Italian-born Max Ferigo wears multiple hats at New York City’s Modern Post, including video editor, colorist and beauty retoucher. In explaining what the studio focuses on, he says it covers the entire post workflow, including visual effects.
We reached out to the busy Ferigo, who enjoys editing and the ability to give footage “a sense of story, or just amplifying beautiful emotions.” Let’s find out more…
Can you walk us through your workflow?
I get the footage from the director. Sometimes I decide to work independently, but most of the time I get a mood board or have a creative conversation to get a general feeling of what the piece should look like.
Dior
Selecting all the footage can take days because the final video should contain only the best of the best moments. After the piece is edited (both video and sound design) and approved, I step into color grading. Color grading can be very technical, the video has to look great on every device, but grading is also very subjective. Sometimes what looks great to me doesn’t look right to the client and vice versa. Usually I ask for picture references from a still campaign or old movies or cool ads. After the color is locked, I switch to finishing, which allows me to make every shot (basically every frame) perfectly clean. Sometimes I remove or reshape things and recreate missing things that were not in the footage or not present on-set.
What would surprise people the most about what falls under that title?
People are always surprised when I mention retouching and that you can manipulate shots that sometimes end up looking very different from the original. So they think, “Oh, wow, so basically everything is fake?!”
What’s your favorite part of the job?
When the editing already has a good structure, then I can refine it with sound effects (because I sound design too). I also love the beauty retouching part, where you can really go crazy with being a perfectionist (if there is budget to support it, of course).
Tom Ford
What is your least favorite?
I guess the very beginning — selecting the footage and creating the first rough cut. At that stage, it usually is not fully formed, and you can feel a little unsure of the direction.
What is your most productive time of the day?
It depends. I would say it’s a combination of late night and early morning. That means that sometimes I do the best around 9pm or later, when I realize that what I have done from 10am to 6pm doesn’t look good. Then I wake up at 6am with fresh eyes. That’s when I can change everything or adjust little things that actually make the difference. So, the most productive time can be a combo of 10pm with 7am.
You worked remotely during the pandemic. Do you see some of the workflow changes remaining with us going forward?
I have been working remotely for the past two years, and I got used to it. It hasn’t been a big deal. Sometimes with color grading, I just want to be at the office. But it’s mentally amazing to have the option to stay home or go to the office.
If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
If I was very smart, I would have been a pilot in the Air Force! But the better answer now is probably to be a real estate agent, but only selling $5 million-plus luxury apartments/houses. I love real estate.
Cle De Peau
How early on did you know this would be your path?
It was easy. I got my first Sony camcorder when I was 13 and my first PC with the Pinnacle system board to edit at like 15 years old. I have been obsessed with BTS movies since I was a little kid and with Industrial Light and Magic since Jurassic Park, so 1993 when I was 9 years old.
Can you name some recent projects you have worked on?
Right now I am the Tom Ford guy, so it’s all Tom Ford.
I worked on a spot for Tom Ford Noir Extreme directed by Steven Klein. The last one was for Tom Ford Seductive Cherries shot by Mario Godlewski. I also did some cute spots that had a lot of compositing for luxury makeup and skin care line Cle De Peau.
Name three pieces of technology you can’t live without.
My phone unfortunately, my personal iMac and definitely the Dyson vacuum cleaner. I vacuum every morning.
Tom Ford
Do you listen to music while you work? Care to share your favorite music to work to?
Sometimes I do listen to music when I do color work or finishing. Usually they are soundtracks from movies, so I would say Hans Zimmer or Howard Shore. But if I’m in the mood and don’t have anxiety from work, then I can also listen to Cardi B or an Ibiza techno playlist. But overall I like silence, especially if I have to jump from editing to color to conforming and back to compositing… you need pure silence. That is why I actually love to work from home.
This is a high-stress job, with deadlines and client expectations. What do you do to de-stress from it all?
Hah! I hoped I was going to get some advice here!
I don’t like to say, “Sorry, this is not doable” because we all know it is doable. Everything can be and look better. So when I feel overwhelmed and unwilling to say no, I usually go out for a walk. Nothing has changed when I get back home, but usually the day after that is a better day. Most of the time my mind amplifies things that are not even that bad. Dramatic.
Finally, would you have done anything different along your path? Any tips for others who are just starting out?
I always think that I should have moved to the States earlier, or that I should have kept studying. Some days I feel I want to go back and make other choices. But in the end, everything worked out. I moved here in 2016 with a lot of stuff on my CV, and I got a job after a week.
For those just starting out, I say don’t stop; don’t get lazy. Keep moving. And stay curious all the time. Curiosity is so important! But mostly, at least for me, this is a job where you have to sacrifice your free time. I spent my teenage years practicing and practicing at home. I also spent the whole pandemic trying to learn a new software. It’s an artistic job, but it is obviously also a big passion. You have to put all of yourself into it.
