“I now know to trust my instincts, use takes that really move me, make bold decisions, take risks, and not go the easy route.”

Cutting with Intention

The pilot evolved over time, which all pilots do.  

It's when you have to find what the show is, the tone, the vibe, the performances, and you have to spell out who these characters are, and where your story's launching from. As the footage came in, we were discovering the tone and figuring it out. It was a concept that we developed in the cutting room. 

As the character, Devon, arrives on the island, there's a sequence that's cross-cut between her and her sister. Initially, they were two totally separate scenes, but over the course of the edit, we realized that cross-cutting these two sequences would build us to this great climax, because we know Devon is coming and is about to blow up the whole universe. That was really interesting because it allowed me a lot of creativity and made it so that I could have interesting choices and reinvent the whole sequence. 

Editing Tools that Shaped the Cut  

We used these tight close-ups that are straight onto camera and we called them the “sirensing” shots. Nicole Kassell, our director, dreamed that up for the pilot episode where it's first introduced and used throughout the series.  

In the pilot, it's first used in the middle of a conversation and we're cutting from one location to the other in the middle of a sentence. We cut from inside the house to these tight close-ups and then suddenly our characters are on the beach. That was a challenge to figure out how we get to this angle because not only is it abruptly a tight close-up, but also our location is shifting. We did a lot with sound, which helped us pull into that close-up. We did stuff with backgrounds, with waves crashing and then I took dialogue from actor Julianne Moore playing Michaela, when she's on the beach and pre-lapped it, putting it in her mouth when she's still in the house to help pull us across that cut. It was a fun, bold choice that works well and set up this visual device that plays out over the series. It was a concept that we developed in the cutting room.

Media Composer is vital to the whole process. I've never cut with anything else. I rely on ScriptSync a lot especially when I'm sitting with directors and producers in terms of being able to get shop takes quickly and jump through footage efficiently. I'm a big fan of FluidMorph (an effect used to create a smooth, blended transition between two clips). I use it often to help with performance. I used it all over the place in invisible ways. I don't think even the director, nobody knew they were there. For sound work, I use the rubber banding mode. I'm religious about that. I hate doing cuts and dissolves. It's all rubber banding for me. Music, with dialogue, sound effects, all of it. We used iZotope to help with dialogue. We had scenes by the ocean that it helped with even just for the offline. It helped clean it up to make everything audible and clear.  

From First Cut to Emmy Nod

For me, the heart and soul of everything is the emotion and how it makes you feel as the editor, which you hope the audience will feel. When I'm watching dailies, I'm thinking, ‘Does this make me laugh? Does this make me cry?’  If it does, that goes in the cut. I'm always pushing to find the most authentic emotion. 

I thought Sirens was special the second I read the script. I'm always interested in stories about women. 

Getting nominated for an Emmy is an honor. It feels great to be recognized by my peers, but it's a nice marker in your career to know that maybe you're on the right track. 

Haight’s Path to Editing  

I didn't know what to do when I finished college. I knew I wanted something in film. One of the first jobs I got was as a PA, and then I got promoted to editorial to help log footage. I recognized quickly that editing was where it all happened, that this was the key to filmmaking of any kind. That was inspiring. I love being the first person to see what we’re working on. Somebody once said it's like a funnel. Everybody's work goes down through a funnel, into your brain and then out your hands.  

I'm a huge believer in mentorship. I was mentored by many people and still consider them my mentors and lean on them. I think it's important to help people who are coming up behind us the next generation.  It's fun to just spend time with people and talk about the craft. The Sirens cutting room was full of people who love editing. We spent our lunches talking about editing and never stopped. It was wonderful. 

Best Editing Advice: Trust Your Gut   

I now know to trust my instincts, use takes that really move me, make bold decisions, take risks, and not go the easy route. Sometimes the craziest cut is going to work. That's what brings your own voice to something. Your big choice, your big swing is what will make something interesting and unique. That’s why I love editing so much. When you’re just trying to make that cut and close. When you’re trying to solve problems and you manage to do something you thought was impossible, like a restructure, it’s a magic trick sometimes.

You will assist for longer than you think you should or want to but you'll get there. Patience is key. I struggled with it when I was younger. Take advantage of that time as an assistant to learn as much as possible so you're ready when the time comes to be the editor.  

About the Editor

Catherine Haight, ACE: Known for her work on acclaimed TV shows and films including the Netflix limited series Sirens, earning an Emmy nomination for the pilot. A longtime collaborator with Joey Soloway, her credits include Transparent, Afternoon Delight, and I Love Dick, The Polka King, The Good House, Troop Zero, and Puzzle, as well as series like High Desert, Mozart in the Jungle, Girls, and New Girl. A frequent presence at the Sundance Film Festival, she has earned multiple ACE Eddie nominations. She is a member of American Cinema Editors and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.