Editing ‘Big Man’ an interview with editor Amanda James
We spoke with Final Cut editor Amanda James to talk all things Big Man, her short film collaboration with Aneil Karia and Stormzy. From long, roaming takes to overlapping dialogue and the raw, emotional beats that bring this powerful story to life, Amanda gives us a beautiful window into her process.
Enjoy her answers about finding rhythm, building relationships on screen, and why she’ll never see Stormzy the same way again…
Big Man was shot entirely on iPhone
You previously worked with director Aneil Karia on the Oscar winning short The Long Goodbye, what does your working relationship look like? Can you share some moments you valued in the process of collaborating with Aneil?
I love working with Aneil, there’s a lot of trust involved on his part as generally he leaves me alone for my initial stab at the rushes. Given the nature of how he shoots, ie long, roaming takes, this is invaluable for me as I can get lost in it all and find my way round a scene without having to give a running commentary on what I’m doing or thinking (which is good because at that stage I really don’t have a clue!)
English-Ghanaian rapper, singer, and songwriter Stormzy, plays Tenzman, a rapper who is stuck in a rut.
Were you part of the shooting process, i.e. present on set, or did you receive the footage without knowledge of how each shoot day unfolded. How does either experience have an impact on your work?
I wasn’t on set no. With Aneil’s films I very much ‘find’ the shape of a scene as I go. There’s no conventional wide / mid / cu kind of method to the way he captures things so I think if I was on set the scene wouldn’t necessarily reveal itself to me any sooner so I'd just be in the way.
Overlapping dialogue is a key feature of Aneil’s work and his camera movement choices are fluid and organic. As an editor how do you manage both these things when it comes to forming your edit?
Yes it can be quite a hectic, laborious process sometimes, especially with dialogue but I love it. I’ll get long takes covering the whole entire scene and as with any film the actors are evolving their performance as they go through the different takes. The beautiful intimate camera work (Stu Bentley) is also changing take to take so it can be hard work trying to weave it all together in a way that feels fluid but I’m like a dog with a bone & won’t rest until it flows naturally. With Aneil’s material there’s no hiding behind a wide shot or anything like that, it’s all very raw & visceral. When that kind of an edit works it really sings so it’s incredibly rewarding.
Tenzman, forges a bond with two cheeky teen lads in his London neighbourhood.
“With Aneil’s films I very much ‘find’ the shape of a scene as I go.”
Each character's personality comes through so strongly, both the boys and Tenzman, we get to know them well. Tell us about the moments you chose from each performance that helped mould their character.
These two boys were INCREDIBLE - every take was gold. Stormzy was great too - thank goodness haha! They all felt so genuine so once I’d decided on a few key moments in their performance, the rest of the scene would reveal itself pretty easily.
When Tenz first meets the boys for instance, there are so many lovely moments from them that I was spoilt for choice. You can see it in their reactions to being offered 2 quid to move the fridge for example, or on the pier when Tenz mistakenly thinks the man wants a selfie with him (‘minus aura’), it was all very believable & funny.
Director Aneil Karia on the set of Big Man with DoP Stu Bentley.
There is a subtle, but powerful moment at the traffic lights when Tenzman takes on a protective, almost fatherly role saying ‘wait back, back’. What other moments did you choose to focus on that built the relationship dynamics between the characters.
Stormzy genuinely developed a real affection for those boys so that fatherly instinct from him was real. Other moments….that whole rampage through his house when Tenz is completely out of control, it’s very funny and then I love everything on the pier from the seagulls to the chippy dinner by which point he’s gone on a massive journey from being like a child himself to becoming something like a father.
“With Aneil’s material there’s no hiding behind a wide shot or anything like that, it’s all very raw & visceral. When that kind of an edit works it really sings so it’s incredibly rewarding.”
Music is it’s own character in the story, how did you work with the tracks to make them an integral part of the narrative?
The composer Lil Silva was feeding me tracks from very early on & actually they were fully formed really quickly. He has a long standing relationship with Stormzy so obviously knew exactly the right approach.
‘Double’, the track he plays them in the car was recorded before the shoot, as was ‘Tip of the Ice’ the track at the end of the film where you see them going through the process of recording it in the studio using existing stems.
When Tenz plays them ‘Double’ in the car the boys can’t believe he ever thought that song was good and again the boys performances are so brilliant, it was a fun one to put together though its always challenging to cut anything when music is being played as they shoot, it becomes a bit of a jigsaw puzzle.
“It was a fun one to put together though its always challenging to cut anything when music is being played as they shoot, it becomes a bit of a jigsaw puzzle.”
In the final scenes, you cut between the boys at school and Tenzman in the studio. There is a feeling of hope, can you share some of the ways you paced cutting between both the boys life at school and Tenzman’s life in the studio and him getting his mojo back?
That was a very complex sequence to cut, literally building the layers of the track as Aneil shot using stripped back stems and building the emotional pull of the scene at the same time. This was quite a monumental thing for Tenzman to go back in the studio and you also need to feel like the boys are gonna be alright too so interweaving the recording process and the boys life at the home felt like a very critical, delicate thing. I was really pleased with how it turned out. Landing each of those cutaways at just the right point for maximum effect and cutting back to the recording at specific points or lyrics was key. I also layered some extra strings in at the end to really push the feels. Cutting to black on that exact beat at the very end of the film was also a must for me, it works so well.
This scene is a classic example of working with Aneil and being gifted with scenes that have unusual editorial challenges but are so rewarding once you figure them out.
And finally, are there any other anecdotes about working on the project that you’d like to share?
Just that it’s VERY weird for me to see Stormzy without that hair now!!!!
WATCH BIG MAN HERE