#130: Laura Zempel, Editor

Best Girl Grip

This week’s guest is Laura Zempel, an award-winning editor for film & TV based in Los Angeles.

I invited to Laura to the podcast after binge-watching the series Beef on Netflix earlier this year and being really impressed with everything about that show, but particularly the editing and how it balances the modulating tone and storylines so deftly.

Laura was nominated for an Emmy for her work on that show, and not for the first time, she previously won for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series in Euphoria.

She also worked on Josephine Decker’s film The Sky is Everywhere and the Duplass brothers’ show Room 104.

Most recently she edited two episodes of the new Apple TV+ series Lessons in Chemistry, starring Brie Larson. The first three episodes are available to watch as of today.

We talk about how she developed an interest in editing, her experience of internships and assisting, including etiquette and how to read a room, being obsessive with music and making playlists for her projects, editing an actors’ performance, staying emotionally engaged with the work, Avid being her first language and trusting the process.

SHOW NOTES

• American Cinema Editors internship programme
• Read this great interview with Laura over on The Edit Girls website
• Watch Lessons in Chemistry on Apple TV+
• Watch The Sky is Everywhere on Apple TV+
• Watch BEEF on Netflix
• Find out where to watch Euphoria
• Watch Laura’s film recommendation ‘Fresh’ by Mimi Cave.
• Listen to my Best Girl Grip interviews with editors Louise Ford and Maya Maffioli.