Five ads edited by women in 2020
Throughout 2020 Edit Girls has been a platform for sharing the career stories of talented women in the post-production industry. Some are just starting out, their passion and talent already clear, others are further into their journey with award-winning commercials and some outstanding Hollywood feature films under their belt.
Here I’m sharing 5 of the stand out commercials/ branded content films edited by women (UK based) in 2020 along with links to some of the women’s career stories, where you can read about how they started out in post production, their advice for young editors, and their ‘typical’ working day, which seems to have one common theme… a lot of coffee ;)
‘#Wombstories’ - Bodyform UK
A kaleidoscope of colour, characters, sounds, and emotions; Womb Stories (agency AMV BBDO), edited by Elise Butt, is a brand film like no other. Taking the viewer on a journey they won’t have seen before, through the intimate, exciting, sometimes excruciating, complex world of wombs. The pacing throughout is perfectly crafted, moments of exhilaration, paired with sadness, five intertwining stories masterfully told.
The sound design alone tells a deep and profound story, from the deep breath taken at the start to the rhythmic ever moving forward soundtrack. A sigh of relief at the arrival of blood for a woman who doesn’t want children quickly becomes the harrowing silence in a hospital room as the realisation of a lost pregnancy sets in, made more haunting by the sound of wind and the pairing of the lyric ‘I just want to die’ with this moment of loss.
This is an ensemble piece, with the beautiful and diverse work of over 11 animators bringing to life the inner worlds of our characters’ wombs. Each with a unique style and medium, from the ‘Endo monster’s’ oil on glass by visual artist Carine Khalife to the stunning model of the gardener watering the seed by Roos Mattar. To intertwine these complex stories and hold space for each one, giving it the attention it deserves, is no mean feat and Elise’s editing shows the great skill she holds.
“#Wombstories was definitely an interesting edit, it was great being in a position to feedback on the animation and help decide what the shots were going to be. We pulled the structure apart so many times to try and get the five stories in a flow without taking anything away from the emotion. It’s tricky to go from one woman being relieved she’s gotten her period and not pregnant, to another being told she’s had a miscarriage. But these placements of opposites is what we found really worked in the end, to show the true rollercoaster of what it means to be a woman.”
To hear more from Elise and read her career story click here.
2.‘When dating met 2020’ - Bumble UK
In this dryly comic and quirky ad for dating app Bumble (agency The Brooklyn Brothers), edited by Flaura Atkinson, Helena Bonham Carter narrates a relatable tale of the challenges faced by singletons dating during 2020. The edit is filled with perfectly executed whip pans (with zero cheesiness), just one of the techniques that seamlessly bring together the two worlds of Helena in her narrator’s chair and our protagonist Violet.
The story really kicks in when we hear that question; ‘Violet love, no boyfriend this year?’ as we whip round to an awkwardly close shot of Violet’s nan, then back to Violet, then back to Helena creating a structure where Helena essentially becomes Violet’s inner voice. More awkward moments ensue, Violet’s Dad in his pink dressing gown peering into her Facetime conversation with a wave and ‘Hello young man’ is followed by a ‘cringe’ reaction from Helena. The edit is filled with these flawlessly intercut reactions.
The use of a worn photo effect captures a certain 90s nostalgia of what dating used to be, whilst cleverly showing a visual of socially distanced dating with an unfolding of these photos. Pacing wise this edit has it all, from a deliciously long awkward pause on a dinner date to a ‘drop’ ‘slam’ punctuating the ‘taking the bins out’/’going out, out’ scene. Lots of satisfying and fun cuts in this piece.
“Bumble was a great project to work on, particularly because it was created by a very strong female team. It was directed by Cloé Bailly at Caviar and the EP (Sorcha Shepherd), producer (Polly du Plessis), PM (Alice Windeler) and both creatives (Cali Oliver and Charlotte Adorjan) are women. The idea was to have the ’narrator’ who is played by the incredible Helena Bonham Carter, talk you through lead character Violet’s dating journey in 2020, where Covid has made dating as a single woman, even more difficult.
One of the main challenges of the project (apart from the Lockdown Part 2 restrictions that meant it had to be a remote edit!) was that Helena and Violet had to feel like they were weaving in and out of each other, it couldn’t feel like two separate narratives stuck alongside each other, so it was important to include any adlibs from Helena or any of her reactions to Violet’s dates to feel like there was a believable interaction between them. The warmth and relatability that Helena has as an actress made this interaction completely authentic and made cutting between her and Violet work really well.
