The Rough Cut

Editor – Greg Ng
BACKROOMS editor Greg Ng joins The Rough Cut to discuss cutting a film built around liminal spaces, analog horror, slow-burn tension and the challenge of turning an internet-born phenomenon into a feature-length cinematic experience.

Directed by Kane Parsons, BACKROOMS expands on the world Parsons first created through his viral YouTube videos, where endless yellow corridors, fluorescent hums, distorted VHS textures and uncanny architecture became the foundation for a very specific kind of dread. The feature stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Clark, a furniture store owner whose discovery of a strange passageway pulls him into the Backrooms.  Co-starring with Ejiofor is Renate Reinsve as Mary, his therapist, whose role in the story grows increasingly central as the film moves deeper into questions of memory, perception and psychological uncertainty.

One of the biggest challenges was finding the right editorial language for a film where the space itself often functions as a main character. Greg discusses how the film's pacing intentionally allows characters to move through the Backrooms in near real time, preserving the hypnotic quality of Kane's original work. Rather than cutting quickly from one dramatic beat to the next, the edit often lets the audience remain inside the space long enough for the atmosphere, sound and uncertainty to take hold.
GREG NG
Based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. Greg tries to maintain a balanced diet of both narrative and documentary editing, and periodically writes about himself in the third person. He is an alumnus of the Canadian Film Centre and a member of the Canadian Cinema Editors, ACFC, IATSE, the VPA, and other organizations with acronyms. When his nephew asked him what editing movies was like, he said it's just like playing with Legos, but with videos and emotions instead. In addition to these biographical details, Greg has won several awards for editing, which have validated his professional insecurities and made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. Some recent credits include LONGLEGS, THE MONKEY, and KEEPER.

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Editor – Greg O'Bryant
Tuner editor Greg O'Bryant returns to the podcast to discuss cutting a film that is part crime thriller, part romance, part character study, part music movie and part very compelling argument for keeping your ears covered in New York City.
Directed by Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Daniel Roher, Tuner stars Leo Woodall as Niki, a gifted piano tuner whose hypersensitive hearing makes every day sound almost unbearable. That same extraordinary hearing also gives Niki an unexpected talent for cracking safes, pulling him from a quiet life of tuning pianos into an increasingly dangerous criminal world. The film also stars Dustin Hoffman as Harry, Niki's mentor, Havana Rose Liu as Ruthie, a young composer, along with Lior Raz, Jean Reno and Tovah Feldshuh.
One of the biggest challenges on Tuner was the sheer amount of footage. Roher shot a large volume of material over a short production schedule, giving Greg and his assistant a mountain of performances, musical material, safe-cracking details and improvisation to shape into the final film. Greg discusses how he approached that process by focusing on subjectivity — using the edit to put the audience inside Niki's experience rather than simply moving through the plot.
Sound was another major topic of conversation. Because Niki experiences the world through hyper-sensitive hearing, the editorial and sound teams had to build a language for when the audience enters his point of view.  Which meant figuring out how much of that experience to hear, and how to make the effect clear without making it punishing. O'Bryant also talks about working with sound designer Johnnie Burn, composer Will Bates and executive music producer Marius de Vries to balance the film's sound design, live music and score.
GREG O'BRYANT
Greg O'Bryant is an editor whose credits include the feature film The Report, as well as the television series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Extrapolations and Brand New Cherry Flavor. A frequent collaborator with filmmakers including Scott Z. Burns and Nick Antosca, Greg's work often explores stories with complex tone, subjective experience and ambitious sound and visual design.



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Hear Greg discuss his work on BRAND NEW CHERRY FLAVOR.
Listen to Greg detail his experience cutting the Apple TV+ series EXTRAPOLATIONS.
Hear Greg talk about cutting the Amazon Prime Video series MR. AND MRS. SMITH.
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Widow's Bay
Editors – Isaac Hagy, ACE; Kyle Reiter, ACE and Jen Bryson
The editors of Widow's Bay may not live on a cursed New England island, but after years of working together across shows like Atlanta, Station Eleven and Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Isaac Hagy, Kyle Reiter and Jen Bryson have developed the kind of shared creative history that makes them feel right at home in one.

