Adriana Legay: Cut to the beat

For Adriana Legay, editing is less a technical process than a physical one, led by rhythm, instinct and emotion-first reactions. 

Here, the Final Cut editor and Collectiv Paris Co-Founder speaks to Jamie Madge about conducting the elements of a film, collaborating with Megaforce and François Rousselet, and why editing is “dancing”.

How did you first get into editing, and what made you want to pursue it professionally?

For me, it all started with music, rhythm and vibrations. I didn’t walk as a child, I danced.

From very early on, my connection to music and dance was evident. I spent a huge chunk of my childhood dancing and watching music videos, particularly Michael Jackson’s. I can still remember how important the music felt to me and, looking back now, I can see how much it ignited my passion for media and the moving image.

I understood myself quite early on and knew I had a love for emotion, rhythm and creativity in any form of work, whether that be advertising, film or music. My first thought was that I wanted to direct, and that it had to be music videos. However, once I started experimenting with editing and learning the process, I very quickly realised there was a parallel between editing and dancing, at least for me. When I’m editing, it feels like dancing. It’s absolutely instinctual.

That was the moment I realised editing was what I wanted to pursue professionally.

You originally studied cinematography before moving into editing. How does thinking like a cinematographer influence the way you cut footage?

Originally, I was drawn towards directing rather than editing. I was fascinated by cinematography and the way directors like Spielberg or Scorsese could convey their ideas, creating emotion, rhythm and meaning through visuals, sound and pacing. That way of thinking still heavily influences how I approach editing now.

For me, editing has never just been about cutting footage together. It’s about understanding how different shots, sounds and moments interact emotionally. I think studying cinematography gave me a much wider view of storytelling and taught me to think about the project as a whole rather than just focusing on the technical side of editing.

Even though editing became the focus, I still think there’s a part of me that approaches projects like a director would, constantly thinking about the bigger emotional picture rather than just the individual cuts.

You’ve described editing as something deeply instinctive and emotional. What does that instinct actually feel like when you’re working?

It’s hard to put into words because it’s such a strong feeling. I think I’m a hypersensitive person. I feel things deeply and I definitely think I’m wired differently.

I think the way I see and feel the world is what allows me to understand how a project should come together. Feeling things as deeply as I do means I can very quickly understand what a director or client is looking for, often without them even having to say a word. I can usually feel the intention behind something quite instinctively.

Editing has never just been about cutting footage together. It’s about understanding how different shots, sounds and moments interact emotionally.

When it comes to editing, I’m not interested in seeing the storyboard or reading the script over and over because, when I laugh, I want it to be when I discover the moment. The emotional response in real time is my power and my strength. I go from how the footage makes me feel the first time I see it and what I believe the director’s intentions are.

It’s really important for me to understand my director, to watch take one from day one, to watch everything in the order of the shoot, and see what changes have been made between them. It helps me understand what they’re searching for emotionally, what they naturally gravitate towards and, ultimately, what they want the final piece to feel like.

I often say that if a shot can make me laugh, smile or genuinely feel something, then it’s a good one for sure.

You’ve said that “when editing, I’m dancing”. Has music always been central to the way you think about storytelling?

This is a hard one to answer without it sounding like a cliché, however, music is my life. I often say music is mathematical in nature.

It’s vital to create a strong rhythm in the edit. You’re almost building something like an orchestra, bringing multiple elements together to create something that feels truly special. I shape that rhythm through the movement of the actors, the movement of light, and the movement of the frame itself.

In that moment, I am the conductor, bringing every element together in a way that feels seamless and intentional.

Above: Adriana Legay brings rhythmic precision to Gangsta, the François Rousselet-directed music video for Free Nationals, A$AP Rocky and Anderson .Paak.

You came up through music videos before moving heavily into commercial and fashion work. What lessons from music videos still shape the way you edit today?

My approach to music videos is not very different from advertising. However, we have fewer constraints and more room for self-expression. Artists expect more experimentation from us. It’s a real playground for the director and for me. A true space of freedom, but always in service of an artist.

Your edits often feel emotionally led rather than purely narrative or technical. Do you think audiences respond more instinctively to rhythm and feeling than structure?

Of course! At the end of the day we are all human, we are not robots, at least not yet anyway. It’s about the story and asking, “Where do they want to go?” and “Where am I going?”

I don’t think AI can understand that. AI might be able to ask, “What am I now?” but not, “What do I want to be tomorrow?”

Every project should start from a simple place, thinking about how we want the audience to feel when they watch it. It is not a formulaic approach where scene A plus scene B equals a final product. It is about the story, the director’s vision, and what the brand stands for. When you combine those elements, the story starts to come together more naturally.

