Finely Sliced: David James Findlay on Taking Chances in the Remote World

An early adopter of the independent model for TV commercial editors, David James Findlay (just ‘Findlay’ to most) has carved out a home in the bustling Toronto post-production world for the last fifteen years. His freelance editing venture, Barbershop Editing, cut the strings and overhead from traditional offline houses, promoting a streamlined and nomadic experience: flying across the globe to cut on-set, or Ubering back-and-forth between a director’s kitchen and an agency’s boardroom. The experiment successfully proved independent editors are a secret weapon for producers to exceed client expectations within scalable budgets. 

Recent clients have included VISA, Nike, and Subaru launch campaigns, while Findlay’s editing on Right To Play: We Rise garnered global awards from the Cannes Lions, The Clios, The One Show and more. Spots have premiered during the Tokyo Olympics, Super Bowl LV and on the big screens of Times Square. Keep up with the latest work at BarbershopEditing.ca

LBB> Why did you get started in editing? And what has the journey been like up until this moment? 

Findlay> I've been an editor for almost fifteen years now - five years within a traditional offline house, and then ten years as an independent. Growing up, though, my original focus was actually screenwriting - just telling a great story from scratch. After writing scripts in high school, I studied Film Theory and Production at University and received a screenwriting scholarship. But once I started editing student shorts, I found myself honing those story-building skills in a new way. By entering the commercial editing world, I was able to explore how to evoke emotional responses in even shorter edits, while building trust and cultivating amazing friendships with clients. This let me transition seamlessly into the freelance world to excel on my own terms. The industry and technology are constantly evolving, so it’s been incredibly important to keep an eye on the horizon to see what’s coming next.

LBB> The first cut is the deepest: how do you like to start an editing project?

Findlay> There are a ton of important discussions to have before the camera rolls, but once we’re ready to cut I’m meticulous about reviewing and logging every frame myself, organising files and pulling selects.

I like to be confident in knowing exactly what was shot and where to find it. If a client asks to see something specific that they remember from set, it’s a bad look if you don't know what you have to work with - so I won’t outsource edits or have things ghost-cut.

Sketching story points on paper or post-its can be helpful, and it’s always beneficial to work first with the director to understand their vision, problem solve and experiment. The project is sometimes like a thousand-piece puzzle poured onto the floor, without a photo on the box. You've got to dive in and figure out what you have, and where it all fits. Except here you’ll always have some great pieces left over that weren’t quite necessary, but that’s the challenge I like as an editor.

LBB> Non-editors often think of editing just in technical terms but it’s integral to the emotion and mood of a film. How did you develop that side of your craft?

Findlay> Technical proficiency is super important to be reactive with clients, but the best path for a visceral response to an edit might take an uncommon approach. When I was four, my mother took me to see a stage play of Peter Pan. In the opening scene, disappointed, I whispered to her, “I can see the strings.” The magic was gone, and my mom wasn’t thrilled with me. So I think an editor’s role is largely that - making sure you don’t see the ‘strings’ and to let the viewer get lost in the piece. I'm often fighting for authenticity in the takes I choose or the stories we tell - anything that feels forced or too perfect sort of betrays the viewer’s engagement. It’s been important to develop trust in myself that I don’t always need to be too polished, and the mood or emotional resonance of a project can benefit from breaking some rules and taking big chances.

LBB> How important is an understanding of story and the mechanics of a story?

Findlay> Having a screenwriting background helps with a general sense of defined structure, but again, your gut reaction, sense of rhythm, timing, and trust in an audience often outweighs the need to absolutely nail down fixed story elements. “There were tears” is (almost) always the best response you can hear after a screening, and there’s no blueprint for that - you just have to be flexible and trust you can be daring and still stick the landing. You don’t need to over-explain each story beat to the audience. Knowing what to remove to allow other areas to breathe is key to the overall success of the story.

LBB> Rhythm and a sense of musicality seem to be intrinsic to good editing (even when it’s a film without actual music) – how do you think about the rhythm side of editing, how do you feel out the beats of a scene or a spot? And do you like to cut to music?

Findlay> I love cutting to a sick track, but it can be a dangerous game to rigidly edit to music in commercials. In films, at times an instrumental temp-track for tone might be swapped with a similar track and nothing too precious is lost in translation. With commercials, demo-love is real and deadly. If a favourite track isn’t pre-approved, or out of reach in the budget, you’ll have finished spots that suddenly feel…off, because the music was changed after picture-lock and the central rhythm has gone out the window. So it’s important for an edit to have an internal visual tempo, even with the music muted, and then sweetened with a great track. Some apps and plug-ins automatically sync clips to waveforms now, which is fun, but you need variety and choice in the moments you emphasise, allowing voice-over to breathe, etc.  Sound design, though, is often the biggest key to a dope edit, when a cacophony or sudden silence becomes the backbone of the spot's intensity.

LBB> Tell us about a recent editing project that involved some interesting creative challenges.

Findlay> I had a blast working alongside Juniper Park/TBWA and a brilliant team at Alter Ego for CIBC's Charge of the Penguins. It’s a hilarious CGI plus live-action spot, with six weeks of pre-shoot planning and six weeks of complex post. In the end, over seven-thousand CG penguins were designed (and outfitted!) to charge alongside CIBC’s ‘Percy’ spokes-penguin. Working with director Scott Cudmore, Revolver Films, and the AE team, we built animatics from detailed storyboards to nail down the best comedic beats, then crafted the edit with filmed outdoor field/drone footage and stuffed penguin stand-ins. Watching the edit come to life and become so epic was a truly amazing experience. The hardest part was losing pre-vis shots along the way that were equally hysterical, but the process was the truest example of creative collaboration.