Created by Katie Dippold for Apple TV, Widow's Bay stars Matthew Rhys as Tom Loftis, the skeptical mayor of a strange little island town where the locals believe the place is cursed. Tom would very much like to turn Widow's Bay into a thriving tourist destination. Unfortunately, the island has other ideas. The series also stars Kate O'Flynn, Stephen Root, Kingston Rumi Southwick, Kevin Carroll and Dale Dickey.

For Isaac, Kyle and Jen, the show was another chance to reunite with longtime collaborator Hiro Murai and post producer Kaitlin Waldron. Isaac's creative relationship with Hiro goes back nearly twenty years, starting with no-budget music videos before eventually leading to Atlanta. Kyle joined that extended creative family through Kaitlin Waldron and Atlanta, while Jen came up through the same post team, beginning as a post PA before eventually moving into the editor's chair.

In our interview, the editors talk about how the show was first described to them as something close to "ten episodes of Teddy Perkins," with additional reference points including Jaws, John Carpenter films, Stephen King stories and the specific textures of rural coastal New England. The island itself was designed to feel contemporary, but also strangely out of time — a place without cell phones, without modern comforts, and possibly without a sensible tourism strategy.


ISAAC HAGY, ACE
Isaac Hagy, ACE is an editor whose work includes the feature films Waves and The Friend, as well as television series such as Atlanta, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Station Eleven, American Vandal, Chef's Table and Sirens. He has received multiple Emmy and ACE nominations for his work, including recognition for Atlanta and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Across his work in television and film, Isaac has helped shape stories that blend tonal precision, visual invention and deeply character-driven editing.
KYLE REITER, ACE
Kyle Reiter, ACE is an editor whose credits include Atlanta, Barry, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Station Eleven and Black Rabbit. A multiple Emmy nominee, Kyle won an ACE Eddie Award for his work on Atlanta. His editing work spans comedy, drama, surrealism and genre storytelling, often finding the rhythm between deadpan humor, emotional honesty and unexpected tonal shifts.
JEN BRYSON
Jen Bryson is an editor whose credits include Atlanta, Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Sirens. After years of working with the post team connected to Hiro Murai, Kaitlin Waldron, Isaac Hagy and Kyle Reiter, Jen moved from post production assistant work into assistant editing and then into the editor's chair. Her work reflects a sharp eye for performance, character detail and the delicate balance between comedy, tension and emotional truth.  



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Hear Isaac discuss his work on SIRENS.

Check out Kyle's interview for BLACK RABBIT.

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Spider-Noir
Editors – Jennifer Barbot, ACE; Tirsa Hackshaw, ACE; Eric Kissack, ACE and Geraud Brisson, ACE
Although the editors of Spider-Noir may have all arrived at the series through different paths, they quickly found themselves working toward the same goal: shaping a superhero story that functions first and foremost as a noir detective tale. For Jennifer Barbot, Tirsa Hackshaw, Eric Kissack, and Geraud Brisson, that meant balancing 1930s atmosphere, modern pacing, dry comedy, stylized action, and the very particular energy of a Nicolas Cage performance.

Created by Oren Uziel for MGM+ and Prime Video, Spider-Noir stars Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York who is pulled back into his former life as the city's only superhero, The Spider. The series also stars Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Jack Huston and Brendan Gleeson, and is presented in both "Authentic Black and White" and "True-Hue Full Color" versions.

