By Jeremy Presner

Long-time assistant editor Warren Mazutinec’s love for filming began when he saw Star Wars as an eight-year-old in a small town in Edmonton, Alberta. Unlike many other Lucas-heads, however, this one got to live out his dream grinding away in cutting rooms from Vancouver to LA working with some of the biggest editors in the galaxy.

We met back in 1998 when he assisted me on the editing of the Martin Sheen “classic” Voyage of Terror. We remain friends to this day. One of Warren’s more recent projects was Netflix’s VFX-heavy Altered Carbon, which got a lot of love from critics and audiences alike.

My old friend, who is now based in Vancouver, has an interesting story to tell, moving from assistant editor to VFX editor working on films like Underworld 4, Tomorrowland, Elysium and Chappie, so I threw some questions at him. Enjoy!

Warren Mazutinec

How did you get into the business?
I always wanted to work in the entertainment industry, but that was hard to find in Alberta. No film school-type programs were even offered, so I took the closest thing at a local college: audiovisual communications. While there, I studied photography, audio and video, but nothing like actual filmmaking. After that I attended Vancouver Film School. After film school, and with the help of some good friends, I got an opportunity to be a trainee at Shavick Entertainment.

What was it like working at a “film factory” that cranked out five to six pictures a year?
It was fun, but the product ultimately became intolerable. Movies for nine-year-olds can only be so interesting… especially low-budget ones.

What do your parents think of your career option?
Being from Alberta, everyone thought it wasn’t a real job — just a Hollywood dream. It took some convincing; my dad still tells me to look for work between gigs.

How did you learn Avid? Were you self-taught?
I was handed the manual by a post supervisor on day one. I never read it. I just asked questions and played around on any machine available. So I did have a lot of help, but I also went into work during my free time and on weekends to sit and learn what I needed to do.

Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to have cool people to work with and to learn with and from. I did six movies before I had an email address, more before I even owned a computer.

As media strayed away from film into digital, how did your role change in the cutting room? How did you refine your techniques with a changing workflow?
My first non-film movie was Underworld 4. It was shot with a Red One camera. I pretty much lied and said I knew how to deal with it. There was no difference really; just had to say goodbye to lab rolls, Keykode, etc. It was also a 3D stereo project, so that was a pickle, but not too hard to figure out.

How did you figure out the 3D stereo post?
It was basically learning to do everything twice. During production we really only played back in 3D for the novelty. I think most shows are 3D-ified in post. I’m not sure though, I’ve only done the one.

Do you think VR/AR will be something you work with in the future?
Yes, I want to be involved in VR at some point. It’s going to be big. Even just doing sound design would be cool. I think it’s the next step, and I want in.

Who are some of your favorite filmmakers?
David Lynch is my number one, by far. I love his work in all forms. A real treasure tor sure. David Fincher is great too. Scorsese, Christopher Nolan. There are so many great filmmakers working right now.

Is post in your world constantly changing, or have things more or less leveled off?
Both. But usually someone has dailies figured out, so Avid is pretty much the same. We cut in DNx115 or DnX36, so nothing like 4K-type stuff. Conform at the end is always fun, but there are tests we do at the start to figure it all out. We are rarely treading in new water.

What was it like transitioning to VFX editor? What tools did you need to learn to do that role?
FileMaker. And Jesus, son, I didn’t learn it. It’s a tough beast but it can do a lot. I managed to wrangle it to do what I was asked for, but it’s a hugely powerful piece of software. I picked up a few things on Tomorrowland and went from there.

I like the pace of the VFX editor. It’s different than assisting and is a nice change. I’d like to do more of it. I’d like to learn and use After Effects more. On the film I was VFX editor for, I was able to just use the Avid, as it wasn’t that complex. Mostly set extensions, etc.

How many VFX shot revisions would a typical shot go through on Elysium?
On Elysium, the shot version numbers got quite high, but part of that would be internal versioning by the vendor. Director Neil Blomkamp is a VFX guy himself, so he was pretty involved and knew what he wanted. The robots kept looking cooler and cooler as the show went on. Same for Chappie. That robot was almost perfect, but it took a while to get there.

You’ve worked with a vast array of editors, from, including Walter Murch, Lee Smith, Julian Clarke, Nancy Richardson and Bill Steinkamp. Can you talk about that, and have any of them let you cut material?
I’ll assemble scenes if asked to, just to help the editor out so he isn’t starting from scratch. If I get bored, I start cutting scenes as well. On Altered Carbon, when Julian (Clark) was busy with Episodes 2 and 3, I’d try to at least string together a scene or two for Episode 8. Not fine-cutting, mind you, just laying out the framework.

Walter asked a lot of us — the workload was massive. Lee Smith didn’t ask for much. Everyone asks for scene cards that they never use, ha!

Walter hadn’t worked on the Avid for five years or so prior to Tomorrowland, so there was a lot of him walking out of his room asking, “How do I?” It was funny because a lot of the time I knew what he was asking, but I had to actually do it on my machine because it’s so second nature.

What is Walter Murch like in the cutting room? Was learning his organizational process something you carried over into future cutting rooms?
I was a bit intimidated prior to meeting him. He’s awesome though. We got along great and worked well together. There was Walter, a VFX editor and four assistants. We all shared in the process. Of course, Walter’s workflow is unlike any other so it was a huge adjustment, but within a few weeks we were a well-oiled machine.

I’d come in at 6:30am to get dailies sorted and would usually finish around lunch. Then we’d screen in our theater and make notes, all of us. I really enjoyed screening the dailies that way. Then he would go into his room and do his thing. I really wish all films followed his workflow. As tough as it is, it all makes sense and nothing gets lost.