LBB> In the US/Canada we know that editors are much more heavily involved across the post-production process than in Europe - what’s your favourite part of that side of the job?

Findlay> The commercial industry in Toronto is huge, but close-knit. You can easily form client relationships that last forever. Giving the editor a place at the table throughout the full process - from pre-production calls to cutting on-set and supervising grades/onlines - allows us to overhear important conversations that directly impact the cut. So we can ensure the director’s voice is heard, support the producer by considering budgetary issues, and protect the post-production team by flagging their concerns before shoot day. Having this access to all collaborators, and building chemistry with the director along the way, can be a vital advantage for the project’s success.

LBB> In a sentence or two, describe your editing style.

Findlay> I’m most often focused on presenting vulnerability, without exploitation, for an impactful emotional story. I love authenticity, allowing the subjects to ultimately be proud of their depiction in any project, without anything feeling forced, deceptive or artificial.

LBB> Can you explain the impact that someone’s style of editing has on a project?

Findlay> An editor’s role is mostly solo discovery, but we thrive on collaboration. There’s normally a ton of footage, sometimes without a lot of direction, and very tight schedules. Each editor comes with their own experience and knowledge, but an ability to find common ground between the client’s expectations and what’s best for the project overall is an imperative skill. Patience and enthusiasm vary from person to person. Editors may choose similar selects but then have wildly different interpretations of the footage, expressing their different styles and temperaments. So honest conversations with the creatives are key to getting on the same page, knowing what the team hopes to achieve, and then how we can use our unique perspective to guide them to the heart of the edit.

LBB> What’s harder to cut around – too much material or not enough? (And why?)

Findlay> You can overshoot for days and still not have what you need to nail down the emotional response the team is looking for. Proper storyboarding, script timing, or writing out rough story arcs are a dying part of the accelerated prep process. Still, they’re important to avoid heartbreak when an essential piece of the story is missing. It can be a fun challenge to troubleshoot around missing narrative gaps, but with tight schedules, the best solution is to try to understand the story (as best as possible) before the camera rolls. Talking to the editor early may help you pinpoint essential elements to capture for crafting a successful narrative.

LBB> Which commercial projects are you proudest of and why?

Findlay> I had the privilege to work on the Right To Play: We Rise campaign alongside BBDO and director Mark Zibert. It was a project that had evolved quickly as it progressed, facing unique challenges along the way, but once I was on board I was able to hit the ground running, learning so much from Mark and the creative team. I felt a lot of trust on my shoulders, and the result was truly impactful and evoked an amazing response. Award recognitions helped extend the reach and influence of the ad campaign, and it set a new benchmark for crafting powerful messaging for non-profit organisations.

LBB> There are so many different platforms for film content now, and even in advertising, something can last anything from a few seconds to a couple of hours. As an editor, are you seeing a change in the kind of projects you’re getting from brands and agencies?

Findlay> With a wide range of mediums a brand can harness for exposure now, it opens the door for bolder creative risks. With very directed marketing opportunities - based on specific YouTube searches, reacting quickly to new trends and world events - there’s a broader challenge to stand out from the pack by being innovative and throwing more lines out, especially across various social media apps, to see what resonates.

LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? What films or spots epitomise good editing for you?

Findlay> An early investment in my teens was buying the Director’s Label DVD boxset for Gondry/Corbijn/Jonze, etc. Jonze especially stood out, and his growing collaborative portfolio with editor Eric Zumbrunnen was revolutionary across so many genres. Françoise Collin’s work with Godard (Bande à part / Pierrot le Fou) exudes editorial patience and style, letting key moments play out organically. And then Joe Walker’s work with Villeneuve exemplifies restraint to punctuate every cut with building tension. I’m still learning, every day, to be more sparing, and finding less need to prescriptively direct the viewer’s response.

LBB> How does editing in the commercial world differ from the film world and TV world?

Findlay> I’ve had the privilege to edit some short films and assist on features, some premiering at TIFF where there’s obviously a bigger assurance of rapt attention in the audience. Commercials are constantly fighting for engagement though. Editing basics may not change, but in TV it’s a fun challenge and bigger sense of accomplishment when someone says “I love that spot!” because you know you stood out from a crowded field.

LBB> Have you noticed any trends or changes in commercial editing over recent years?

Findlay> Remote shoots and editing sessions removed some of the in-suite chemistry I loved when collaborating. However, at times it seemed work-from-home circumstances allowed the creatives some extra buffer time to work with editors. I saw opportunities to present multiple edits, with more time to explore the cuts and footage together, and the creatives sometimes had time to even sleep on their thoughts or review internally without the shotgun urgency prevalent before the shut-down. In-person sessions may become the norm again here soon, but agencies and post-houses will continue to look for ways to integrate remote edits as a streamlined way to review and approve cuts, with lower overheads and rejecting mark-ups.

LBB> What plans or projects are you looking forward to?

Findlay> I recently worked on a spec project for director Matthew Manhire and Feels Like Home productions, utilising an AR wall with Unreal Engine to integrate a real cast and a Tesla seamlessly with scenic CGI backgrounds to create a truly immersive and realistic spot. I’m looking forward to seeing how this new tech will revolutionise remote shoots and blast open creative possibilities on slimmer budgets.

LBB> Do you have any tips for young editors starting out right now?

Findlay> Be kind. Own your mistakes and present the fix. Timelines are tight, and projects move fast -  understanding what the next person in the workflow needs from you helps avoid unnecessary late nights and panicked phone calls. If you’re on top of things, you’ll have people in your corner to help when you need them most.