The woman and editor that I am means rhythm and feeling are everything to me. If you trust yourself and lean into that instinct, the rest has a way of clicking into place.

You’ve collaborated with directors like Megaforce, François Rousselet and Nadia Lee Cohen. What makes an editor-director relationship creatively successful?

It’s very difficult to say. I think it really depends on the editor and the director. It’s a story of chemistry and listening, too. There’s no secret. I try to give them the best of myself and always be dedicated.

When working with Megaforce and François Rousselet, I have so much admiration and respect for them, and I am lucky to say I feel a creative kinship with these collaborators. I am constantly inspired by their work, and as a result I always want to give them my absolute best.

Every project should start from a simple place, thinking about how we want the audience to feel when they watch it.

My only real secret is that I love what I do, and I stay enthusiastic throughout the process. I am always smiling, and if there is a problem I am usually the first to say, “Hold on, we’re going to find a solution.”

At the end of the day, it is about being human and being yourself.

Commercial editing has changed enormously in the age of cutdowns, social versions and platform-specific deliverables. Has fragmentation changed the way editors think creatively?

This is an incredibly important subject for me. I regularly speak with junior editors about how different the industry is now compared to when I was coming up as an editor.

For me personally, no, I don’t approach things in a fragmented way. I will always start with the long-form film first and focus on what that piece needs to achieve, often on a global stage. From there, I move into the cutdowns. I have to think strategically about the client’s intentions for the work and where it will live. Will it be on social media, will it be on a billboard, or will it exist in multiple formats? These are all considerations I keep in mind when shaping the cutdowns.

It is very important to me that I always do my own cutdowns, because everything you touch in this modern world needs to be impactful, whether that is the long-form film or a six-second Instagram spot. Someone might see my six-second edit on Instagram and then go on to find the two-minute version, and for me it is important that everything I do feels as strong as possible. Even a six-second social spot has to feel complete.

Above: Legay collaborated with Megaforce on Netflix’s You’re Not Ready, shaping its cinematic world through instinctive pacing and performance.

You’ve worked across commercials, music videos and more cinematic storytelling. Do you approach rhythm differently depending on the format, or is your instinct consistent across all of them?

For me, the instinct is the same across everything: commercials, music videos and more cinematic work. I don’t really change my sense of rhythm depending on format.

It always starts with feeling the footage. Rhythm is instinctive, it is already there in what you are watching, even without music. Sometimes I will strip the music away just to understand, or even break, that rhythm, so I am not just following it blindly.

What changes is the intention. I always start by understanding the world of the project, the identity, and what we are trying to say. That gives me the structure, but the rhythm always comes from instinct. After that, it is shaping it into something that feels alive. So the instinct stays consistent, the context just changes.

As an editor with a dance and choreography background, I’m able to pull from that creative mindset. A choreographer is constantly asking questions such as, “What’s my story? What do I want to say? What is my goal?” The rhythm is part of the joy.

Some filmmakers talk about “finding” a film during the edit. Do you feel you’re discovering something hidden in the footage, or building something entirely new?

For every project, I never really know what I’m going to find. I’m grounded enough to know that the search for something new is all part of the process. There is always a slight fear at the beginning, like I’m in the ocean and I have to find my way through it. I have people behind me that I’m guiding. Perhaps we’re going to find a new island? Who knows! That’s what makes the journey so exhilarating, because I know I will always eventually find my way.

Rhythm is instinctive, it is already there in what you are watching, even without music.

Every edit brings something new. The actors bring something new, the director, the agency, the whole team. It is never just about me. It is a collaborative process, and it is that human aspect that really shapes the work. Together, with all those different perspectives, something entirely new is created every time.

Do you think younger editors entering the industry today have a fundamentally different visual literacy from previous generations?

My gut instinct is to say no. I think we are all different, and of course, younger generations bring different perspectives to mine. But when you are an artist, there are certain qualities you naturally share.

I can only speak from my experience, where I have worked with young talent. I recently completed a job with a young editor, and I would say they were actually far more organised than I am. That’s when you realise that it’s not about age, but rather personality and noticing everyone’s strengths.

Overall, I don’t think it is really about being young or old. It is about the person, their reference points, and how they see the world. From my experience, everyone has a different kind of visual literacy, and that is what really shapes how they work.

What do you think the best editors understand that goes beyond simply assembling footage well?

The best editors understand that it is not just about assembling footage well. It is about feeling the work.

They understand rhythm instinctively, that it is already inside the footage before you even start cutting. They also understand intention, what the story is really trying to say and how to shape emotion, not just structure.

Most importantly, they understand people. The director, the brand, the audience, and how all of those perspectives come together. It is that sensitivity and visual literacy that go beyond technique and make the work feel alive.