Notes from an Emmy winning editor

Kris Trexler is a two-time Emmy award winning video/film editor, and has been honoured with five Emmy nominations during his long career. Trexler has worked with Hollywood’s top television producers and directors, having edited many genres including situation comedies, music videos, large scale music-variety shows, and segments for Oscars Academy Awards telecasts.

Trexler is one of few editors who has used virtually every editing technology during his career, including the physical splicing of 2” quadruplex videotape with the aid of a microscope. He was one of the pioneers of computerised video editing, using the revolutionary CMX system to edit All in the Family and The Jeffersons, top rated network comedies of the late 1970’s.

Since the early 1990’s, Trexler has focused his talents on television comedy programmes. Few editors working in Hollywood have been privileged to be involved with so many projects, or have as many hours of network television airtime as an editor. Among the series he’s edited: In Living Color, Ellen, Titus, According to Jim and Rita Rocks.

Trexler worked with some of the top music artists of the 1980’s and 1990’s. He edited countless music videos for performers such

as Prince, Huey Lewis and The

News, Tina Turner, Olivia Newton-

John, and Michael Jackson.

Known for embracing emerging technologies, Trexler pioneered the use of the Avid Media Composer for editing multi-camera comedies, and agreed to edit the very first high definition TV comedy series (Titus) for a major television network. Although Trexler has primarily used Avid for his TV projects since 1996, he embraces Final Cut Pro as well. Kris edited the series Sid the Science Kid with FCP in 2008, a children’s series using a revolutionary live animation system developed by Jim Henson Productions.

Trexler brings artistry, dedication, and enthusiasm to every project he works on. He thrived on the stresses and challenges of delivering weekly television episodes to the highest standards under tight deadlines.

Expanding his horizons in 2007,

Trexler developed an innovative workshop to showcase production

and post-production techniques used in Hollywood TV comedies.

Singapore’s Ngee Ann Polytechnic invited him to conduct a hands-on editing workshop in June 2007 for students, faculty, and alumni.

Trexler enjoyed the teaching experience in the one week-workshop in Singapore, during which he imparted knowledge, techniques, and anecdotes accumulated during his long career. He introduced Avid Multi-Camera Editing and Avid Script-Based Editing to editors in Singapore who were not familiar with these features.

In March 2009, Trexler decided to take a break from Hollywood and the grind of editing weekly TV episodes. Ngee Ann Polytechnic offered Kris a one-year contract as a visiting lecturer, beginning with the April 2009 semester.

Trexler relocated to Singapore where he is teaching second and third year students the creative and technical aspects of editing. Also, in conjunction with the Media Development Authority of Singapore, Trexler conducted several one-week workshops for students, faculty, alumni, and the media industry. ASIAIMAGE

Kris Trexler’s comedy editing tips • TV is a close-up medium – use wide masters to establish geography, but use tighter coverage most of the time. Comedy usually plays best in close-ups • Comedy usually plays best when we see faces and eyes, especially when the actor is delivering a joke. The audience may end up not getting the joke. In most cases, let the actor deliver his joke on camera. • L-cuts are often a good thing, but not during specific joke lines • Keep the entire cast “alive” by showing their reactions even when they don’t have lines • Find reaction shots that show movement of facial expressions so characters appear to be engaged • Avoid being too ‘cutty’ – don’t introduce too many cuts just for the sake of cutting • View all takes with full concentration before starting to edit. Mentally note the gems in all takes and mix takes as necessary. Using only one take rarely if ever yields the best edited scene • Avoid profile shots during joke lines, versus ‘seeing eyes’. But as always, rules are made to be broken • Keep pacing tight. The rhythm of the play during taping is not always best for TV viewers. TV audiences today have short attention spans. Tighten it up, keep it moving! • Clean up ‘bumps’ in the audio track, which can call unwanted attention to editing work. Use audio dissolves to blend and smooth the soundtrack. • Never show your cut with a dirty audio track • A mismatched visual cut will often sell if the soundtrack is clean. In many ways, the sound is more important than the picture.