Finely Sliced: Why Connor Maitland Is Only Just Getting Started
Connor is optimistic by nature and technical by practice. He fell in love with post production at a young age making home videos, and learned everything he could to pursue a career in it. He got his start creating wedding films at age 19, and later moved on to dabble in volume portrait photography and professional spray painting before finding himself as a proud member of the STUCK IN MOTION team.
Connor prides himself on remembering every keyboard shortcut, and he’ll tell you about the video game world record he holds if you ask him.
LBB> The first cut is the deepest: how do you like to start an editing project?
Connor> I always start by organising! Editing is a game where there are many moving pieces and I feel most capable in a well structured post environment. A project can take any number of weeks to finish, and any number of editors may work on it with me. I owe it to myself and my colleagues around me to make my project an enjoyable place that's easy to understand and be creative in.
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?
Connor> Time, curiosity, and practice. At first, learning how to edit emotion happened subconsciously during my first few years. I started integrating rhythm that felt right per emotion, and continued exploring the different ways that music interacts with each project I work on. When I feel something is working, I keep running with it to see what lessons I can learn. It becomes more of a science with practice.
LBB> How important is an understanding of story and the mechanics of story?
Connor> Understanding how storytelling works plays a huge part in editing, but you don’t need a master-level grasp on story to make it work. I never considered myself a perfect storyteller, but ’ve been able to do a lot based on feelings and gut instinct. It’s all about recognising what’s available to you and playing with order and pacing. Keep your mind open and don’t get trapped by one train of thought.
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?
Connor> It’s really important to note that good editing can always feel like a song, even if there’s no “music” involved. There’s a natural rhythm in everything, and it’s easy to hear if you listen closely. Dialogue especially has a pronounced sense of beats and melody. I consider all of this when editing in order for my work to compliment what’s naturally already there.
I love to cut to music but only at a certain point in each project. When I’m laying things out for the first time I find music limiting to the creative, and like to let the visuals speak for themselves. I want to see naturally what sort of rhythm they want to fall into. My music comes in a little later to tighten up the form that started to naturally take place. And from there I’ll make further discoveries on what stays and what goes.
LBB> Tell us about a recent editing project that involved some interesting creative challenges.
Connor> Recently I had a lot of fun working with my team on a Pizza Hut spot for the Super Bowl. The creative challenge was to imagine what a viral internet space would sound like as users freak out over two celebrities eating pizza together.
Aside from the chorus of notification beeps and dings, the big part of this challenge was arranging dialogue from talent selfie recordings. Each of us took a different approach to build a story with these videos. We assembled the best pieces of each idea, and the final result turned an abstract place into a tangible pizza gossip universe. It’s the sort of humbling/inspiring experience where you see that everything can be cut multiple ways.
There’s never only one “right” way to edit something, and it’s worth the time to see what options you can discover.
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?
Connor> I’m only familiar with the structure of US post, but if editors are more involved in the process here it feels good! One of my favourite aspects of post production has always been the creative influence I have as one of the last people to work on a project. Working with clients to bring their vision to life while offering my own spin feels great. I’m glad to have the chance to spark some ideas.
LBB> What’s harder to cut around – too much material or not enough?
Connor> Not enough material is always harder to cut around and usually involves some creative problem solving to get the spot where it needs to be. More material in a project means more options to make the best creative possible, and more time I can use to refine the edit!
LBB> Which commercial projects are you proudest of and why?
Connor> There’s some VERY high gloss projects I’m grateful to have been a part of, but my proudest work is a cheesy little TV Land adible. This project marked the first time I owned the edit and wrote the script for commercial work that aired on TV. It all came together in a seamless culmination using the skills I learned from the great people around me. It’s a 15 second Humana spot about exercising in the wild west, and it holds a special place in my heart.
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?
Connor> The drive for media to fit different platforms is an interesting one! It’s been a gradual change over the last few years. Almost all of my projects call for cutdowns and social versioning for different screen shapes. It’s all important to make flexible content that can reach viewers however and whenever.
LBB> Who are your editing heroes and why? What films or spots epitomise good editing for you?
Connor> I’ve actually gained a lot of editing influence from Video Game and Film composers. Editing is such a musical art, and I’ve been inspired by good composers that evoke emotion and use different tricks to get a viewer engaged. Some of my favourites: John Williams in ‘Star Wars’, Daniel Pemberton in the ‘Spiderverse’ films, Grant Kirkhope in the ‘Banjo Kazooie’ games, Murray Gold in ‘Doctor Who’, and Disasterpeace in ‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On’ and ‘Hyper Light Drifter’.
To pick a few films with fantastic editing, these few favourites come to mind: ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, ‘Baby Driver’, ‘A Quiet Place’.
LBB> How does editing in the commercial world differ from the film world and TV world?
Connor> So far I only have experience in the commercial world, but commercial editors and film editors can’t be too different. We’re all collaborative artists that are bending time and space to entertain.
LBB> Have you noticed any trends or changes in commercial editing over recent years
Connor> I’m really just getting started in commercial editing! I’m hoping to be part of more trends as I keep going.
