5 Minutes with… Steve Gandolfi
Steve Gandolfi cut his teeth in filmmaking as a nine-year-old runner. A chance conversation about future ambitions with his then hairdresser led to him running (literally) around a music video set for an artist who went on to become “massive”, according to Steve. As a young editor he worked with Chris Morris, one of Britain’s most brilliant - and outrageous - comedic minds, on spoof news show The Day Today. He’s been working with Daniel Kleinman, the most awarded director in the world according to Gunn Report, since the early days of his editing career. It’s through his work with him, Steve says, that he shaped his career and learned the importance of the relationship between director and editor.
That career eventually led Steve - who has been named Britain's Best Editor numerous times - to launching his own company. Its original name of Ruthless Cuts didn’t last long due to an amusing name rights battle with another newly launched shop. And so, in 1997, Cut+Run came to be. Originally launched in London, the editorial shop now also boasts outposts in New York, Austin, San Francisco and Los Angeles, where Steve calls home now.
LBB’s Addison Capper caught up with Steve to find out more about his career, the importance of martial arts, and the marriage-like relationship of an editor and their assistant.
LBB> Not too long ago you returned from your honeymoon - congrats! How’s married life?
Steve> It’s been amazing. We’ve just got back from a minimoon in London. I’d never been to my hometown as a visitor or tourist and it was incredible. We explored museums, my old athletics and kickboxing club and spent some beautiful time with family. Next year we’re going to Thailand, where I spent part of my youth.
LBB> On the Cut+Run website you say that you started with “absolutely nothing” - what was your childhood like and what kind of kid were you?
Steve> I grew up in south London in a family of Italian descent, with a mother who was Welsh. We didn’t have much, but I fondly recall a very stable environment rooted in traditional values. Something I did have to call my own was martial arts. My parents introduced me to the form and instilled the significance of dedication at a young age. I believe it’s been a massive influence on my life and has kept me on the right path. What kind of kid was I? A very peaceful child. Though some would say I’m no longer a peaceful child!
LBB> Your first glimpse into editing came while working as a runner on a stage - how did you end up being a runner in the first place? What kind of path took you there?
Steve> When I was a kid, I had seen an advert where people walked out of the back of the TV. I thought to myself, ‘I want to be one of those people’. Later, when I was about nine years old, I was having my hair cut and the woman cutting my hair asked what I was interested in doing with my life. I explained to her my fascination with TV and as it turned out, she was a stylist set to work on a music video that very weekend. She invited me to come work as a runner so I could see what it was like. I became known as one of the fastest runners in England, taking my title as a ‘runner’ literally. I would run so fast the food would still be warm when I brought it back! That was the start of my career - I met the artist and I worked for him for many years on and off whilst at school. He became a massive artist and in fact his last tour will be in 2019. Through him I met many other creatives who went on to run advertising agencies and become lauded directors.
At one point, I met a man named Ian Weil who was one of the most awarded editors in the world. He really set me on the path to becoming an editor. I began as an assistant and we worked with nearly all of the top directors and agencies at the time. One of Ian’s directors, Paul Weiland, gave me a big Tesco commercial to cut and I completely messed it up. Ian stepped in and saved the day... But by 18 I had a showreel and went on to be named ‘Britain’s Best Editor’ on numerous occasions. Obviously, so much happened to get me there - including getting married and having children, becoming a professional kickboxer and working with incredible young talent who went on to run the film industry.
LBB> What was it about the editing side of it that so fascinated you?
Steve> To be honest, I’m not 100% sure. When I was first introduced to editing, I just fell in love with it. I loved sitting with the director and the creative team and hammering out ideas. I relish the process of piecing the story together. Before timelines became as short as they are now, when the footage would come in, I would put together an edit before looking at the storyboard or script just to see what instinct and observation could create without influence - afterwards I would always read the script and treatment and do the edit again before anyone would see it. Sometimes it didn’t quite work, but often it would spark a new edit or idea. It’s an incredible exercise when you have time to do it.
LBB> I know part of it was seeing the editor come to talk to the director about his vision - how important is the relationship between director and editor?
Steve> It’s huge. It’s an invaluable relationship. I always try to sit with the director, it doesn’t matter where it is, it really helps. Ultimately, the editor’s job is to marry the director’s vision with the agency’s in order to seamlessly create a unified image. So, having both the agency and director involved makes for the best process. Early on in my career, I began working with Daniel Kleinman who, in essence, helped shape my career and established the importance of the director/editor relationship. Daniel decided he wanted to have an editor on set, before portable systems were available, so we’d travel the world together and edit. It was an incredible learning experience for me. Guinness ‘Noitulove’, Smirnoff ‘Sea’, Audi ‘Influence’, and Starbucks ‘Snowflake’ are just a few of the jobs we worked on together.
LBB> You’re one of the founding partners of Cut+Run - tell us about the early days of the company. What inspired you to launch it and what are your biggest memories from that time?
Steve> Many moons ago I was introduced to a man named Andrew Christie who owned a post production house. And he said to me, “Do you fancy setting up an offline edit house together?” The company was formed and we named it Ruthless Cuts. It was as simple as that - no contracts, no lawyers, no paperwork, just a handshake. A few days after we opened, an editor came to us and said we couldn’t use the name Ruthless Cuts, he’d just set up an editing house with a similar name. We fought him for a good thirty seconds until he explained that he had named it after his ex-wife, ‘Ruth-less’. Needless to say, we couldn’t compete, so we changed the name to Cut+Run, which was inspired by the film Moby Dick.
