{"id":176288,"date":"2022-10-25T04:35:08","date_gmt":"2022-10-25T09:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=176288"},"modified":"2022-10-25T04:35:09","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T09:35:09","slug":"barbarian-editor-joe-murphy-horror-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/barbarian-editor-joe-murphy-horror-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Analyzing (and Crafting) Horror with \u2018Barbarian\u2019 Editor Joe Murphy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Everything you need to know about watching, analyzing, and cutting horror from the editor of Barbarian.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite superheroes and IP reboots dominating the headlines and box office marquees, we’re living in a renaissance for original horror films. From Jordan Peele’s Nope <\/a><\/em>(and previous efforts) to new hits like Smile <\/em><\/a>to recent cult sleepers like The Empty Man<\/a><\/em>, horror is proving to be one of the few film genres not afraid to venture out into new stories and territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most extensive horror breakouts of this Halloween season has been Barbarian<\/a><\/em>. Written and directed by Zach Cregger<\/em><\/a> and starring Georgina Campbell<\/a>, Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd<\/a><\/em>, and Justin Long<\/em><\/a>, this slow-burn psychological thriller has been one of the best-received new horror films of this genre resurgence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To understand a bit more about why these films are doing so well, as well as explore insights into how they are edited and work, we sat down to chat with Barbarian<\/em> editor Joe Murphy <\/a>to learn more about his cutting process and where he’s drawn his specific horror inspirations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PremiumBeat: First off, what video editing platform did you use, and what was your approach for getting started on this genre-crossing horror\/mystery\/thriller?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Joe Murphy<\/strong>: We cut on Avid Media Composer. One thing I did before starting Barbarian,<\/em> was watch a bunch of classic horror movies for editing inspiration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started on the editor’s cut, I kept an eye out for performance moments that sparked an emotional or visceral response in me and in general. I built the first cut around these moments while also saving anything that stood out and didn’t quite have a home yet on a separate timeline – moments I can show the director later that might be valuable or spark an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the editor’s cut is the first draft, I want to ensure I’m showing the director everything they shot and what stood out to me as interesting, honest, and revealing.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The director Zach Cregger did such excellent prep work with his DP, Zach Kuperstein, that the scenes had a clear visual logic when reviewing the footage. This freed me to focus on many nuances and performance beats that can help shape or color a scene.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PremiumBeat: There are lots of abrupt cuts and startling perspective shifts in the film; how did you manage the different emotional attachments with these diverse characters without slowing the film down?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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