I love working with Cloé, I think her humour is spot on and I’m really proud to have been part of this project.”
To hear more from Flaura and read her career story click here.
3. ‘Just Strong’
‘Just Strong’, edited by Amber Saunders, is one of those edits you want to watch on repeat. The music, the pace, the VO makes you feel empowered and well… strong! We’re drawn into a journey of feminine strength, stretched out bodies, elegant movement, the pace quickly builds as we speed through kinetic shots one after the other until at 14 seconds in we see a series of women fall, stop, ‘fail’. The moment lets us breathe, reflect but it’s not long until our characters are picking themselves back up, as the VO reads ‘picking yourself back up is strong’ and we’re back on the rollercoaster of training and persevering.
‘Just Strong’ is a masterclass in shot choice, each frame is expertly chosen, no matter how short, how quickly Amber cuts to, and from them, each and every shot belongs exactly where it is and drives the narrative forward. If you watch more of Amber’s work (and you must!) you will see this edit really encapsulates her trademark style.
“Just Strong is my favourite piece of work from this dreaded year of 2020! It represents me entirely as it’s all about not being a perfectionist, empowering all women, and getting back up after you fail. A challenge we faced early on was actually trying to edit live through zoom (for obvious reasons). It wasn’t really working for me or the director, so we decided to jump into a suite and work safely for a few days. After that, everything ran smoothly and I believe this solidified my and the director’s relationship. We were pretty aligned in this edit which allowed it to run very smoothly.”
4. ‘Moist’ - Durex
‘Moist’ by Durex (agency Havas), edited by Laura Cairney-Keize, is a beautifully rhythmic edit showing a series of women saying the word ‘moist’ in a casual off the cuff manner, in a bid to reduce the awkwardness/stigma around the word and get people comfortable with talking about lube. The choice of music cleverly brings a sense of the mundane and ordinary to the word ‘moist’, with a subtle ‘ping’ sound effect dotted throughout to punctuate moments and add a lightheartedness to the subject.
The moments that bring us into new environments, from a bubble ‘pop’ to moving through a curtain (some subtle hints at sexuality there…) are expertly timed and the pulsating nature of shots that move toward and away from our characters no doubt echoes the movement of a sexual encounter. A memorable 20-second edit masterfully crafted.
5. ‘Locked Down and Out’ - LGBT Foundation
Locked Down and Out, (agency The Gate) edited by Meg Thorne, is a powerful and harrowing piece for the LGBT Foundation, highlighting the abuse of the LGBTQ+ community in lockdown.
The edit opens on a scene we’re all familiar with, a vlogger talking us through a makeup look. Jump cuts and overlapping dialogue shows the passing of time and lulls us into a false sense of security and familiarity. Out bubble is abruptly burst by our lead character’s mother walking into their room, clearly angry with them for ‘doing this again’. It quickly becomes clear that this tension and abuse is a regular occurrence and we are thrown into the turmoil felt by our protagonist.
We’re then met with silent screams, somber music and a piercing ringing as our character begins to unravel, figuratively and literally, slowly taking off their makeup and wig and throwing their true self away. Revealing the identity that their family clearly is holding on to at the detriment of their child’s happiness and sense of safety.
At the end of the piece, we are left with this terrifying statement ‘LGBTQ abuse has more than doubled since lockdown’. There is a horror movie-esque quality to this piece and a sadness that is perfectly captured in the edit.
“We were in lockdown when I edited “Locked Down and Out”, directed by Lucrecia Taormina. It was the first time we had done a project together remotely, which was a real learning curve for both of us. Having been used to spending endless hours together in the same dark room nattering away whilst I edit, we found we had to be a bit more patient when working over zoom. The film is a really emotional piece and required a lot of sound design and very quick cuts, so at times these moments would get lost when trying to present them remotely but we got the hang of it eventually and Lucrecia and I have worked on a few projects since.A good thing that’s come from remote editing is there’s less pressure to feel you’re wasting a directors time whilst you’re exploring different edits because there’s no one sat behind you. Although I cannot wait to get back into an edit suite with a director to bounce ideas off each other!”