Finely Sliced: Chad Sarahina

lbbonline.com

A part of the Ethos team from the beginning, Chad Sarahina began editing after moving to the suburbs of Atlanta, GA. Initially cutting short narrative films in Georgia, Chad’s career soared after he moved to Los Angeles in 2013. Spending his early years in Los Angeles working on projects for Vice and music videos for friends, Chad learned much of his craft from director, and Chad’s mentor, Brandon McCormick, whom he is currently working on a feature film with. Chad portfolio includes commercial.  feature film, and music videos for artists including Bad Bunny and Jack White. His top work includes Bad Bunny “La Deficil” and “Ignorantes,” the “Coachella Golden Hours” documentary, and the VMA winning “Get Low” for Zedd & Liam Payne.

 

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

Chad> Turn on the tunes. Listening to music while making my selects may seem distracting and counterproductive, but I enter a sort of trance state. Although this doesn't really work with dialogue scenes.

 

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?

Chad> A lot of it came through film study and reading books on filmmaking. Robert McKee's Story and Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth are essential reads. The Power of Myth sticks out to me because the basis of it is why we are attracted to stories on a human level. 

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

Chad> Story is essential to being human. Everyone understands it. Without story in editing, you're just putting different pictures in a different order and calling it good. Unfortunately, a lot of content is made like that these days. I always want to be sure each cut reveals something new. Shots within a piece need to have a reason to be there.

For the rest of Chad's Q&A check out the full article on LBB.