Rosanne Tan - Editor
Job title - Editor
Experience - 10+ years
“My love for editing started at a very young age when I would do VHS to VHS editing to compile all my favourite programs onto one tape. I learned I could make things shorter by editing out commercials or separating my shows by genres, and I even played with different VHS formats, like EP, LP, and SP. It was quite exciting when I was little.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
I’m a picture editor in Film and TV who has worked for studios like Marvel, Disney, Netflix, Amazon, USA, AMC and more. My projects have ranged from character dramas to suspenseful thrillers to horror to buddy comedies to action-packed superhero stories.
Whatever the genre may be, I always lean towards a good story. Being an editor is not only about being a visual storyteller. It’s about collaborating with fellow filmmakers on a project. You have to know how to listen, troubleshoot, read the room, give and receive notes, and deal with the politics of the cutting room. You have to understand sound design, sound mixing, music editing, scoring, VFX, and DI. It’s also about working with your assistant editors and mentoring them. Collaboration is key, because ultimately the success of a project depends on every department communicating and working together.
What does an average day look like in your post production working world?
My day starts with lots of coffee! I’m a night owl, so if there are no early morning meetings, I like to start my day around 11am or noon. First, I’ll usually catch up with my assistant editor to discuss the plan for the day and any upcoming requests we need to prepare for. Second, I’ll check if I need to talk to any other people in other departments, especially if there are any open discussions or if I’m waiting for any files, etc. Then I’ll dive right into cutting a scene from dailies my assistant editor has prepared, or if I have notes from the night before, I’ll do those first. Every day is different, so good communication with my assistant editor is always very important.
When I’m in dailies mode, I like to watch everything. As I watch and find the takes I like, I’ll mark them with notes or sub them out and put them aside. After I’ve watched everything, I’ll start cutting. I might have a very rough build of the scene at first, but then I’ll start working out the geography, the story, and the beats. I’ll review all the takes again to make sure I have the best performances. After going over the scene a few more times, I like to put it aside and work on another scene. It helps to step away, so you can come back with a fresh perspective, whether it’s hours later or the next day. You’ll notice things you didn’t notice before when you were first cutting it.
When I’m deep in the notes and reviews process with directors and producers, then my day usually starts earlier and ends later. I’ll be busier and the schedules are more unpredictable. I might be in an edit session part of the day, then the next could be anything from VFX reviews, ADR sessions, or sound mix and score reviews to DI sessions. I usually just go with the flow and drink more coffee! :)
Side note: Since the pandemic, our industry has allowed more flexibility to work from home, which has been beneficial for me because I have a young child. On some shows I have been lucky enough to work hybrid, which means I primarily work from home, but I will go into the office for sessions, reviews, and screenings. It allows me to walk down the street to pick up my child from school if there are no important meetings scheduled. I really hope there’s a chance for this hybrid workflow to continue in the future, because these little family moments matter so much.
How did your career in post production begin?
My love for editing started at a very young age when I would do VHS to VHS editing to compile all my favourite programs onto one tape. I learned I could make things shorter by editing out commercials or separating my shows by genres, and I even played with different VHS formats, like EP, LP, and SP. It was quite exciting when I was little.
I continued that love for editing in high school, where I took part in their TV news program. That was where I learned how to shoot and edit my own stories and learned to use both linear and non-linear editing programs. Since film school wasn’t a viable option for me, I went to a city college for my studies and took Film and TV classes that were offered whenever possible. I got a job in reality TV after college but landed on the online/finishing side. Although I worked there for many years, I knew in my heart that I always wanted to be on the creative side of editing, so I made a path towards scripted narrative editing and never looked back. I took the technical skills I gained from those years in finishing and I worked my way up from apprentice editor to assistant editor and finally to editor.
What has been your career highlight?
I’m very grateful to have had many career highlights, like working on Mr. Robot and on projects for Marvel, but the one thing that I'll never forget is seeing my mom cry when she found out I was nominated for my first ACE Eddie Award. My brother and I didn’t have much growing up in an immigrant family, but I know our parents sacrificed a lot to raise us. My hope is to always make them proud, so they know that their sacrifices were worth it.
Women in post you admire?
There are so many, but to name a few in no particular order: Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir, Maysie Hoy, Sally Menke, Tatiana Riegel, Kate Sanford, Michelle Tesoro, Cindy Mollo, Nena Erb, Joi McMillon, Pamela Martin, and Shelly Westerman.
What advice do you have for other women wanting to start a career in post?
A great and positive attitude goes a long way. In editing and post-production, you’ll end up working long hours. Imagine the type of person you’d want to be around for many hours on end. Stay focused on your goals. Be a sponge. Learn from everyone around you - editors, assistant editors, producers, directors, writers, and anyone in post. Be honest, it’s okay if you don’t know something, just ask questions. Be humble and be open to ideas, and always be willing to collaborate. Experience matters and always try to improve on your work. You never stop learning. Lastly, be kind to everyone. This industry is all about networking, you never know who is going to be your boss one day.
Stand out scene (or scenes!) you've worked on;
Marvel Studios’ Hawkeye – Eps 3 – “Echoes” – KB Toys + Car Chase sequence
I grew up loving martial art films and movie car chases, so I was overjoyed when I found out that this episode had big fight sequences and a huge car chase involving muscle cars! And not to mention, the show takes place around Christmas time, so that means we get to use fun Christmas music! The dailies had to be split over 30+ bins, so it was a massive undertaking to sift through all the footage. The sequence was also quite complex and involved some shots that needed to be stitched together to create a “oner,” lots of blue screen footage, intricate fight sequences and stunts, huge set pieces, and not to mention the coolest and craziest VFX for all the trick arrows. But all the action and amazing visual effects won’t mean much, unless you care about these characters and their story. So, in the first half of KB toys, I tried my best to craft the performances and used tools like flashbacks and sound design to make sure the audience understood the motivations of our antagonist, Maya, who also happens to be deaf. There were also a lot of comedic moments between Clint and Kate, which I loved cutting, and were essential in showing the progression of their mentor-mentee relationship. I’m very proud of the work and collaboration with all the departments and also very happy how this massive sequence and the episode, as a whole, turned out.
USA Network’s Mr. Robot – Episode 405 – “Method Not Allowed”
Hard to just pick a scene or a few scenes because the whole episode was very interconnected. At its core, this episode is a heist story with a ticking clock, but the challenge was that there were only two lines of dialogue in the entire episode. Because of this, the editing, sound design, and music became integral to telling the story and controlling the pace. It required playing with intercuts to keep the tension up and thinking of different and unique transitions both visually and with sound. I had to cut intricate hacking scenes and also tell certain story points through security camera footage and phone screens. There was also a crazy foot chase that eventually passes through Central Park, and all of this is happening on Christmas Day, so we had to listen to a lot of Christmas music to find the right needle drops. I’m very proud of the collaboration with the entire team and was grateful that it was so well-received by critics and the fans. This was definitely one of my favourite episodes of Mr. Robot I have ever edited.
Amazon’s Homecoming – Episode 104 – “Redwood” – Opening sequence
The opening montage tells the story of how the medicine in the series is harvested, made, and delivered. When I first got the dailies, it was a lot of shots of berries, red liquids, boxes in carts, and people in labs which proved to be a challenging creative puzzle. But in the end, I had a lot of fun creating this montage by experimenting with split screens, finding unique transitions, editing the music and making sure the beats in the score hit at the right moments.