Editing Comedy

This week my production hit a small roadblock that led to a great conclusion. After meeting with my editor the unfortunate truth was revealed, she didn't know how to edit comedy. It's something you don't always think about when picking an editor, the genre they're used to working in that is. However it soon became apparent when I saw a rough cut of some of the film. Jokes that the characters were saying were being cut off. Worse than that sometimes when the joke was being said the camera was put on the non-speakers face for a reaction. Jokes weren't landing because they weren't being given space to breath. It was a mess. Luckily my assistant director and I figured out a solution that will allows us to keep back on track but for me it was a learning experience I won't soon forget. Throughout writing, directing and producing the piece my mind was always focused on making sure that above all the comedy always came out on top. I tried to control the entire process but when it came time to edit I assumed it was best left in someone's hands who had more experience than I. It was a careless mistake and one I'm lucky to have been able to remedy but it's been an eye opening experience that has allowed me a more in depth look into making comedy.