We have gone on to receive multiple Emmy Award nominations, top honours at Cannes Film Festival, Clio Awards, AICP show, AICE show and One Show just to name a few. It has all been amazing fun, extremely hard work, and in the old days, due to our inexperience in running a business, it demanded a lot of my time. It was hard on my personal life, to be honest, but over time I’ve figured out how to have a semi-balanced life. Shout out to all the busy editors out there.
LBB> It’s over 20 years old now! Did you ever foresee yourself here 20 years after launching it? How has the company and its culture evolved over that time?
Steve> When I look in the mirror today, I don’t see a difference. What I mean by that is that although we have come incredibly far, we are still very much connected to the mandate and company culture we set out to create straight from the beginning - we stayed true and have taken it one day at a time. We’ve always admired the great American film market, so we took small steps and eventually opened up in Los Angeles. Moving to America, that was a big deal for our company. As we have continued to expand, it’s given us the opportunity to experience the craft and creative culture all over the world. Needless to say, the last 20 plus years, for a boy from South London, has exceeded my expectations many times over.
LBB> You’ve edited so many iconic projects over the years - is there one that really sticks out in your memory for any particular reason? Perhaps a behind the scenes story, or one you’re most proud of? You can pick a few if you can’t choose…!
Steve> There are many! One of the first that comes to mind is an adidas advert called ‘Impossible Field’, featuring David Beckham and other adidas stars, playing on a field of steel girders and was described as “a new level of football”. We were on location for the whole shoot; we shot for eight days, stopped to edit for two and then carried on shooting for another two days after. Thinking back, it was an amazing experience to work on a project where everyone involved had plenty of time and space to create something incredible.
I would have to say my most humbling experience was working as a young editor on a show called The Day Today, hosted by Chris Morris, who was one of the creatives and co-directors of the show. It was a parodied current affairs program, which went on to win Britain's ‘most outrageous TV series’. I sat next to Chris for six months, editing and shooting. To this day, I continue to work closely with directors. There is nothing better than that face-to-face.
LBB> I wanted to ask you about The Day Today. Chris Morris is (in my eyes at least) a bona fide genius. Can you tell us a bit more about the experience of working alongside him? What are the most memorable moments and lessons from that time?
Steve> When someone special walks into your room/your life and you get a feeling that this person is different - has something that some people don’t have - it’s exciting and long-lasting. I’ve been privileged to sit by the side of some comedy greats - Daniel Kleinman (most awarded director in the world according to the Gunn Report), John Lloyd (The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder, Have I Got News For You) - and Chris Morris is the same. We were so focused on editing that we lived on boxes of chewing gum and bottles of still water. Chris going off shooting more footage, Chris going off and creating music tracks...Rok TV….to this day people still ask me about Fur Q and how Chris was every character in it. It blew people away, and still does.
Working with all of these greats, I learnt so much about myself and the art of creating emotions that would make people laugh or cringe, or basically just say “no way they can’t do that”. And trust me. Chris did that insanely. Man, did we laugh, we all laughed, the whole country laughed and sometimes cried. One time we were working on a show and it was five minutes short… we’re sitting in our London edit suite in the early hours of the morning and he calls a 24-hour McDonald's in Chicago and starts talking to the person about fish… and a new sketch was born. To this day no one really understands where it comes from or what is actually happening, but God does it make you laugh. Creating comedy out of war, destroying politicians through words, his infamous speech at the music awards, he became infused into the culture. This man lives and breathes it. He’d say don’t worry about the editing let’s just make people think, create that inner special feeling that we humans all have. That is the generosity and pleasure of working with and knowing the man Chris Morris.
LBB> A big part of your role now must be in mentoring younger editors - how do you go about doing that? Is it something you enjoy?
Steve> I absolutely love mentoring. First, as I mentioned, martial arts is something that has really shaped me as a person. Muay Thai is sport that requires you to develop each physical skill through thousands of hours of muscle repetition. A deep integration of basic fundamentals is extremely important before you attempt advanced techniques. I very much see the connection between martial arts, my work as an editor and my role as a mentor.
Secondly, I believe the editor/assistant relationship is like a marriage - it’s deep and you spend more time together than with your life partner. We’ve had editors leave other companies, take a step sideways and join us as assistants, so they can polish their craft and spend the immersion to become even better editors. It’s amazing to watch assistants learn, grow, flourish… and then you divorce and they move into another room. When you have the opportunity to train them, it creates a community and a sense of family for life. They never really leave you and you never stop caring, you always remain invested and following their work. Young brains bring fresh ideas into the process that are thought-provoking and inspiring. Years ago on one of Kleinman’s sets, one of my assistants, who is now a partner in Cut+Run, worked out the technical aspects of how to take the live feed out from a camera and edit it at the same time. Brilliant!
LBB> What do you like to get up to outside of work? Any quirks or hobbies?
Steve> Outside of work, one of the things I enjoy most is sitting with my wife and teenage kids and their friends, talking about life and their perceptions of the world. I am obsessed with life! I also find my hobbies become my obsessions. I am really into fitness, especially any form of combat. I am addicted to film and TV. My wife and I try to watch something different every night. My quirks? Someone once said, “I know it’s going to be a good edit when I see him sitting there rubbing his hands together.” It’s true.
