5.25.2004

Interview with Sam Bauer

Next up on our interview list is Sam Bauer. He's the Editor of Donnie Darko, and a key man behind the creation of the Director's Cut. Behind any good movie you'll find a great editor, so we appreciate Sam taking the time to pass on some of his insight and background perspective on Richard and the movie. — Number_5

R-K.net: How long have you been in the movie business? Did you go to school to train as an editor?

Sam: I have been editing professionally for six years. I edited my own music videos in college, and I discovered that I could actually do it for eight hours a day and not want to hurt someone after the day was over. I got a job as a Demonstration Artist, which is basically a sales position, at a rental house in Hollywood. That company paid for me to get my instructor certification for Avid, the industry standard editing software.

R-K.net: How did you first get involved in working with Richard?

Sam: Rich and I met while we were being hazed by Madonna and J. Lo in a cappuccino fraternity called 525 post production.

R-K.net: What was the experience like working on Darko?

Sam: It was fantastic. It was the only time in my short career that I only had to edit picture and sound. I was not hired to save things. Many times truly creative thinking is a liability. This kind of thinking can threaten people of power. On Donnie Darko, however, I was surrounded by an incredibly talented team that complimented one another.

R-K.net: Was it frustrating to have to edit the movie down so much after Sundance? We understand that the financier and distributor forced a shorter running time on you guys, making it a challenge in the editing room. What scene bothered you the most to drop?

Sam: It is the most difficult part of editing a movie. The editing process late in the game has been described to me as a political one, and I don't think that is entirely true. After Sundance the editing room seemed more like a temporary coup d'etat as opposed to a political debate. But that's the way it goes the first time around. As far as scenes, the "Dad and Donnie bonding moment." I'm sure that's going to be the one.

R-K.net: At what point in the production process do you start really getting involved? While they are first shooting scenes?

Sam: I like to be involved as soon as it is possible. I like to listen to Steven (Poster) and Richard discuss the script in shooting details, so I can start to pre-visualize everything. That process can take two weeks alone. So when they actually begin shooting I'm already intellectually involved.

R-K.net: Are you looking at the footage after each day's shooting, or do you really go to work after most of the filming is done?

Sam: I'm always a day behind. I get dailies from the previous day of shooting and that's where I start. I assemble the film in two to three months and then Richard and I refine it about 100,000 times or something like that. Who would've ever thought that your third grade English teacher could be so prophetic when they said " You need to revise more drafts Sam... More Drafts!!" You have to go over drafts of a film to really refine it.

R-K.net: I think your college buddies also use that same mantra at the bars - "More drafts!" Roughly how long does it take to edit all the raw footage on a movie like Darko to just get to the Sundance cut?

Sam: Three to four months.

R-K.net: What is it like working with Richard? Does he take an active role in the editing process?

Sam: Richard and I learned the Avid system at about the same time. So we kind of learned and invented our process over the period of the last six years. After principal photography is over Richard likes to get in the editing room and get his hands dirty. More power to him. Having him in the room is normal to me.

R-K.net: Do you find yourself "driving the car" (so to speak) while he gives directions, or are you coming up with many of the ideas and just showing him the finished product?

Sam: Depends on the scene. Richard knows what he's looking for. If he doesn't he will tell you. I like to think of what we are doing as collaboration.

R-K.net: How tightly do you have to work with the person picking the music?

Sam: Richard and I are sound obsessed. We are very picky.

R-K.net: We assume you edited the "Head Over Heels" scene in Darko (which was fantastic, and was documented in a special called "Anatomy of a Scene" on the Sundance Channel). How different is it working with someone like Richard who likes to have a lot of say in the music up front (even writing many songs into the script)?

Sam: It is different, but I prefer to work with musically driven pieces. Not musicals, just music driven. This is the way to approach music. At the end of the process, i.e. when the film is done, you will find that the music is not like a shellac that gets spread on the final product but is woven into the story at a deeper level. I think Richard will always get great musicians because they will begin to see the care that goes into the placing of their songs.

R-K.net: Do you find that easier than having to edit a scene well after the fact to try and make it conform to a song that was just chosen? And is it harder to edit a scene to music than it is to just sound effects or no special background sound?

Sam: I'm not sure I get you here. Cutting to the beat of a song is painfully easy and painfully boring to watch. It is best to edit a scene without extraneous sound and noise to see how well the scene holds on by itself. Music has become the idiot filmmaker's way out of every scene next to the dissolve of course. Look at the amazing film, Network, hardly any music at all. Amazing film.

R-K.net: We assume you were one of the most important people involved in the Director's Cut of Donnie Darko.

Sam: I'd like to think so.

R-K.net: Not to give anything away, but what are your general impressions? Is it a radically different movie than what many fans may expect (just mixing in the deleted scenes from the DVD)? Is it more satisfying for you to watch this new version since you had fewer restrictions on running time? Do you think diehard fans will come away thinking that they've seen something new and exciting, or just think that they've seen the same film with Han talking to Jabba the Hutt and Greedo shooting first? Will fans of the soundtrack think it is even better with the new music added?

Sam: It is awesome. The mix is slammin', and there is a lot of new never before seen material. The story is much more intricate and the flow of the film is better. It was designed to be this way, not the way it was originally released. The new music is great.

R-K.net: What's next in line for you? Will you be working on Southland Tales - hopefully this summer? Do you anticipate working on more Richard Kelly projects down the line (crossing fingers.)?

Sam: Well I'm very excited about Southland Tales. And as long as Richard and Sean put up with me I will stay in the loop as their editor guy. The three of us have made an awesome first film and we've been fortunate enough to have another shot at releasing it. I know the films we will make will always define the curve. Look at Darko three years later and it has become a hit. This was a grass roots word of mouth "Hey have you seen this movie that was logical, funny, scary, introspective?"

R-K.net: Do you have any designs to move beyond editing and write or direct?

Sam: There are many things one can do in the film business. I think that I was designed to be an editor.

R-K.net: As we might have asked when we were talking about music in Donnie Darko, you are credited with writing and performing some of the music from the soundtrack. Is Ged Bauer your brother?

Sam: Ged Bauer is my brother and we wrote the Jim Cunningham theme, Lucid Memory, together. We will be performing a dance remix at the Seattle Film Festival in the W lounge at 9:00 May 29th, just in case there are any self proclaimed fear survivors who want to rock that fear back a few time zones. Ged and my roommate Mike Bauer wrote a significant amount of additional music for the director's cut. I love to contribute music, or sound elements to film, but to me these additions fall under the editorial umbrella, not the composer umbrella.

R-K.net: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Sam: The great thing about working on a director's cut is that they get the final cut. The director's cut, due to VHS and DVD profit margins, is an excellent forum for original design. The rules governing distribution channels are not in total harmony with every director's vision, so the DVD business is actually really good for the art.

R-K.net: Thanks for taking the time to share this info with us. Also, I'll be sure to have front row seats at the W lounge in Seattle for your performance. Hopefully you can squeeze in "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" as an encore.