Uprising: Why This Editor Likes Being a Creative Focal Point

Now an editor at New York-based post house Forager, Joey Doyle always enjoyed being theatrical and a bit of a class clown growing up - a pathway that led him to double major in classical languages and film, television and theatre at the University of Notre Dame.

When he wasn’t hiking and generally enjoying the outdoors, he was often surrounded by his family - an understandably passionate coming together of Irish Catholics and New Jersey Italians. “[That] must be why I enjoy feedback calls for my edits,” he jokes.

After studying film theory at college, he felt something change, and began to consume the medium in a wholly new way - watching films less for the story itself, and more for the way a story is told. “That really opened up what I could connect with,” he says. He started out as a PA before getting an assistant editor role at William Morris Endeavor,  launching Joey onto his current trajectory, and joining Forager in 2021.

Discussing his first few formative years in the profession, he says, “The most useful thing I learned, at least creatively as an editor, was that there are several ways to go about creating the thing you see in your head. And none of them are the ‘correct’ way. When I started taking editing seriously I just developed my own shorthand.”  

Some of these first ‘serious’ projects that acted as a catalyst for Joey’s editing career included an edit for director Zen Pace and the National Center for Lesbian Rights, as well as a music video for singer-songwriter Peter McPoland, directed by Mallika Chandaria. “I feel like with both those projects my personal style of editing got fully adopted by artists that used it to tell their own story. I’ve always wanted that to happen,” he explains.

Above: 'Our Light' - National Center for Lesbian Rights

His work also “changed entirely” after he transitioned from an assistant to a fully fledged editor. “Assistant editing is so great because you have continuous opportunities to learn; I could talk for a long time about how to make the most of being an AE. But when you lead projects, you set very different expectations for yourself. In short, I like being a creative focal point, and as an editor you get to do that.”  

Joey recently worked with Bose - a brand he says has strong internal creative - and enjoyed helping to make “something that feels very alive” with his second-time collaborator, director Mark Clennon. “Collaborating with Mark is great,” he says. “I also cut a spec [film] which he made when stepping out as a director. That project kicked off a really healthy collaboration between us and to continue it for real with Bose was amazing.” 

Above: 'Run the Vibe' - Bose

While he’s recently drawn inspiration from the likes of George Miller’s ‘Furiosa’ and the music videos of the American singer Mette, Joey is generally attracted to character studies. This is something of a calling - and one that he couldn’t resist, even on holiday, when he found chef Stephan Koltes and his restaurant Burgstrasse 9 while travelling in Switzerland last year. “I found Stephan’s restaurant and ate there. I loved it. And the next day I decided I’d go ask to interview him and shoot all of his team at work. It was all really spur of the moment! We got along well and went with it.”

The resulting short documentary film ‘Restaurant Burgstrasse 9’ was subsequently shortlisted at the Reel Food International Film Festival and won at the 15th annual Taste Awards. Joey has also written, directed and self-produced two other shorts, as well as another which he is currently working on.

Above: Close-up from 'Restaurant Burgstrasse 9’

“My favourite thing is to be specific,” he says, describing what links the projects he works on. “I love being granular when I’m cutting a piece. But the most challenging thing is ditching an idea I love, when it just doesn’t fit the goals of a project.”

Despite this creative freedom to shape a film, Joey adds that an editor’s role is also often defined by the directors, cinematographers and VFX artists that they work with. This leads to him being excited for the upcoming technological advancements across the wide scope of disciplines in filmmaking - be it pre-viz, robotics or AI - which are going to impact his work in the future.

When he’s not editing or shooting his own short films, Joey finds time to relax and explore new locations and skills. “Yoga and therapy seem to be my bag,” he says. “Beyond that, I do love to cook with my girlfriend, go on hikes and take a trip once or twice a year.” In fact, one of his main goals for the rest of 2024 - besides adding to his list of big brand collaborators like Fitbit, Hulu and Bose - is to live up to chef Stephan Koltes and throw a few “awesome” dinner parties of his own.

It’s these fellow creative people that he meets along the journey that supply him with the most inspiration and ambition. “I think I’m driven by all my friends working in other fields,” he says. “I love seeing them grow at what  they do. It gives me a lot of motivation.”

So whether they’re running a restaurant, directing, editing, writing or something else, it’s this passionate, creative family - in addition to his own back home - that supports him and helps keep him moving forward as he cuts his own path through life.