Camera Obscura: ‘When to Cut’ with Luis Caraza

Luis is an LA-based commercial and music video editor who’s worked with chart-toppers like Bad Bunny and Olivia Rodrigo to corporate giants like Pepsi and Apple. Originally hailing from Veracruz, Mexico and with a film education from the University of Texas, this world-class editor would like to remind people to stay hydrated and take plenty of vitamin D.

LBB> What is your niche craft obsession?

Luis> I think that as an editor, the decision of 'when to cut' is something that we're all going to be thinking about throughout the entire process of editing and our careers as editors. It's something that people have written books about so we can all verbalise a standard language of when to do it. Put this shot into the timeline and cut away from it the instant you've gotten everything you need from it. That's the main idea behind it. But what is it that the shot is giving you, exactly? How does the shot change by keeping it on screen or cutting away sooner? How does it feel different to do that? I think that regardless of whether I'm working on a narrative, commercial or music video edit, the questions largely stay the same but my idea of 'when to cut' changes constantly, and it's something about my craft that I obsess over constantly.

LBB> Where/ when/ how did you first come across this obsession?

Luis> Making this decision is something that editors will experience on day one, but I don't think I really thought about it until I cut my first big short in college. A close friend of mine, Jorge Ramos, was directing, and we probably put over a thousand hours figuring out every single cut. How to maximize emotional output by making small decisions in a timeline. How those decisions compounded over time to create something that could be pretty good, or really bad. I had never cut dialogue before, and that is a world in and of itself. Do you stay on the person who's talking the whole time, and then cut to the person who replies? That seems kind of boring. What if you stay on the first guy for a bit, what does that do? Is it funnier if you cut quickly back and forth and cut in all these reactions? The questions keep getting more complex, and the more you do it, the less you feel like you know for sure.

LBB> Was it an obsession straight away or something that has evolved over the years?

Luis> It's evolved with every project, every director, every piece of feedback I get. I'm always trying to learn and to become a better editor, so I pick and choose the things that I resonate with. If a director I respect and admire has a strong sense of where to cut that I can take to other projects, I'll borrow that if I think it applies. That's the amazing part about editing: every single time you do it, you will create an experience that will shape you and your ideas. All you have to do to get better at it is to keep doing it. The hope then would be that the right opportunity hits when you have the right idea for that specific job so you can do what's best for the project. But if you don't, you can just let that experience teach you what you need. I hope that wasn't too abstract.

LBB> What are the most interesting debates or conversations you are having around this obsession?

Luis> As I'm cutting a new short film with that same friend from a few years back, we've noticed that our idea of "when to cut" has drifted entirely. Maybe from me working primarily on music videos and commercials at London Alley and him still with that feature-length inspiration from our college years, we've developed propensities towards or away from certain decisions. I like to cut away as soon as possible. I prefer a snappy cut if I'm getting the information I need. But he reminds me that this is ultimately about a feeling. So I try it out and it works, and now I keep it in mind until something else teaches me otherwise.

LBB> How widespread do you think this obsession is with your peers?

Luis> I think every filmmaker has some version of this that they struggle with, on varying levels of consciousness. For me it's definitely an obsession that can take the backseat and I won't notice it until I hit a wall that requires me to reassess my beliefs and either change them or become more deeply rooted in them.

LBB> Can you share any examples of work where that obsession really came to the fore and elevated the final production?

Luis> This edit I recently worked on, a video for Doja Cat for a song called 'Agora Hills', I think I hit a wall multiple times throughout that made me rethink my idea of when to cut, at least for this project. Normally in a music video you'd cut to the beat, creating more cuts as the song rises in intensity, lingering when you're ready to release that tension. For Agora Hills, the director Hannah Lux Davis and I really wanted to create a feeling of unease throughout. It's a spooky video, without being horror. It was sexy and pop but at the same time it wasn't. So we created an edit that moves to the beat in a pop sort of way that also lingers on shots that might be a little uncomfortable. It might spit some shots at you to create tension all of a sudden, and it might not take away that tension until much later. Hopefully it's a cut that leaves you uncomfortable but wanting more. 

LBB> For anyone just getting into your field, what advice would you share to help them get their head around this particular thing?

Luis> Just don't sweat it. Consume as much media as possible, create an opinion, but also be aware of the fragility of that opinion. Challenge it, change it, or keep it steady, but always always keep an open mind. It's an evolving art form and no one knows for certain at any given moment what the best decision is. So just open up the project and experiment, try a million things, and see what you like best.