Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Was Edited During Production Due to Tight Schedule

The need to hit its scheduled release date means that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was edited while the movie was still filming. Maryann Brandon spoke With Express in the UK and revealed that due to the change in directors from Colin Trevorrow to J.J Abrams during pre-production, they had to produce the film on a tightened timeframe. That meant that Brandon was editing the film while production was ongoing.

“I did this thing on cutting Rise of Skywalker – and we have a very short schedule,” Brandon said. “When we did The Force Awakens we started in May and we finished shooting in October, and we were out [the following] Christmas. For this film, we didn’t start until August, so we weren’t done until February shooting – so we have four months less time, and it’s a very big film.”

She continued, “So I convinced JJ to let me cut on the set. He was like, ‘no, we never do that’. I was like, ‘just try it, so I can start turning over shots.’ So I was on the set the entire time, and he got so used to it that he was like, ‘You need to be less than ten feet away from me at all times’ – so if the camera would move 10 feet, I would move 10 feet. I was everywhere! Outside, in a water tank…”

She noted that the experience was beneficial for her as an editor, saying, “On this film I got to know the cast really well, I was literally part of the crew. It was really great for me. I watched what they were shooting, I was cutting what they were shooting the day before… I had the DP right there to ask questions. If I needed a shot, or if JJ decided we needed another shot, we would set up in a corner and get a green screen shot of something. Getting to know the cast and having them be comfortable with me, it was a really great way to understand what they were going through.”