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@SXSW2021

It's here! We’re talking with people about the fun, the purpose, and the impact of their presence at this year's SXSW.

@Taylor
Taylor J
@Taylor · 2:19

SXSW Speakers | Melissa McCoy and A.J. Catoline, Editors of Ted Lasso

article image placeholderLasso on Apple TV
I was what I ended up watching was a brilliant show that combined all of my favorite things about football with all of my favorite things that make for an excellent TV show comedy that felt natural and emotional storylines that made me beyond invested in the characters. Part of what makes a TV show or movie so special is when you have that perfect blend of storytelling, performance and technique, all of which Ted Lasso had tenfold

#tv #tedlasso #editing

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@melmccoy
Melissa McCoy
@melmccoy · 1:33
I was like, hey, How's that show going? And occasionally, once or twice, Bill would walk through the offices and Jason would be with him. And I was a little bit starstruck. I remember one day hearing somebody be like, hey, Jason. And I swung my door open thinking he was like, down the hallway, and I would just get a glimpse of him. But I flung my door open and right outside my door walking by
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@AJCatoline
A.J. Catoline
@AJCatoline · 4:33
Hello, Taylor. It's great to connect with you here on Swell. What a swell app. I am so thrilled to download this. I knew at the app, so I hope I'm doing this right, but great to hear your question. It really sounds like you're an American who really understands the game of soccer. Wow. You know, Arsenal in terms of Gapper, that's really great. I learned so many terms editing this show, like what we call cleats or boots
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@Taylor
Taylor J
@Taylor · 2:15

The editing process for newbies?

I know that when I was watching the south by Southwest session, Mel mentioned that she hadn't met Brett, one of the actors on the show, and you were staring at his face all day long to make sure that the show is great. You think about that and the fact that you're not even having many interactions with a lot of these performers and with a lot of the other staff, I can imagine what exactly makes everything click so well in that final product
@melmccoy
Melissa McCoy
@melmccoy · 5:00
And then when you get to the end of the shoot and everything's shot, build the whole show and go through and do sound. We do a music path and really just try to craft the show into the best possible presentation of what they shot. And so as the editor, it's not necessarily our job to cut out stuff. We just try to make everything that was shot the best that it can be. So they can have a really great producers
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@AJCatoline
A.J. Catoline
@AJCatoline · 3:26
But sometimes there are scenes that you go back to the way you had it like many cuts ago because that was like your first impression of the material and that there's something strong and authentic out that first cut. So some things don't change, but it's important to stay patient with it as it does change
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@AJCatoline
A.J. Catoline
@AJCatoline · 2:17

Finding the best reactions of the Lasso cast

That's a big part of the process that he's great at by adding what we call ADR and dialogue replacement that we can hide over a character's back or on a different shot. And Jason is great with that, too. So we would do a lot of that with what Jason would call movie magic in the cutting room. And then when the pandemic began, we had to switch to editing the show remotely over Zoom and software called Evercast
@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 2:03

Creative influences!

You need to watch this show, and she rewatched it with me. And it is probably the best TV viewing experience I've had in the past year, if not in the last several years. So thank you so much for being part of making it come to life. It really touched me and was exactly what I needed to see and hear right now
@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 0:11

#TedHeads

I also just want to add that my best friend and I now call ourselves Tedheads. So we're in it for life
@AJCatoline
A.J. Catoline
@AJCatoline · 3:31

watch Escape to Victory . Classic soccer film.

So no, I didn't know to watch that. And I didn't want to be influenced, really, by that. I wanted to speak for itself. Sometimes remind me of one of my favorite British comedy films, Love, Actually, which is a comedy with an ensemble cast like Lasso of everyone authentically relating to each other and dealing with their vulnerability and their own shadows. Brendan Hans, who plays Coach Beard, did mention to me he's a big soccer fan
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@melmccoy
Melissa McCoy
@melmccoy · 4:43
So I was cutting episode one, and AJ was cutting episode two back to back. So we were kind of discovering the show as it was coming to us. And there was an energy and excitement in that where we didn't quite know what it was because we didn't have a bunch of scripts also. But, yeah, our shows were ending up, too, to be quite long. I mean, we had all this, kind of, like, extra stuff that we were just working through
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@bowie
Bowie Rowan
@bowie · 1:27

Season 1 vs Season 2

Thank you so much for sharing all those references. As a film nerd. I just love hearing the story behind those small decisions and hearing about the conversations that happened and just being able to have all these nods to various things is so interesting because I think even if every viewer doesn't pick up on them, there's like this cultural conversation going on under the surface with the history of film and TV. And I just think that's so cool and special
@AJCatoline
A.J. Catoline
@AJCatoline · 2:11

#LassoVibe #GoRichmond

And here in Post, too, we are feeling all that Lasso love. And I think what's hugely different about this year is that Mel and I are both nominated for an Ace Eddie Award, which is incredible. So excited. Mel is nominated for episode seven, make Rebecca great again, and I'm nominated for episode ten, the Hope that kills you
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@Swell
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15

Welcome to Swell!

@melmccoy
Melissa McCoy
@melmccoy · 2:39
We're only halfway through the season right now, and I'm just excited to keep working on it and then to get it out in the world again for the fans because people are so enthused. It's amazing
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@Taylor
Taylor J
@Taylor · 0:54

Thank you for an amazing show and fantastic discussion!

When I do interviews, I like to say it's tell us about a cause that's important to you, a project that you're working on and want to bring attention to anything at all. But thank you so much for being here. It was just a ton of fun
@AJCatoline
A.J. Catoline
@AJCatoline · 1:52

Thank you. #Believe

This is a great piece of TV, and it's touching that the message of Ted Lasso is resonating right now in the tough times that the world is going through. So I'm again grateful to be working on this show, especially at a time when so many of my fellow friends who work in television and production fellow Editors are out of work because of things being shut down
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