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Finely Sliced: Understanding the Story Inside and Out with Niles Howard

08/02/2023
Editors
New York, USA
626
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WORK USA editor on aligning with the vision, finding inspiration from everywhere and why the relationship with the director is really important

Niles was born and raised in Detroit. As the son of two artists, it was destined that he would end up in a creative field. In high school Niles discovered his passion for editing while working on a class project, recreating the Tenacious D Tribute video, which would go on to screen at the DIA. Pursuing this craft would lead him to Columbia College where he studied film editing, in a program where you shot your first film on a Bolex and edited it on a table top reel-to-reel Moviola. 

After college, Niles ended up in Los Angeles, working as a production assistant at Pretty Bird. Where he had to ride his 12-speed bicycle sixteen miles each way, from his North Hollywood apartment to the offices in Santa Monica to afford LA-living. From there, Paul Hunter helped him land his dream job as an assistant at RPS. After four years of cutting his teeth as an assistant, Niles left to pursue freelance work. In that time, he met Emilie Aubry and together they formed Kid Sister. As an editing duo, they caught the eye of Stewart Reeves, who brought them on to the Work roster.

Niles has worked directly with major artists such as Beyonce, Dua Lipa, Moses Sumney, Jeremy Scott, Melanie Martinez and directors like Warren Fu, Jason Harper, Christine Yuan, Luke Gilford, Ryan Heffington, Andjez Garviss, Emmanuel Adjei, Jessie Hill, Lacey Duke, Hanna Lux Davis, and many more. 

Continuing to move into the long-form space, last year Niles cut two feature films. His work has been featured at Sundance Next Fest, SXSW, and the Cineramadome (RIP). Niles won two editing awards at AICP 2022 including Best of Show and docu-style, he has won a Shark award, and a couple of Ciclope awards. He is represented by Work Editorial.


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

Niles> Before the project starts I like to study references to get inspired and align with the vision. After receiving footage I have slightly different approaches, depending on if the project is long or short form. For commercial and music video work I like to watch everything at the computer and make my selections at the same time as viewing, but for long form work I prefer to watch all the dailies from my couch on my client monitor with a pen and pad, writing down short key words of things that I feel about each take as well as ideas for the scene. 

For short form, I like to shove all my selects together onto one timeline and watch it down. The randomness of seeing clips back to back next to each other is where a lot of my ideas for the edit come from. I write those ideas down to reference while building the piece.


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?

Niles> For me, personally I have to relate to the subjects and emotion in every project. I recently heard Darren Aronofsky talk about working with Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream and his direction to her was that her character was 'stupid.' Ellen corrected him, saying the character was 'simple.' This showed him that to play the character, she had to find humanity and care for this person. In the same way, I believe to be an effective editor you have to relate and share feelings with your actors as if they're people you care about. While watching dailies I often find myself smiling along or laughing with the characters. 


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

Niles> It's the most important. In the same way that most great abstract painters first become masters at the essentials, I believe the best way to add your mark to a project is to understand the story, inside and out. Earlier in my career I would constantly try to interject all my ideas into the first pass and I'd usually get lost, and struggle to progress. Now, I make sure to stay as close to the boards as I can on my first pass. This way I can easily see where ideas can be strengthened, built upon, or played with to improve the piece effectively. 


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?

Niles> The pace comes from everyone's work. It's the heartbeat of the project. The director has a rhythm that the actor interprets, that the DoP interprets, and it's the editor's job is to digest that and figure out the language of it all. For the most part it's instinctual. Outside of experience, my instinct has developed by watching EVERYTHING. I find inspiration from short films, commercials, documentaries, music videos, video games, and obviously, movies. Over time I think we’re naturally pulled toward a pace or rhythm that feels right or wrong to each person. 

Personally, for most projects I wait to add music as long as I can. Music can sometimes act as a band-aid, it can help convey an emotion almost too well. But if you can get the scene to a place where the intention is clear before adding music, then it can sit in the wake instead of creating it, and that's the sweet spot.


