Whitehouse Post Cuts 24:Legacy Post-Super Bowl

As a seasoned commercial’s editor and founder of Whitehouse Post, John Smith, jumped at the chance to take part in the rebooted 24:Legacy series, which will air just after Sunday’s Super Bowl.

shots caught up with Smith to find out how he got involved and what it was like to return working with director and long-time friend Stephen Hopkins, who directed the original pilot and first 24 season.

How did you get involved in the marking and editing of the new 24:Legacy series?

Stephan and I have had a professional relationship for nearly 20 years, having worked on various films together. When he decided to reboot the season, he asked me on board and I thought considering that it’s such a huge franchise, it would be amazing to do. I’ll be working on the six episodes within the season.  

How much have you stuck to 24‘s previous format?

What’s unique about 24 and 24:Legacy is that it’s all filmed in real time, so for example you can’t do a jump cut like in normal TV, film or any other storytelling medium. In 24:Legacy, we couldn’t jump time – like you can in traditional editing. Everything has to feel like real time. That was something we had to stick to. 24:Legacy is also different to other TV series because it uses split screen. That’s another technique that we brought from the old 24 to the new series.

What were the biggest challenges on the job?

There were a lot of stories to juggle and balance in one hour; the real challenge of that was to make sure the viewer didn’t get lost and to keep it exciting. It’s a very fast paced show; every episode is full of action – people chasing terrorists, drama everywhere, high-energy, which meant that we had to keep up with it as well.

How did you find the editing process on 24?

Coming from a commercial’s point of view, I realised that we cram a lot into a small amount of time; we’re used to telling big stories in small timeframes. You can shorthand time – and jump all the way around the world in the split of a second. But in 24:Legacy, you can’t. You’ve got to let everything play out and consistently think about the multiple stories playing out at the same time.

Which do you prefer editing, TV shows or commercials?

I have experience editing all sorts of work – commercials, TV series and film – and I like the varied styles. Commercials are a challenging format (getting a story across in just 30 seconds…) but in all my experience, nothing has stirred me as much as working on 24:Legacy because it was so fast-cut at times. The visual effects-edited pieces were literally lifted from what I learnt in commercials. There’s no small parts in 24:Legacy, so my advertising background has served me well on this series.

How does it feel to have your work put out right after the Super Bowl?

It’s certainly the biggest single piece of airtime that I’ve ever had which is very exciting for me. Everybody wants an ad in the Super Bowl – I do too. Unfortunately I haven’t got one this year, but I’ve got this coming right out after. I’m really excited for it. Years ago, they put out an episode of The X Files and the ratings were great; people do stay tuned after especially as the parties continue and they need to get through all that food!