Shift Post’s Chris Coupland on Cutting for Comedy

It’s no surprise that Chris Coupland’s found his home at Shift Post – a go-to for comedy editing across both commercials and long form.

Starting out in VFX – he worked on major titles including ‘Watchmen’ and ‘Quantum of Solace’ – Chris eventually transitioned into offline editing, discovering a natural flair for cutting comedy. Since then, he’s worked on commercials with directors including Thomas Ormonde and Dan Castella on campaigns for Just Eat, Coca-Cola and Google – and most recently, with Angelo Cerisara for YoungCapital. It’s an insane commercial that visualises the (really quite gross) extraction of gen z’s youthful essence, and imagines what would happen if it was guzzled up by their boomer colleagues in the form of a bright orange energy drink.

Last week, LBB’s Zara Naseer caught up with Chris to hear more about his comedy editing style, and what it was like working with Angelo on his “Y2K Cronenbergian fashion techno musical”.

LBB> You started out as a VFX editor in feature films – what then lured you into the advertising world?

Chris> To be honest, I was just desperate to cut more. I really enjoyed working in VFX, but in-house VFX editorial is a lot of organisation and reviews, and not much cutting. I talked with a friend of mine who had been cutting mood reels for a few agencies in house and I was really excited by the idea of spending all day editing. I immediately left VFX and freelanced at various agencies cutting mood films and loved it. It was 2012 so the agencies were starting to produce in-house for what was then a wild west of online content and social media, and within a year I was cutting online films and TVCs.

LBB> And how does that film background influence your approach to ads?

Chris> Whenever we would get scenes turned over from editorial I would go through and log changes and new shots etc. A lot of the time these would be on VFX heavy sequences, so a lot of action scenes with fast cutting. I would sometimes get wrapped up in watching it and miss a cut, then have to go back frame by frame to look at the changes, and slowly I would see ‘oh that’s smart how they’ve lost that moment but you don’t notice’ or how they break a rule or ignore continuity and yet it would totally work. I started to understand their editorial techniques, gradually absorbing how these big films were changing version-to-version. Once I started cutting ads, I was desperate to try out things I’d learned.   

Above: Shreddies 'Take That Mornings!'

LBB> What’s the first thing you look out for when taking on a new spot?

Chris> Every single film is unique, and presents a different set of problems and solutions. I try to understand the core idea or perspective before I start cutting, so I can keep that as a sort of north star while selecting takes and putting together a first cut. Whenever I’m confused about what the joke is I really struggle to put something together and have to phone the director and ask what it’s all about. 

LBB> In particular, you specialise in cutting comedy – what are your go-to techniques for getting a smile out of audiences?

Chris> If I’m stuck… hard cutting to the next scene in the middle of someone talking. Slowly zooming into an otherwise banal reaction shot with tense music. Repeating the last word someone said with a load of reverb while a super of that word zooms onto screen. 

Above: YoungCapital 'Boost Your Boomer'

LBB> You recently edited YoungCapital’s ‘Boost Your Boomer’ ad – a crazy watch. What was your collaborative relationship like with its director, Angelo Cerisara?

Chris> Angelo is such an exciting director to work with. I can’t wait to sit down and watch his footage because I know it’s going to surprise me and look incredible. He’s got a very specific vision in mind, with long, beautiful shots playing out, coupled with a dry sense of humour and comic timing. Every shot is there for a reason so when we have to cut for pacing or timing it’s less arguing about the micro editing of trimming frames and lines, and more the macro editing of discussing whether we can lose whole beats and story moments to make the film work. It’s just fun hanging out in a room with him all day figuring this stuff out.

LBB> What was your vision for the edit and how it could help the ad and its concept to land properly?

Chris> The visuals were so striking that as soon as I saw the footage I felt like I knew where this was going. The main thing was releasing the right amount of information at the right time. We tried different versions in different orders of scenes, and cut one sequence from the film entirely as it took some of the joy and surprise out of the ending. But it worked great as its own mini-narrative so I think it made it out as a social.

LBB> It’s a very music-led piece – how much did that dictate the tone and pace?

Chris> The music was so important to it. Angelo calls it a Y2K Cronenbergian fashion techno musical for a reason. We were lucky to have Xavier Andrew compose the music for it, and he had already produced a demo before we started cutting, then we sent him feedback as we edited with it, and the next morning we’d have a fresh version of the track waiting for us. 

Above: Snug 'The Cloud Sundae'

LBB> Looking back over your whole advertising portfolio, what’s been your most challenging project to date?

Chris> Any job shot on several cameras for a bunch of days, I’ve just received the rushes, and we’re viewing the first cut tomorrow. 

LBB> And looking ahead, what would your dream project look like?

Chris> I would love to cut some sketch comedy. Like a series or a special. 

LBB> What trends or developments in your craft are you most excited about?

Chris> It’s really interesting to see what’s happening in comedy editing on social media like TikTok. I think it started when we had Vine and people would put together six-second films with a setup and punchline, and amazingly it worked! Now it’s a little looser but the pacing and timing is so fast and really sharp. I’m also really loving the amount of editing podcasts and talks nowadays. I feel like even ten or so years ago it was hard to find anything where editors talked about their process and now there’s loads of interviews and videos that pull back the curtain and help de-mystify the process.