Nam Na-young - Editor
Job title - Editor
Experience - 10+ years
“In Squid Game, the most memorable scene was in the ddakji episode. Editing a scene where Gi-hun played ddakji was exciting. My goal was to deliver the two contrasting images of being violent and humorous at the same time, and to this end, added a sense of rhythm to the sound when the game was played.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
My name is Nam Na-young, an editor of diverse creative works including films and series. My filmography includes Director Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird and I Saw the Devil; Director Kang Hyeong-cheol’s Sunny and Swing Kids; Director Lee Byoung-heon’s Twenty, Extreme Job, and Be Melodramatic; Director Jo Sung-hee’s A Werewolf Boy and Space Sweepers; and Director Hwang Dong-hyuk’s Miss Granny, The Fortress, and Squid Game.
What does an average day look like in your post-production working world?
I usually concentrate better in the afternoon, so I start working around 1pm. When I work with a director, I work until 7 o’clock, and when editing alone, my work hours are from 9pm to 5am. For initial editing, regardless of the cuts marked “okay”, “keep”, and “NG” on the script paper, I review all cuts. During the reviewing process, I select the cuts with lively facial expressions that best show the actor’s performance and cuts that capture the moments of action. These cuts are checked on a frame-by-frame basis, good ones are saved separately. While I edit the takes according to the storyline, the best cuts amongst the separately-saved ones are chosen. Our team members also prepare an on-site version in line with the director’s concept. Since there are often cases where the on-site version is different from what I envisioned, I make multiple versions and show all of them to the director. After explaining why certain editing methods were utilized, we engage in a discussion to find a common ground. Sometimes the director selects one of the many versions and there are also cases where we create a new one that combines both my opinion and the director’s ideas.
How did your career in post-production begin?
I majored in film directing at the School of Theater & Film Art in college. I moved to Seoul to pursue my career in directing after graduation. Most female graduates started their careers as a scripter to eventually step into the field of directing, so I also wanted to become a scripter. However, I failed all the interviews because I was older than other applicants since I graduated a little late. One of the interviews I failed included the one for an assistant position at Park Gok-ji’s editing studio. So I turned my eyes to cable television which was booming in Korea at the time to find more opportunities. I finally got a job as a floor director of an entertainment show and gained editing knowledge and acquired other skills. Then, I was reached out to by the Park Gok-ji editing studio who told me that their assistant quit and the position is available. It was not like I wanted to be an editor from the beginning, but I decided to join the studio since my field of interest was film.
What has been your career highlight?
I started my career in the field of film editing and established the first-ever studio in Korea that specializes in negative cutting. Since making a debut with Wet Dreams in 2002, I have participated in more than 100 films as an editor. I was honored with the Best Editor Awards at the 5th Asian Film Awards with I Saw the Devil and once again at the 40th Blue Dragon Awards with Swing Kids. Be Melodramatic was my first experience in series editing, followed by Squid Game. I was nominated at the 72nd ACE Eddie Awards with Squid Game.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your career;
One of the pivotal moments of my career was the establishment of the first-ever negative cutting studio in Korea during the period of transition from film to digital. Film editing and negative cutting were two separate fields in other countries, but this was not the case in Korea. I thought those who do not have any background in film editing would soon start moving to the field driven by the emergence of digital editing tools like Avid. This was why I founded my own negative cutting studio leveraging my experience and know-how in film. Editors who worked for the broadcasting industry started to move to film editing, and I was in charge of negative cutting which is the final editing process. Every student film, short film, and academic works at the time were the results of our work.
Working with Director Kim Sung-soo, from whom I learned editing, was also memorable. I made a habit of reviewing takes marked NG and checking cuts frame-by-frame while working with Director Kim. Previously, I had only focused on the cuts marked okay or keep, but Director Kim said I should do the editing work without being constrained by his direction on the site. That’s when I started reviewing every single cut and frame. Some examples of my collaboration with him include The Warriors, Please Teach Me English, and The Flu.
Women in post you admire?
There are so many admirable female colleagues in the post-production field, but the names that come to my mind now are Producer Ahn Soo-hyun of Assassination and The Thieves and Oh Jung-wan of My Dear Enemy and A Bittersweet Life.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
I hope those who truly love this job could join this field. It is important to have the right mindset that one should complete a given task with a sense of responsibility based on one’s affection towards the job. I hope younger editors would be able to work in a better environment because things were not favorable when I made a debut. I am also exploring methods to create an environment where younger editors could concentrate on their work without being concerned about their pay or other factors. In this respect, starting a career with a sense of responsibility is crucial.
Stand out scene (or scenes!) you've worked on.
One of the unforgettable scenes was the scene where the protagonists of Director Kang Hyeong-cheol ‘s Swing Kids did tap dancing. Music was an important element for Director Kang, and thus, the key was to edit the scenes so that the music’s tempo was perfectly synchronized with the movements. We engaged in an in-depth discussion about the tempo he already had in his mind and created diverse versions based on our conversation. In addition, for Director Kim Jee-woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird, an almost one-film-long sequence of horses running across the plains was filmed. Director Kim and I exchanged a lot of opinions and made various attempts to come up with the optimal 20-minute-long edited version. I would never forget this scene given the intense effort and energy devoted to editing the particular scene.
As for Squid Game, the most memorable scene was in the ddakji episode. Editing a scene where Gi-hun played ddakji was exciting. My goal was to deliver the two contrasting images of being violent and humorous at the same time, and to this end, added a sense of rhythm to the sound when the game was played. The scenes where the contestants jump over fragile glass stepping stones and where Il-nam and Gi-hun have their last conversation were also unforgettable.