Meet the Next Generation of WORK
A lot changes in this industry, but the importance of talent never will. The best edit houses invest in it, shaping the future as they identify the next generation and build towards it.
That’s undoubtedly the case at WORK, as the transatlantic edit house future-proofs its reputation as one of the industry’s best by recruiting the finest talent from the US and the UK. Eager to meet the editors shaping the company’s future, LBB caught up with New Wave editors Rebecca Quinn, Jack Moore, Miles Watson in London, as well as New Wave editors Audrey Weiner and Joey Tuzzolino in New York and Rain Keene in LA.
Over the course of our conversations, we learned about the ‘visually stunning’ work that inspires them, and how each editor made the leap into the industry…
London
Rebecca Quinn
For Rebecca, editing was an obvious career choice. After all, she’d first begun honing her skills as a kid. “I started when I was about 12”, she tells LBB. “I’d be doing music videos with friends, or highlight reels of family holidays and get-togethers”. Five years later, an initial internship at a Dublin-based edit house morphed into a two-year stay. As she recalls, that first job provided the perfect springboard for an early career which would lead her down under to Australia before heading to the UK.
“Working in a fast-paced environment with industry professionals bolstered my love for post production”, she reflects, “and became the perfect place for me to hone my editing skills”.
Today Rebecca can be found in London, where those same skills are helping WORK’s clients keep their audiences engaged. She loves a challenge, and dives into the projects which help her develop her skills even further. “I'm drawn to work that explores new techniques”, she says. “From a thought-provoking short film, a visually stunning advert, or a fun music video, I always want to be a part of projects that leave a lasting impact”.
And at WORK, she’s found the perfect playground to do just that. “Since starting here I have had the opportunity to work under such talented editors who have inspired me with their varied genres and working styles”, she explains. “This has pushed me to approach like-minded up and coming directors and producers, which is a very positive and exciting time in my career”.
Jack Moore
Jack’s editing history has an entrepreneurial twist. “Whilst in University myself and a few friends started up our own production company”, he reveals. “This meant we each had to take on a whole load of different roles and were thrown into the deep end. I came to understand that even though I did enjoy the thrill of working on set, I felt the editing and post process was a place I could thrive and build my skill set”.
Following that hard-earned epiphany, Jack found his way towards an editing role with WORK in the studio’s London office. From there, he’s hard at work building on his own inspirations to cut projects which make an impact. His appreciation for the visceral, gripping narrative power of a great edit is something he draws upon regularly.
“I can take inspiration from all different types of work, be that short films, music videos, film or any other video content”, he says. “I’ve always been a big fan of Tarantino and how he can create such tension within a scene. The basement bar sequence in Inglorious Basterds is a great example, with the switching between languages once the undercover British officer has been found out. It feels like the whole sequence takes forever to play out, and that you’re in the room with them in real time”.
Miles Watson
Sometimes, the best moments of creative genius come about as we try to procrastinate something else. For Miles, he recalls stumbling across the art of editing whilst studiously avoiding his looming University deadline for “an essay on Chaucer, or something like that”.
“I started reading about film theory, and heard about this book by Pudovkin on film technique” he tells LBB. “That was when I first became fully aware of editing and its importance to visual storytelling. I’d never really considered editing before, but that book, written almost a hundred years ago, stressed how editing was essentially the only truly unique element of all the crafts in cinema; everything else had precedents in other art forms usually from the theatre, photography, or painting”.
Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with a greater appreciation for their craft than Miles. That innate appreciation extends to his respect for work from his peers. “Usually when I watch something that I think is really good there’s this feeling of admiration, respect, and awe”, he explains. “Like all great art there always remains something ineffable, something you can’t quite put your finger on as to why it works so well. It’s work like that that makes me go a bit loopy, and I want to rewatch it and try and break it down”.
It’s that kind of passionate obsession which is now helping Miles to craft edits at WORK which leave audiences spellbound. By way of example, Miles points towards Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest as an edit which has worked its way into his own brain. “I’ve gone to the cinema three times now trying to take that all in”, he says. “That film is something else”.
Los Angeles
Rain Keene
Like Miles, Rain got an early start in his own editing journey. “It began through work experience, while also studying at university”, he says. “I was fortunate to work alongside some experienced editors and assistants at WORK, where I was exposed to the intricacies of the post-production process”.
Today, Rain’s work includes spots for brands like HP, Playstation, and an iconic John Lewis Christmas ad in the UK. That’s in no small part down to his work ethic. “Despite my initial lack of knowledge, I made sure I approached the opportunity with curiosity and an eagerness to learn”, he tells LBB.
Looking ahead, the editor is open-minded when it comes to the next project he wants to tackle. “I find inspiration in projects that offer creative challenges and opportunities for artistic expression”, he says. “But I’m often inspired by other forms of art that offer fresh perspectives, like literature and visual art”.
Crucially, Rain lets those inspirations inform every aspect of his editing - which can lead to surprising and satisfying results. “They’ll influence the way I approach storytelling, character development, and visual aesthetics in my work”, he says. Examples of which can be found on the new wave editor’s Instagram page, here.
New York
Audrey Weiner
Some people might describe Audrey as having an obsession with film. But if she does, it’s a healthy one. “As a kid, I used to go to the library and check out eight movies at a time and spend the week watching them”, she says. “But I never imagined there was possibly a career for me in the industry”.
Before long, however, that changed. “When I was in college, I thought I was going to be a lawyer, but all my electives were film courses”, she recalls. “I once worked on a film, and spent all night in the editing suite. The following morning I called my best friend crying, telling her I didn’t know if I would ever get the chance to do this again. She encouraged me to just go for it. I applied for a job in New York, and never looked back”.
She’s still not looking back. Today, Audrey relishes “to work on projects that push my creative boundaries, and explore unconventional storytelling methods”. And her role within WORK is making that a reality.
“I love working with other talented directors and professionals that help me create something that moves people, and pushes the limits of what I thought was possible with the footage”, she says.
Joey Tuzzolino
Joey’s journey towards editing wasn’t obvious, but it probably was inevitable. “As a teenager, I made skate videos with my friends”, he tells LBB. “While sharing these videos was fulfilling, over time I found myself increasingly drawn to the music selection and creative editing aspects over the filming itself”.
That curiosity propelled Joey to take editing more seriously, and a love for the craft bloomed organically. “It was during the editing process that I felt I could be at my most creative”, he reflects.
What’s remained consistent throughout Joey’s career to date, and never more so than now, is that love of experimentation and trying new things. His cuts for WORK are fuelled by a consistently diverse diet of inspirations. “Lately, I've been drawn to found footage films or documentaries”, he says. “There's something inspiring about the way they recontextualize past recordings, leaving me feeling like there's a wealth of untapped material waiting to be discovered”.
