Finely Sliced: Obsessively Studying with Lucas Lobe

Lucas Lobe is a New York based film editor. Lucas has edited many commercial projects for a variety of clients, including Spotify, Adidas, Vogue, EA, among many others. In addition to his commercial work, Lucas has edited dozens of music videos with tens of millions of views, as well as multiple television series and short form documentaries which have garnered international recognition. His work in documentary has earned him several Vimeo Staff Picks, as well as extensive festival acknowledgement.

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

Lucas> The first thing I do when starting a project is to obsessively study all the footage. Finding those special moments caught on camera are key to an edit. It helps me to understand the story the footage is trying to tell and allows me to immerse myself in the scenes. What is an edit if not a collection of special moments? Selects are very important to me and I use them to build the edit from the very beginning. I will often collect those moments at the start of the edit, yet I still always find myself returning again to the chopping block to find other moments later on that can help enhance and build off of those original moments and selects.

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

Lucas> Each story is unique. I think understanding the building blocks of a story and how a story can layer and arc is integral to the editing process. Film editing is the art of crafting story, and a deep understanding of emotion and pacing is the most valuable skill an editor can have. My process always begins with gaining a full comprehension of the peaks and valleys of the story - and understanding the characters within it. Catching the momentum and balancing between story and technicalities and using those methods as building blocks to tell the most authentic story is key to my process. The techniques of storytelling also influence the edit - through motion, dialogue, montage, sound design, facial expressions, etc.

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?

Lucas> As a musician from my youth, music is incredibly important to my editing style and how I approach my work. When music is naturally a key part of an edit, I use the beat itself to help make my cuts. I almost always have some sort of beat in my head when cutting a scene, even if there is no music. I find that this can help draft a natural pacing and rhythm to my cuts. I always try to watch an edit without sound and then again without visuals, to see if both elements of the edit are working on their own.

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

Lucas> For me I think it is harder to cut around too much material. When there is just too much good footage, I can sometimes struggle with deciding which take is better than the last (because they are all so good). I will always try each one in their appropriate place, but at the end of the day the number of possibilities with too much footage is just so vast. In these instances I will usually consult the director or outside sources to get their opinion on what they think works best. When the footage is scarce, it really allows me to work the little footage I have and to get the most out of it. I think it also depends on what kind of project you are dealing with. If I am working on a documentary style piece, having enough footage to completely tell the story is also important - but again on the flip side, getting mileage out of your footage can be a very interesting creative challenge in telling a whole narrative.

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

Lucas> I think there is a lot more creative freedom in the film and documentary world than there is in the commercial world. That is certainly not always the case, but I think storytelling techniques in the edit come out a lot more when you’re trying to solve specific problems in film and TV. I think a lot of the time with commercials, companies are trying to fit certain agendas that can sometimes conflict with a full fledged creative vision.