I have seen photos with the colored boxes and triangles on the wall. What does all that mean, and how often was that board updated?
Ha. That’s Walter’s own version of scene cards. It makes way better sense. The colors and shapes mean a particular thing — the longer the card the longer the scene. He did all that himself, said it helps him see the picture. I would peek into his room and watch him do this. He seemed so happy doing it, like a little kid.

Do you always add descriptions and metadata to your shots in Avid Media Composer?
We add everything possible. Usually there is a codebook the studios want, so we generate that with FileMaker on almost all the bigger shows. Walter’s is the same just way bigger and better. It made the VFX database look like a toy.

What is your workflow for managing/organizing footage?
A lot of times you have to follow someone else’s procedure, but if left to my own devices I try to make it the simplest it can be so anyone can figure out what was done.

How do you organize your timeline?
It’s specific to the editor, but I like to use as many audio tracks as possible and as few video tracks as possible, but when it’s a VFX-heavy show, that isn’t possible due to stacking various shot versions.

What did you learn from Lee Smith and Julian Clarke?
Lee Smith is a suuuuuper nice guy. He always had great stories from past films and he’s a very good editor. I’m glad he got the Oscar for Dunkirk, he’s done a lot of great work.

Julian is also great to work with. I’ve worked with him on Elysium, Chappie and Altered Carbon. He likes to cut with a lot of sound, so it’s fun to work with him. I love cutting sound, and on Altered Carbon we had over 60 tracks. It was a alternating stereo setup and we used all the tracks possible.

Altered Carbon

It was such a fun world to create sound for. Everything that could make a sound we put in. We also invented signature sounds for the tech we hoped they’d use in the final. And they did for some things.

Was that a 5.1 temp mix?? Have you ever done one?
No. I want to do a 5.1 Avid mix. Looks fun.

What was the schedule like on Altered Carbon? How was that different than some of the features you’ve worked on?
It was six-day weeks and 12 hours a day. Usually one week per month I’d trade off with the 2nd assistant and she’d let me have an actual weekend. It was a bit of a grind. I worked on Episodes 2, 3 and 8, and the schedules for those were tight, but somehow we got through it all. We had a great team up here for Vancouver’s editorial. They were also cutting in LA as well. It was pretty much non-stop editing the whole way through.

How involved was Netflix in terms of the notes process? Were you working with the same editors on the episodes you assisted?
Yes, all episodes were with Julian. First it went through Skydance notes, then Netflix. Skydance usually had more as they were the first to see the cuts. There were many versions for sure.

What was it like working with Neil Blomkamp?
It was awesome. He makes cool films, and it’s great to see footage like that. I love shooting guns, explosions, swords and swearing. I beat him in ping-pong once. I danced around in victory and he demanded we play again. I retired. One of the best environments I’ve ever worked in. Elysium was my favorite gig.

What’s the largest your crew has gotten in post?
Usually one or two editors, up to four assistants, a PA, a post super — so eight or nine, depending.

Do you prefer working with a large team or do you like smaller films?
I like the larger team. It can all be pretty overwhelming and having others there to help out, the easier it can be to get through. The more the merrier!

Altered Carbon

How do you handle long-ass-days?
Long days aren’t bad when you have something to do. On Altered Carbon I kept a skateboard in my car for those times. I just skated around the studio waiting for a text. Recently I purchased a One-Wheel (skateboard with 1 wheel) and plan to use it to commute to work as much as possible.

How do you navigate the politics of a cutting room?
Politics can be tricky. I usually try to keep out of things unless I’m asked, but I do like to have a sit down or a discussion of what’s going on privately with the editor or post super. I like to be aware of what’s coming, so the rest of us are ready.

Do you prefer features to TV?
It doesn’t matter anymore because the good filmmakers work in both mediums. It used to be that features were one thing and TV was another, with less complex stories. Now that’s different and at times it’s the opposite. Features usually pay more though, but again that’s changing. I still think features are where it’s at, but that’s just vanity talking.

Sometimes your project posts in Vancouver but moves to LA for finishing. Why? Does it ever come back?
Mostly I think it’s because that’s where the director/producers/studio lives. After it’s shot everyone just goes back home. Home is usually LA or NY. I wish they’d stay here.

How long do you think you’ll continue being an AE? Until you retire? What age do you think that’ll be?
No idea; I just want to keep working on projects that excite me.

Would you ever want to be an editor or do you think you’d like to pivot to VFX, or are you happy where you are?
I only hope to keep learning and doing more. I like the VFX editing, I like assisting and I like being creative. As far as cutting goes, I’d like to get on a cool series as a junior editor or at least start doing a few scenes to get better. I just want to keep advancing, I’d love to do some VR stuff.

What’s next for you project wise?
I’m on a Disney Show called Timmy Failure. I can’t say anything more at this point.

What advice do you have for other assistant editors trying to come up?
It’s going to take a lot longer than you think to become good at the job. Being the only assistant does not make you a qualified first assistant. It took me 10 years to get there. Also you never stop learning, so always be open to another approach. Everyone does things differently. With Murch on Tomorrowland, it was a whole new way of doing things that I had never seen before, so it was interesting to learn, although it was very intimidating at the start.

Jeremy Presner is an Emmy-nominated film and television editor residing in New York City. Twenty years ago, Warren was AE on his first film. Since then he has cut such diverse projects as Carrie, Stargate Atlantis, Love & Hip Hop and Breaking Amish.