Go inside the cutting room with Emmy-winning editor Jordan Goldman, A.C.E. (Homeland, Cobra Kai, Dark Matter, The Shield) as he explains the key things professional actors should — and shouldn’t do – to ensure their performance makes it to the screen. He’ll show you how and why directors, showrunners, and editors decide whether your performance stays in the show – or gets cut out.
Acting for the camera can be challenging. Arm yourself with the best tips and advice you can get, from an insider uniquely positioned to be your guide into a process that few actors ever see or understand.
An editor takes the countless hours of raw footage and chooses the best parts to craft a clear, compelling story. Although I have an eye out for the best images, I'm much more interested in what the actors are doing. A large part of my job is evaluating your performance, then elevating it as best I can. From the first day of shooting until picture is locked, I make decisions about which takes are used in the finished product. Find out what tricks I use to help your work shine even brighter.
When watching your footage in the cutting room, I'm looking for the same performance techniques your teacher drilled into you time after time in acting class. When the camera is rolling, are you doing what needs to be done? Learn what criteria I'm using to judge performances. What makes me want to keep you in? What makes me want to cut you out? Learn how to make it easier for me to keep you in the movie.
Real-life anecdotes from my years of insider experience will help you understand the common mistakes actors make that cause groans in the cutting room. I'll tell you what they are and how to avoid making them.
Your performance, your technical skills, and your attitude on set can equal a successful acting career. If you follow the principles outlined here, you are much more likely to end up onscreen. They're all things that you have complete control over, if you use your instrument properly. I'll pay significant attention to the skills unique to film acting.
Actors think the biggest reason they wind up on the cutting room floor is because their performance was bad. But it’s actually very common for an actor’s scene or dialogue to be cut out due to running time considerations, or because the scene wasn’t needed for the story. I'll dive into the details of how and why these situations arise. When they do, it's not your fault.
Introduction
Chapter 1 - It's all about the setups
Chapter 2 - What does an editor do?
Chapter 3 - The process in television
Chapter 4 - What do directors, producers, writers, showrunners, executives, and editors really think of actors?
Chapter 5 - What you can control: Your performance
Chapter 6 - What you can control: Your technical skills
Chapter 7 - What you can control: Your attitude on set
Chapter 8 - What you can't control: Being cut out because of story or time
Chapter 9 - How to be a good background actor
Chapter 10 - How to behave after your big day
Chapter 11 - That's a wrap!
From The Shield to Cobra Kai to Homeland, Jordan Goldman, A.C.E. has worked for nearly 30 years in Hollywood, cutting more than 110 episodes of television. His keen eye for performance and strong sense of story have earned him an Emmy for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, and an American Cinema Editors Eddie. Jordan is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild, the American Cinema Editors, the Television Academy, and the Directors Guild of America.
peruse Jordan’s IMDB page
