Luis Caraza Peimbert is an editor at London Alley, a creative production studio with music and entrepreneurial creativity at its core. Based in Los Angeles, the studio helps brands engage with consumers and make content that resonates, often enlisting the help of the world’s most well-known celebrities and brands. Some of London Alley’s notable artist collaborations include Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, Tiesto, Nicki Minaj, SZA and Lil Nas X.
Caraza Peimbert sees himself as a sort of detective, “finding clues between the script, the storyboard, a call with the director and the 36th second of the fourth take” in order to weave a story together, whether it’s for a music video or a brand project.
Let’s find out more…
What does being an editor entail?
My role evolves from project to project and becomes more focused or general depending on the needs of the final product, but it all boils down to receiving footage and weaving a story through the material you’re given. You are a detective, finding clues between the script, the storyboard, a call with the director and the 36th second of the fourth take. There are dozens of permutations of what you can do with that information: cut to the beat for a music video, build a character arc for a branded piece, show off an exciting new product or flip the script and subvert these expectations. Sometimes we start with an idea in mind; sometimes we “find it” in the edit. It’s an extremely dynamic role that never stops being new and challenging.
What would surprise people about what falls under that title?
Starting out (or when budget is limiting), there was the usual synchronizing, color correcting, basic motion graphics, the odd rotoscoping, necessary rewriting, etc. You’re (hopefully) trying to make the best possible piece, so if you have a skill that the team is missing, then it’s your responsibility to use it. But probably more surprising than that, editing is likely the most social of the crafts, outside of producing and directing.
Your first role should be customer service — making the client, director or whoever is sitting in the edit bay with you feel heard and understood. You can be the best editor ever, but if you’re rude, boring, a loud chewer or just have an awful-looking floral chair in the edit bay, then people might think twice about coming back. You’re creating an experience that isn’t just inside of the client monitor; it’s framed by everything around it.
What’s your favorite part of the job?
My unfiltered thought was “the snacks,” but it really speaks to the larger feeling of comfort I get from being in the edit bay. It’s a dimly lit, temperature-controlled refuge against the monotony and time war you’re waging, because the worst thing an editor can do is turn in something that is both boring and late. So you’re always in comfort and always entertained in there — or at least finding ways to be entertained so whoever’s watching rough cuts later can enjoy as well. What’s not to like? And there are always varying degrees of pressure, which I find are completely necessary to stay engaged. Diamonds and pressure and whatnot.
What’s your least favorite?
Apathy, wherever it may come from.
What is your most productive time of day and why?
My brain is good at doing quick, mechanical tasks early in the morning — replying to emails, letting people know you received their notes, shooting out a quick export. Edits that are in their late stages get the most attention, as I’m just swapping one take for another or trying out a different track. Then at around 4pm or 5pm, I start feeling the rush of the EOD, and the creative juices start their proverbial flow. I do my first passes around this time, as by then I’ve been consciously or subconsciously thinking about how I’m going to cut them, and I feel enough pressure to keep me hyperfocused on the same project for four, eight or 12 hours.
If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
I grew up acting, and I feel the need to perform for others (you can argue that editing does that for me, with extra steps). I think I would’ve really enjoyed being in theater.
How early did you know this would be your path?
Around my second year of college, I had been on enough sets to know that I didn’t like it. I fell into cutting a couple of my older friends’ shorts and found I was kinda good at it, and I enjoyed it a ton. Then this was cemented by some amazing editing professors, who showed me it could be an incredibly rewarding career. Shoutout to Don Howard and Chris Roldan at the University of Texas.
Can you name some recent jobs?
It was music video world for a bit this year. We had Barbie World with the amazing Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj and Agora Hills from Doja Cat, both directed by the fabulous Hannah Lux Davis. We dipped our toes into K-pop — which is an immense universe of its own — with Chasing that Feeling by TxT, directed by Christian Breslauer. We have a lot of insane commercials coming down the pipeline that I’m really excited about. They’re keeping me busy.
Do you put on a different hat when cutting for a specific genre? Can you elaborate?
I don’t feel the genres as much as I feel different directors. They all have different workflows and styles that I need to hit a switch in my brain to get aligned with. Once you find that groove, you can create really powerful relationships. The most anxiety-inducing feeling is when you’re working with a new client or director and need to start from scratch, but proper communication and research can go a long way.
How did COVID change the way you work? The good and the bad?
I was fortunate enough to find a lot of good in the pandemic. We had a lot of footage at London Alley we needed to repurpose and re-edit. For a long time at the beginning, we didn’t know how long the lockdown was going to last and when we’d be able to go back to shooting.
So a lot of work fell on my desk: sizzles, tiny commercials shot by actors who were shipped camera kits, commercials shot with drones, more sizzles. Eventually I got the trust to get on bigger and bigger projects and built some great relationships with our directors at London Alley. We worked via Zoom and avoided the edit bay. Nowadays, I’m really grateful that remote sessions aren’t as stigmatized as they were before because sometimes it is the only way to get a job done, and it does bring people together from around the world in a way they never would’ve been able to.
What system do you edit on?
We have a beefed-up Mac Studio with an M1 Ultra, three monitors, a giant client monitor and a stereo system in the office, but I keep falling back to my laptop. It’s a 2021 M1 Max MacBook Pro that does everything I need it to do as long as I’m working with proxies.
Do you have a favorite plugin or tool within that editing system that you call on a lot?
I try to have a healthy rotation of tools, so I don’t overuse them, and I keep my stash fresh. Recently a director showed me RSMB, which tracks pixel motion in your shot to create realistic-looking motion blur. Shoutout to Evan Hammerman.
But I use the usual: Red Giant Universe, Acidbite, Film Impact. We have an Artlist account, which I use to abuse its music and sound effect library, and I use Motion Array whenever I need some stock footage. I ask ChatGPT to summarize an interview into a 60-second paper edit that Adobe Premiere automatically edits into a cut. I use Runway to animate a boardomatic or Photoshop’s generative fill to do a quick set extension whenever the camera is static. Adobe just released an AI-powered rotoscoping tool for After Effects, which I’m really excited about. It’s all changing constantly, and if you stop learning, your work gets dated quickly.
What are three pieces of technology you can’t live without?
My laptop, my Steam Deck loaded up with Baldur’s Gate 3 and a pair of $9.99 candy red Ecko Unltd. headphones I bought in a Korean music store hidden between BlackPink fridge magnets and full-size cardboard cutouts of the members of BTS. You need to sound-design for the lowest common denominator when it comes to how people are listening, and I’d be surprised if someone found shittier headphones than mine — but I do love the color. I don’t think Ecko even makes headphones anymore.
What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I love a good late-night gaming session. I find it also helps me stay savvy with the technology since these are some of the most intensive tasks a computer can run, so you need to constantly upgrade to stay current. My parents are moving right now, and I found my old Guitar Hero, so if you find me in my apartment at 7pm on a Tuesday night, I might be clicking away to “Through the Fire and Flames.”