postPerspective Update

Editing for Short Form
By Karen Moltenbrey

Unlike features or even series, short-form projects such as commercials give the editor the opportunity for a fresh start with each new job. Indeed, some brands have a specific style that they adhere to, but even so, there is a good deal of creative flexibility placed in the hands of the editor.

The challenge here is to condense a story into 30, 60 or 90 seconds. And more and more, there are other deliverables associated with a project aside from the traditional commercial, as editors may also be asked to provide social media spots, cinema spots and more. And as some editors point out, it’s no longer enough to excel at solely working with video; today, it is helpful to have a wider range of skills, such as audio editing and basic animation, to support the workflow.

Here we examine the editing work on a trio of spots and the approach each editor took to deliver a compelling piece.

Nespresso: The Quest
George Clooney has been the brand ambassador for coffee-machine maker Nespresso since 2006, and his commercials have been featured in Europe and around the world. In a recent spot airing in North America, Clooney embarks on a quest for the perfect cup of coffee, and does so with true Hollywood flair.

In The Quest, the actor plays a medieval knight who throws the head of a dragon he has just slain at the feet of his queen. Thankful, she asks what he desires as his reward. He pauses, then steps through a movie screen and enters the modern world, where he wanders the streets in his armor until he finds a coffee shop and his long-sought-after cup of Nespresso coffee. Satisfied, he heads back, walks down the theater aisle, through the movie screen once again and is back in the medieval world. When the queen asks if he has enough coffee for the kingdom, the actor gives a sheepish look, and soon we see the queen and court riding in a double-decker city bus, merrily on their way to get their own cup of Nespresso coffee.

Clooney’s producing partner, Grant Heslov, directed the spot, which was filmed against greenscreen on a backlot in Los Angeles. The background plates were shot in New York City, and compositing was done by VFX supervisor Ryan Sears from Big Sky Edit. The spot was edited by Chris Franklin, who launched New York-based Big Sky Edit in 1992.