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

Niles> Last year I edited a concert film with Moses Sumney that posed a lot of challenges. He worked on his album for three years and when it was finally ready to come out, as he was gearing up for the world tour, the pandemic hit. So this project was a crowd-less concert film. The biggest challenge was presenting this material for people who have never gotten the opportunity to experience his album live. Considering this, our goal for our audience was to have a unique and personal connection to the film, make it feel as if Moses was performing a private show just for you. That needed to be reflected in the edit. There are a lot of hidden post moves in the film. I even used a stabiliser in creative ways I'd never considered before. Prior to this project, I'd only worked with concert footage a couple times, but nothing as large as a feature length film.


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

Niles> The relationship with the director is really important. If we haven’t worked together before I like to connect ahead of the edit if the schedule permits it. I LOVE my job and I am confident in my role as a collaborator. I like to try everything, I'll never tell a director something's not going to work without first experimenting, because even if it doesn't end up in the final cut, there's usually something in that experimentation that will inspire a new idea. I'm always happy to be wrong about creativity in the building phase because ultimately these compromises only strengthen the project. To be fully transparent, this is a gained perspective. Because the role of editor is mostly a solitary journey, I think it's easy to fall into the trap of taking ownership of a project and give resistance to anything compromising 'your vision'. Being humble, collaborative, and flexible are invaluable strengths in this industry but especially for an editor.


LBB> In the US 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?

Niles> Sound is so important, it can give weight to a visual that without it might fall flat. I like to put a ton of SFX in my offline and always try to give notes on the sound before they lock the picture. Same with colour too. I don't go to colour sessions anymore, however I like to take a look before picture lock only because there could be something in a shot I didn't see before in the offline colour that could affect an edit. Something might draw your eye to the right when in the next shot I want your focus on the centre. All of these are considered in the online process for me.


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

Niles> I've been in both situations and it's hard to say definitively. The advantage of too much material is options, but like the saying goes, limited environments foster more creativity than free and open ones.


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

Niles> Early on in my career I worked on a handful of Adidas projects with John Pina at Miniac Films that are still dear to my heart and I think still hold up today. Last year I did these 'Black Makes a Way' Meta spots with Jason Harper that I really love. My wife and I had just moved, we were living out of an Airbnb during a particularly rainy season. I set up my iMac in a room in the attic next to a window and my dog slept behind me as I plugged away. I often think about that time and those spots turned out amazing. It was special how tight the team was and the trust that was given to the director and I to create something authentic.


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?

Niles> Absolutely. It seems like the shorter spots are getting shorter but on the flip-side there is more space for longer form subtle branded content. For example, Stefanie Soho put out these Google Pixel spots last year that were around three minutes, telling these beautiful human stories about connection. I'm definitely biased, but advertising like that is WAY more effective to me and I want to see and be a part of more projects like this.


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

Niles> Murch is god, obviously. But Angus Wall is the reason I moved to Los Angeles. I wanted to work at Rock Paper Scissors where they cut movies and David Fincher would always be at the lunch table, or so I thought. That ignorance is how I accidentally fell into the commercial world.

I reference Beginnings, Talented Mr Ripley, Do the Right Thing, and Bigger Splash a lot. But it's hard to say, so many films have impacted me for different reasons. I've probably watched The Red Shoes around 20 times. I remember seeing Benjamin Button at a dollar theatre near my collage apartment in Chicago. It was the first film I discovered the importance of editing for myself.


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

Niles> The most immediate difference to me is how intimate film work is. It's usually me and a director grinding away for a couple months before we share with anyone for feedback. Whereas with commercial work you might get a couple days with the director, if the project is generous. Then you're thrown in with five+ people. I like both for different reasons. I'm comfortable in a room juggling ideas, making sure everyone feels like they're heard and seeing their ideas reflected in the project. 

The masochist in me likes it when shit hits the fan in a room full of agency and you have to perform a creative fire drill on the edit. That experience is pretty specific to commercials. Successfully pulling off those moments when you get the link out, minutes before the call, is the post production equivalent to hitting the long 3-pointer right before the buzzer. It’s a unique type of gratification. 


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

Niles> The trend I've noticed the most is all the readily available data that's influencing creative decisions. Showing at what point people turn off a piece and how many times you have to show a product to be effective. While working on a music video I was told if you don't show the artist in the first 15 seconds you lose half your audience. I find these choices to be restrictive, but it's still fun to find ways to satisfy the creative and the client. 

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