For the editors, that dual-format release created one of the show's most interesting creative and technical challenges. The editors primarily cut in black and white, leaning into the shadows, contrast and classic noir language of the series, while visual effects reviews often revealed the same scenes in color. The result was a show that could feel emotionally different depending on which version was being watched, even when the underlying performance, rhythm and story remained the same.
JENNIFER BARBOT, ACE
Jennifer Barbot is an editor whose credits include Your Honor, Raised by Wolves, The Man in the High Castle, Jessica Jones and Dope Thief. On Spider-Noir, Jennifer was drawn to the show's mix of noir style, superhero mythology and emotional character work, as well as the opportunity to help establish the tone of a world that had to feel both period-inspired and contemporary.
TIRSA HACKSHAW, ACE
Tirsa Hackshaw, ACE has worked across a wide range of television and film projects, including One Piece, Kung Fu, Jupiter's Legacy, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and The Punisher. Having previously worked with Steve Lightfoot on Marvel's The Punisher, Tirsa came to Spider-Noir with both a love of the noir genre and a deep appreciation for the Spider-Verse, making the show a natural fit for her interests as an editor.
ERIC KISSACK, ACE
Eric Kissack, ACE is an editor and director whose work includes The Good Place, Veep, Black Monday, Rutherford Falls, Pam & Tommy and The Studio. He has also edited feature comedies such as Role Models, Brüno, Cedar Rapids, The Dictator, Horrible Bosses 2, Daddy's Home, Instant Family, Barb & Star Go to Vista Del Mar and Bottoms. On Spider-Noir, Eric was especially interested in the show's dry, organic comedy and in finding a rhythm that allowed the humor to breathe without undercutting the detective story.
GERAUD BRISSON, ACE
Geraud Brisson, ACE is a French-American film and television editor whose credits include CODA, The OA, Counterpart, This Close, Shantaram and Lessons in Chemistry. Having previously worked with Steve Lightfoot on Shantaram, Geraud was excited by the chance to explore a superhero-oriented story through the lens of noir. His work on Spider-Noir included sequences that blended action, subjective sound, visual effects and classic film references into the show's distinctive style.  

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Hear Eric discuss his work on THE STUDIO

Listen to Geraud discuss cutting Best Picture Oscar-winner CODA

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Editors - Laura Zempel, ACE and Lauren Connelly, ACE
Although BEEF - Season 2 editors Laura Zempel and Lauren Connelly are working together for the first time, this is Laura's second season working on the series.  But despite being new to one another, Laura's and Lauren's talents seamlessly combined to tackle a complex, character-driven "slow burn" with multiple storylines that required a delicate balancing of tone, including both dark comedy and psychological drama.

Created by Korean director Lee Sung Jin (Sonny Lee) for Netflix, Season 2 of BEEF stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan as Joshua Martin and Lindsay Crane-Martin, and Cailee Spaeny and Charles Melton as Ashley and Austin, two couples; the poor latter two blackmailing the rich former two, using footage Ashley shot of a heated argument which would threaten their image.  Similar to Season 1, this incident escalates into a prolonged feud and a game of cat-and-mouse...minus one dog.
LAURA ZEMPEL
In addition to her Emmy®-winning work on BEEF - Season 1, Laura's skills as an editor can be seen in another Netflix series, SIRENS (2025).  She has also worked on EUPHORIA (2019-22), DISPATCHES FROM ELSEWHERE (2020) and ROOM 104 (2017-19).  Prior to that, she assisted on HOUSE OF CARDS (2014), DEXTER (2011-13) and IF I CAN DREAM (2010).
LAUREN CONNELLY, ACE
Originally from Chantilly, Virginia, Lauren graduated from The University of Southern California with a B.A. in Cinema-Television Production.  Past credits include television shows such as MO on Netflix, GASLIT on Starz, MASTERS OF SEX on Showtime, THE STRAIN on FX, and THE SON on AMC.  Recent feature films include SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE for Amazon Studios, A TOURIST'S GUIDE TO LOVE on Netflix, and Rodrigo Garcia's FOUR GOOD DAYS, which premiered at Sundance.  

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Hear Laura discuss her work on BEEF - Season 1 and SIRENS.

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