes it's just too exciting and inspiring, it's too hard to wait. When I put my first edit together, I follow a storyboard, if I have one, and I have a conversation with the director. If I see that the board doesn't work I'm going to show another version that I think works better. Before sending out my edit to a director I build a full sound design world, depending on the project, foleys, or a creative sound structure... I love to play with it, it's definitely a 50/50 with the visuals for me, so it's important to give cues and show intentions. Once the director sees this pass we start collaborating-- we get on the phone and we talk about it and they give me their feedback, sometimes we do a session, whatever works best. We work on it together for a few days and then we send a cut to the agency. Once it gets into the agency's hands it's mostly them and I. The director is rarely involved. That's why I love to do a Director's cut. I want everyone, including myself, to be happy.
How did your career in post production begin?
When I was 12, I would record MTV music videos on my VHS so that I could watch them over and over again. My dad had an old camera and I would record music videos with my sister and edit it on Windows Movie Maker. I studied film and editing in Bordeaux and I moved to Paris to do an internship at Division Paris. I was 22 at the time, after 3 months as an Intern they hired me as an Assistant Editor. One year and a half later I became an Editor in the company. I became Freelance one year after that. After travelling to Los Angeles and falling in love with the city I decided to work on getting an O1 (Artist Visa), it took a few years and I finally made the move-- that was 5 years ago. I kind of had to start from scratch in the US, working on smaller projects. With my close friend Niles we created Kid Sister, an editing duo. We both got repped at Work Editorial a year ago. We work together and separately.
What has been your career highlight?
Honestly, I have a lot of highlights, haha. But I think I will never forget the first job I had as an Editor and not an Assistant. It was the first project my friend Clémence was producing, a music video for Bonnie Banane directed by Helmi. My first music video ever and seeing my name on the spreadsheet as Editor was the best feeling ever, the beginning of it all.
Who are your role models in post?
I learned the theory in school but really when I truly learned what it took to really edit is when I watched Nicolas Larrouquere. I consider him my mentor. He is the first Editor I assisted, he is always searching, pushing his creativity, trying so many things in the room, fighting for his opinions, working on sound design and making it all look effortless. In my opinion, he is one of the best in the game.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start a career in post?
I would say work hard, trust your vision and reach out to people you admire. Keep doing this out of passion, with the best intentions. It's going to be challenging but you don't have anything to prove to anyone-- be patient.