About

Like any career, it is the caliber of the people you get to work with that develops your skills. I have had the good fortune to work with some of the best directors and the biggest musicians in the world. I’ve learned something from them all.

The culmination of all this experience over the last 30 years has formed an attitude of an independent nature, I like to direct and shoot super 8mm and HD video. But first and foremost, my true passion is editing

Influences

In 1982, I started working for Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin as a technical operator. I was the assistant to Meirt Avis, one of the premier pop promo directors. At that time, editing was very cumbersome, and the technology to do slow motion playback had just been developed. While editing slow motion techniques to a Tom Tom club track, the actor Aidan Quinn commented that I had a real skill for editing pictures to sound.

U2’s “New Year’s Day” was one of the first videos where we used slow motion in a performance (circa 1982). Over 10 years of editing music content, the most important thing I learned was never to be afraid to start over with a different approach—it’s sometimes frustrating but always rewarding. My years at WML Studios included editing “With or Without You” (nominated for MTV Best Editing and winner of Viewer’s Choice) and “All I Want is You”. This would begin a very long career working with U2.

Working with the artists directly is the fastest learning curve of all.  I have had the privilege of working closely with U2 on a number of occasions. My first real intimate edit was on a collaboration between Clannad and Bono. Bono spent a lot of time in the edit suite, scoring each vocal for performance, which is something that I still do to this day. He gave me the confidence to use out-of-focus material of him singing in the video “Once in a Lifetime”.

One of my favorite edits is “Beautiful Day” filmed at Charles de Galle airport on the runway. I edited a separate version of the promo for internet release, which proved to me the footage always wants to tell its own story, sometimes independent of the production idea.

I was nominated for an Emmy award for Best Editing for “U2 Live at Boston” DVD, directed by Hamish Hamilton. Hamish understood how to control 20+ cameras and reinforced the philosophy of looking down the entire time line, taking the viewer on a journey through the concert. In “U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle”, which won “Best Use of a DVD” (London Advertising Awards), I edited a collection of documentary and concert footage for the DVD.  During this time, Bono’s father sadly passed away. This inspired the single “Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own”, which I directed. This was a live broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from U2’s headquarters. I shot this performance on Super 8mm and Super 16mm film.

I was the lead editor on U2’s most recent production “360 Live in Los Angeles DVD” (directed by Tom Krueger). This project was as exciting as it gets; we had 24 cameras shot over two nights. The band still has a clear vision of what they expect from a product.

Bono and the band taught me to have confidence in my choices. I learned to be proud of my mistakes. If you know what’s wrong, it can be fixed.  

A huge impact on my editing career was working with incredible directors, such as Oscar-winning director Jim Sheridan. His first words to me as an editor were, “You have to hide your edit. Let the viewer participate.” On the first viewing of the Neil Young concert, 10 minutes into the viewing, Jim raised his arm and said aloud: “I want to see a close-up of Neil Young now.” As he spoke, the cut happened. I knew I was safe as I had understood his message. Jim’s style was to set up camera dollies with a perfect view of the stage to the camera crew’s delight. Then he would get paid extras in the crowd to wave banners and flags in front of the lens, making the camera hunt for every shot.

One of the most challenging projects was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum. I had to condense each year of inductees into a five-minute piece, which was projected onto three 100-foot screens. It told the story of rock and roll in sound-bite and image form. This project has strongly influenced me to this day. Some artists just captured the frame; sometimes simpler is just better.

I was asked to edit “George Michael Live in London” (directed by Andy Morahan). I was the third editor brought in to work on the project. I started from scratch and rebuilt the DVD in George’s edit suite in London. It was an honor to work directly with such a great vocal talent and song writer. GM has always had a hands-on approach and controls the media apparatus with confidence.

Every performance has a story to tell—its beginning, middle, and end. This rarely floats on the surface and is easily missed (dollies and cranes flying back and forth like carnival rides). With enough editing, you can always find the heart of the performance. You can always make it better with editing.