Face to Face with... Mark Edinoff

It’s a busy time for editor Mark Edinoff. He was recently added to the roster at Work London, it’s been business as usual in terms of cutting jobs and he’s had all the top work and profiles featured in November’s issue of shots to catch up on [pictured]. But aside from all that, he’s kindly taken time out to tell us about his move, editing a sound-inspired Coke Zero commercial for the latest Bond movie and what sort of jobs he’s at one with.

You've recently signed to Work London, how did the move come about?

Jane [Dilworth, executive producer] and I were assistants together at The Whitehouse, so I’ve known her for years.  As soon as I heard about Work I secretly wanted to be there but I was at The Peep Show and then The Quarry which were both good to me, too. Work’s reputation is fantastic so I’m very happy to be here. For me it’s the best place to be in London editing right now and with their New York office newly-opened it allows me to work in the States too and in a way where we aren’t being repped by a US company.

You recently cut Coke Zero [below] for the new Skyfall movie, teaming up with Guy Manwaring again. What appealed to you about the job and what was it like to work on?

Anything with Guy is always appealing, even if it’s not work-related.  It’s great to work on action stuff and especially when there’s wry comedic tones. The sound angle of the project was really interesting; the original brief was to use the ambient sound to create the theme tune, I loved that angle.

Who wouldn’t want to work on a Bond-related project? It’s not often you get the chance. Everything within the frame makes a sound that makes the Bond theme (dogs, ducks, objects falling etc.) so each frame was created to support the sound including the edit. We cut it before we shot it with that in mind, it was a completely backwards approach to a forward-thinking concept. You have to select an object, extra or prop who makes the right noise for the track.

There’s a 30, 60 and a 66-second version. We couldn’t have a 90 because of the track; it had to be good 60.  The on air version has a track over it but if we just shot it to music the shoot and edit would have been very different. It was a challenging and interesting approach.

It's clearly inspired by the action scenes from the movies; does added pressure come with that and does it affect your approach?

No; the sound drove the edit. The action adds fun, not pressure. Although we did have to get it passed Barbara Brocolli [producer] which was a bit of a worry.

There's been a pretty big deal about the new film, as ever, what's it like to have been a part of the whole overarching caign for Skyfall?

It’s always nice to be part of something that’s part of the popular culture of the time.

Have you seen the film and what did you think? What's your favourite Bond film?

Yes, it’s like the Bonds of old, it harks back to the days of Sean Connery, although my favourite Bond is Live or Let Die which is Roger Moore.

You've also recently cut Phones 4u [Christmas Gifts shot by Sonny's Manwaring again and this time through adam&eveDDB, below], which is totally different to Coke Zero. What sort of jobs do you prefer?

It’s important to be versatile but more importantly, it’s just nice to be doing new things. I really love doing comedy if I’m honest, comedy and action.

What are you most looking forward to at your new editing home?

Working on new projects with different people and the opportunities that that presents in terms of keeping everything fresh and working in the States through Work Editorial.inc. Work is an exciting place to be.

And have you got anything exciting lined up you can tell us about?

I could tell you but I’d have to kill you.....