“There's not another job in the industry more crucial, outside writing and directing, to creating the story that people are going to see. It's an enormous responsibility and a pleasure.”

Approaching a Complex Scene 

 

One difficult scene to cut in this episode was a big living room scene with a lot of different players. It's a farce episode. I needed to get to certain characters and keep the jokes going through, but there was so much movement that it was troublesome to keep everything in line and make sure it flowed. 
 
So I cheated. I used every take we shot and ended up pulling reactions from other takes to make sure it was flowing, but still using performance takes that made everybody look good. 

For the tag at the end of the show, we wanted to communicate visually with a character eating pizza bagels. It wasn't coming across as pizza bagels, so we put a VFX shot of a pizza bagel box to communicate what the joke was. We had to design the box to make sure it communicated pizza bagels because that was a story point earlier in the episode. It was a non-sophisticated thing. Frasier Crane is a very sophisticated person, so to have pizza bagels at a tailgate party at his apartment was pretty hilarious. 

 

 

Using Precision, Pace, Creativity and the Right Tools

 

Right from the table read, we knew it was going to be a fast-paced farce and once we started shooting and getting footage back into the Avid, we had a good roadmap. We wanted to make sure the story was coming through, the characters were being serviced, and that we were keeping the pace and humor. We had a good roadmap and luckily Avid let us follow it. 

Cast of Frasier

The way I approach a scene is I work it over and over again. If anything bumps me, I'm going to work on whether it's a timing or visual element. I watch it many times and edit and work on it until I can watch it and feel like I’m completely in the moment and nothing's pulling me out. 

 

We're listening to the audience and how they respond and adjusting those editing choices. Something you think wouldn't get a laugh, all of a sudden they're reacting and you want to absorb that and cut it down for the story but not cut it out. You have to shape, mold and use Media Composer to make the rhythm of a sitcom. 

The greatest thing about Media Composer is it gets out of your way and lets you edit. The interface is so intuitive. 

 

ScriptSync is crucial in terms of working with executive producers, showing them the different takes. My favorite feature of Media Composer is trimming. The asymmetrical trimming part of the tool is what editing is about. You're cutting from one side and all the different layers, whether it's audio, video, or visual effects layers, are all working in conjunction with each other. You're not having to think about it. Can any other editing system work this way? I don't think so. I've messed around with other editing systems, and none have the asymmetrical trimming tool as good. It's rock solid. 

 

 

On the Emmy Nod

 

The nomination was a happy surprise. The quality was there but you never know with awards. These showrunners, the scripts, the acting…I knew it was something special, and I was just happy to be part of it. It's extremely nice to be nominated, get accolades for your work, and be able to congratulate my friends who've also gotten nominated. 

The thing I love most about editing is the final rewrite. You're putting together the entire show, building stories, narratives, working with what was already written and then rewriting in the edit bay. There's not another job in the industry more crucial, outside writing and directing, to creating the story that people see. It's an enormous responsibility and a pleasure. 

Story over Structure

 

In high school I was going to be an architect. I was excited about building things and then I had an epiphany where I realized buildings fall. Everything is transient so why not work on building something that creates emotion, that communicates sadness, happiness, laughter. Those kinds of things are what I really wanted to build so that's why I got into filmmaking. I wanted to tell stories. 

I have many editing influences. Carol Littleton, ACE; Michael Kahn, ACE; and especially Anne V. Coates, OBE. I was fortunate during film school to invite her to our campus and interview her in front of students about editing. It was one of the most special moments of my life and why I am an editor today. Andy Zall, John Doutt, are sitcom legends and the reason I've stayed in sitcom because they were generous with their talents and brought me along. We have to be that person who's lifting up the next generation. I mentor people through ACE (American Cinema Editors) and other organizations because we have to look to the future of this career and this industry. 

 

Cut, Edit, Find Your People 

 

Know Avid Media Composer. I have a career because I learned it in film school. I continue to learn it every day and it continues to evolve and be the standard that everyone uses. 

 

Cut anything and everything. If you're a PA or assistant editor, start editing. Even if you don't have permission, edit on the side, at night and then show people you're working with. You're going to learn. You're going to convince them that you're ready to edit and you're going to be talking about editing in a way that it becomes your profession, your passion. 

 

The key to longevity in the career is the people you're working with. Associate with writers, directors and actors you admire. You're going to have more choices, better material, and you're going to see your editing get to the level of people you're working with.  

 

I watch a ton of television. I've seen many of the nominated shows and admire and know the editors. They're doing great work. Whether it's drama, comedy, thriller or horror, you can learn from other people's editing. 

 

 

About the Editor

 

Russell Griffin, ACE, Emmy-winning sitcom editor and director, known for Frasier, How I Met Your Father, Extended Family, The Upshaws, Family Reunion, and Mad About You.  A five-time Emmy nominee, in 2024 he won both the Primetime Emmy and ACE Eddie for editing episodes of the multi-camera comedy series, How I Met Your Father.  In 2025, won second ACE Eddie award for an episode of Frasier. Earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University, and a Master of Fine Arts in Motion Picture Production from the Graduate Motion Picture Program, University of Miami. Member, editing honorary society American Cinema Editors (ACE), currently on the Blue Ribbon Committee; and the Television Academy, including a four-year term on the Picture Editors Peer Group Executive Committee and Artificial Intelligence Task Force. 

Russell Griffin’s Avid Media Composer timeline from Frasier: “My Brilliant Sister”