Finely Sliced: Saam Hodivala on Analysing Body Language and Expressions

Saam Hodivala launched his film career after graduating with a film studies degree from the Southampton Institute in 2004. Starting as a runner at HSI Films' UK branch, he quickly transitioned to post-production, joining Work Editorial in 2006. At Work, alongside renowned editors Neil Smith, Bill Smedley, Richard Orrick and EP Jane Dilworth, Saam contributed to award-winning projects for major clients like Nike, Levi's, Sony, and Honda.

Throughout his tenure, Saam's reputation continued to soar as he forged creative partnerships with directors Guy Shelmerdine, Jeff Low, Andrew Gaynord, and Max Sherman, collaborating closely with international agencies such as BBH, AMVBBDO, Ogilvy & Mather, Droga5, Weiden & Kennedy, and Mother.

In 2020, Saam achieved a milestone with the premiere of his first feature film, "All My Friends Hate Me," at the Tribeca Film Festival, followed by a 2022 theatrical release. Inspired by his passion, he founded Shift Post in early 2021, assembling a talented editing team.

Saam's work has drawn global recognition, including judging at the Shots Awards EMEA in 2023 and editing the Netflix special "A Whole Lifetime with Jamie Demitrou." His talent has earned him accolades such as the Shark Awards' International Grand Prix and Gold for Best Editing in 2023 and several APA and Creative Circle honours.

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

Saam> To be honest I get slightly paralysed by choice, so over the years I've developed a routine to approach projects. I don't make any decisions early on, I just watch through all the footage and mark anything that makes me laugh or that feels like it will be useful for telling the story.

I spent years wrestling with making my selects, wondering whether I should keep or get rid of certain shots or if what I was keeping was any good, by eliminating any decision making early on it allows me to simply become immersed in the footage and start thinking about how it will all come together.

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?

Saam> I feel like I’ve been developing that since I was four years old! I was one of those kids that would just stare slack-jawed at people, constantly watching how people interact and analysing their body language and expressions. I think it’s given me a pretty good eye for authentic performance and an understanding of how people behave in various situations that I can apply to whatever story I'm trying to tell.

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

Saam> There’s nothing more satisfying than watching a film where every element of the narrative clicks together like a jigsaw puzzle. Every shot should serve a purpose and every piece of dialogue should develop the story or characters somehow. You can only achieve this by delving into the mechanics of the story, understanding each character and ensuring that the choices you make in the edit never deviate from it. The deeper you understand the ‘why' of the story, the easier it becomes to work out how to tell it.

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?

Saam> I’ve made electronic music in one form or another since I was a teenager and have found that there are definite parallels with editing. Creating a build up and drop in a track is the same as setting up a joke and landing the punchline in comedy or creating a jump scare in horror. It’s all about building tension and then releasing it in the most satisfying or surprising way possible.

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

Saam> I recently cut a spot that had a very specific narrative but I found that I wasn’t really connecting with the dialogue. As I watched the footage I was keeping an eye out for other ways to tell the story without it. We ended up telling the same story almost entirely through body language and expressions, it was incredibly satisfying and the end result was immeasurably better for it.

LBB> How important is your relationship with the director and how do you approach difficult conversations when there is a creative difference of opinion?

Saam> I feel like I have great relationships with my regular directors, it’s important that you’re on the same wavelength and have similar tastes or you can end up trying to pull things in different directions. As an extension of that, any creative differences of opinion we might have would always have a valid justification and rationale that we can discuss and decide on. It’s all very diplomatic!

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

Saam> I know a lot of editors would say that they’d rather have too much material rather than not enough, but I find when there is too much material you can become a bit snow blind. Although there can be difficulties from not having enough footage I do quite like the challenge of having to make something work with what we have.

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

Saam> I couldn’t single out one project but I’m really proud of the commercial work I do generally. I never specifically planned to cut comedy but am immensely grateful that this is the niche I’ve found.

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?

Saam> The main change I've seen is that there’s way more 20” and 15” campaigns now, 30” is such a perfect length so it’s a shame that everything is getting shorter and shorter but I guess that's just how things are now.

LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? 

Saam> I really love the story of Raja Gosnell, he cut some of the biggest films of the 90s including 'Pretty Woman' and 'Home Alone' in the same year, then went on to become a commercially successful director. People might turn their nose up at the sort of films he makes ('Beverly Hills Chihuahua' isn’t for everyone!) but I’ve got a huge amount of admiration and respect for him for making that leap!