Art of the Cut

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Stephen Rivkin, ACE, who was one of the editors on James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash. The other editors included Cameron himself, Nicholas de Toth, Jason Gaudio, and John Refoua. 
Steve’s been on Art of the Cut before when we discussed the previous Avatar film – The Way of Water. Steve also edited the first Avatar film, for which he was nominated along with John Refoua and James Cameron for an Oscar, a BAFTA, and an ACE Eddie Award. He won an Eddie for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. He was also nominated for ACE Eddies for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. Other films include Alita: Battle Angel, Ali, The Hurricane, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and My Cousin Vinny. 
Today our discussion includes how the Avatar films use a unique two step process - first editing performance alone, then editing the final shots created with those performances, and on co-editing with the film’s director, James Cameron, ACE.
If you'd like to read along with this interview and see the trailer, video featurettes, clips and images from the film, visit the BorisFX.com website for the Art of the Cut blog.
borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with editor Mark Strand, ACE, who is nominated for an ACE Eddie for Best Edited Drama Series for his work on HBO’s The Pitt.
In addition to The Pitt, Mark’s work includes Shameless, Animal Kingdom, Rizzoli and Isles, Longmire, Nip/Tuck, and others.
Our discussion includes  how the show was not supposed to have any music, how geography matters to the editing, and the value of subverting audience expectations when cutting.
If you want to read along with this interview and see exclusive images, like the floor plan for The Pitt and timeline screenshots of Mark's nominated episode and the pilot, visit BorisFX's blog site.
BorisFX.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we’re talking with editor Viridiana Lieberman about the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-nominated Best Documentary, The Perfect Neighbor. The film was also nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance, and the Audience Award at SXSW, it won the Cinema Eye Honors Award for Best Directing and Viri was nominated for Best Editing. Viri was also nominated for an ACE Eddie and won the Critics Choice Documentary Award for Best Editing.
Viri was last on Art of the Cut for her work on the documentary, Carlos. Her other work includes directing and editing the ESPN film, Born to Play, and editing on docs like The Sentence, 30 for 30, and Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power.
Our discussion today includes using structure to hook the audience, how sometimes an iPhone is an editing tool, and why the term “b-roll” is cringe-worthy.
If you want to read along with this interview and see exclusive photos, check out the BorisFX blog at
borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut a discussion of the Oscar-nominated Best Picture, Train Dreams with editor Parker Laramie.
Parker was the 2025 Winner of the Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award at Sundance for the documentary André Is an Idiot. He has also been nominated for 2 Emmys and a Cinema Eye Honors Award for his writing and editing on the non-fiction program, Allen v. Farrow. His other work includes the feature film Sing Sing, and the TV mini-series Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult, among many other projects.
Our conversation today includes: how a background in documentary editing helps with editing narrative features, creating dynamics by changing structure, and the power … and danger … of a cut to black.
If you'd like to read along with the podcast and see a trailer, behind the scenes photos, a timeline screenshot of Train Dreams - in Premiere - visit the BorisFX.com blog site
borisfx.com/blog/aotc

Today on Art of the Cut we speak with Affonso Gonçalves about editing Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet.
Affonso has been on Art of the Cut previously for Don’t Worry, Darling,
Affonso has been nominated for an Emmy and won an ACE Eddie for his work on the TV series True Detective. He was nominated for another ACE Eddie for his work on the documentary, The Velvet Underground. His other work includes the films Carol, The Lost Daughter, Beasts of the Southern Wild, and Winter’s Bone.
Our conversation today will cover co-editing with Oscar-winning director Chloe Zhao, the power of elliptical editing, and the value of cutting to black.
If you'd like to read along with this podcast, you can read a transcription and see photos, clips and the trailer at teh BorisFX blog site.
Check out: borisfx.co/blog/aotc