Rob Field
David Jansso’s path to becoming a film editor seemed both inevitable and serendipitous. Born and raised in Hungary and spending time in the United States, Jansso grew up in the world of filmmaking. His father, a director, and his mother, an editor, tried hard to prevent him from following in their footsteps, pushing him into more traditional fields such as law and political science. But even after completing these two degrees, genetics was not conquered.
“The children of carpenters should be carpenters, because they know how to keep the roof from falling on you,” he quipped.
The opportunity to attend Hungary’s prestigious film school solidified his career path. At the time, Hungarian schools offered a highly professional education, with students receiving specialized training to become editors, sound professionals or cinematographers. Jancsó praised the system’s focus and practicality. He hated being on set, so the editing had to be like that.
Since then, Jansso’s work has spanned Europe and the United States, ranging from micro-budget films to large-scale productions and television. He found multiple recurring collaborators to keep him busy and expand the scope of his skills. His most recent collaboration with acting-writer-director couple Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbett, The Brutalist , an epic about a fictional architect fleeing the Holocaust, is one such low-budget project. The work expands his performance capabilities through editing.
CineMontage: Aside from what you learned during your mother’s career, was there anything else about your editing apprenticeship that left a lasting impression on you?
David Jancsó: When I was in film school, I was in Los Angeles assisting Janice Hampton on a horror film. The way she lays out her timeline, builds her story and approaches her work is instructive – how she goes from close-ups to wide shots and back again and builds things up. It helped me think about what the first rally in the movie should look like. This may seem pretty standard, but I’m new to this, coming from a European filmmaker background, which is very different from the American film industry’s approach.
CineMontage: How do you differentiate between them?
Jancsó: In the European way—and this is what I learned from my mom—you start with the film as a whole. You ask, “Why am I shooting this scene? What is its purpose?” Then, you work inward to build it. In the American method, it’s like building with Legos: start with pieces and build outward. I Always somewhere in between these two ways of working. I keep the big picture in mind but also start small.
CineMontage: You also work for a select group of directors. I wonder how that affects the way you shoot footage?
Jancsó: For some reason, most of the directors I work with are actors turned directors. My first film was with Kornél Mundruczó, who directed Delta, White God and Pieces of a Woman. We have been a stable collaborator for the past 17 years. He is an actor turned director. Brady Corbett—actor turned director. Dev patel mona fastward. For some reason, everyone I work with. It’s funny because I come from a “director-director” father.
CineMontage: How do you think this group of actors-turned-directors handle things?
Jancsó: The amount of detail they bring to a particular performance is incredible. In the case of “The Fauves,” no one knew how much effort the actors put into their performances. It’s actually letters from different shots spliced together to form a single word. We worked on it in editing and then transferred it to the sound department. We had a great sound crew and they didn’t kill us once they got the footage. The focus is on the performance and translating it into the edit—making it pitch perfect. Indeed, we focus first on the actors’ performances and then on the film as a whole.
CineMontage: Did the director try to act through the editing process?
Jancsó: All directors do this, but these actors-turned-directors really understand the other side of things. They get into those little nuances that, as a viewer, you think you don’t notice, but you do – and it really affects you. It also affects us when we create. Our goal is to set a baseline so that we can hand it off to other departments. We try to deliver the best possible edit so that other departments can add to it rather than just fix the problems we created.
CineMontage: There’s so much more at your disposal now than there was a few years ago.
Jancsó: This is crazy. My mom always says, “The amount of work you have to do now…” We work a lot more on sound than we did in the flatbed days. While the picture we’re seeing is worse than what editors are used to seeing, at least now we have 45 audio tracks to work with instead of just 4.
CineMontage: Digitalization makes some things easier, but…
Jancsó: I don’t think it’s easy. The editing process has not been shortened by digitization. At that point, you have to make a decision, if you use glue, if you keep re-editing, the clip will jump. So, you can’t really tell. Now you can run 10 versions in parallel and jump between them. However, you can revoke. My mom loves that.
CineMontage: Tell me about working with Brady and Mona — on this film, Brady directed the script they co-wrote and Mona shot the second unit. What kind of shots did they give you? They’re obviously focused on performance, but how much choice do you have in terms of editing? Do they combine your editing with their footage?
Jancsó: “The Childhood of the Leader,” “The World to Come” and “The Fauves” are all low-budget films, which means there aren’t a lot of options for collaborations. A lot of the film was formed in editing, especially in finding the tone of certain scenes. You don’t have all the angles and work around them like in a big-budget movie. This limitation also makes editing very creative. Let’s say there’s an oner, but even if it’s an oner, there are some tricks today that can help speed it up or slow it down. We used a lot of that in The Brutalists as well. There’s an obvious one on the boat, but it’s actually a lot of shots spliced together. Even in dialogue scenes, like when they walk into the furniture store, or the scene between Emma and Adrian, you can play with the timing and squeeze it in. —You know, wide angle, close-up, medium shot, over the shoulder. But they do create difficulties for editors if something isn’t exactly as originally imagined. With a smaller budget, there’s always the issue of scenarios or other constraints. Nonetheless, all of their projects are passion projects and they really draw you into these films and you are willing to give 110%. They’re both wonderful people – very smart and a real power couple. They are also very friendly and it is great to spend time with them.
CineMontage: Can you differentiate this experience from some of your other frequent, long-term collaborations? How is the workflow different?
Jansso: For The Fauves , I started talking to them right after they had written it—when they were still releasing The World to Come . When I first read the script, we were already discussing casting Adrien Brody, although that changed five times before he ended up taking the role. Every director works differently. I tend to work in a classic way, maybe because of my upbringing. Since then, I’ve learned that there are other ways to do things, especially since watching a little TV. It was really eye-opening. I’m usually very involved, but I don’t like to interfere too much with the script. I told the directors to write down and record everything they wanted and then we would try it out in the edit. This gives us a larger sandbox. Of course, I will offer advice when asked, but I will not impose myself on anyone. After all, this is the director’s movie. I come from that school of thought. My taste is secondary to what Brady, Mona or any director envisioned and how we achieved that vision.
However, their process is unique. That’s always an interesting dynamic.
CineMontage: You are lucky to have long-term collaborations and communities. Nonetheless, how do you think about maintaining your career? Was it a practical decision to go on TV or was it just looking for a challenge?
Jancsó: I like to challenge myself. Before The Beast, I did Monkey Man with Dev Patel, which was a completely different beast. I try to keep an open mind. I’m very loyal to the directors I work with, but branching out into other genres, territories and scales allows me to bring new experiences to them. For example, working on Treadstone, a spin-off of The Walking Dead, was very different from the classic Cannes and Venice arthouse films I usually shoot. It broadened my horizons. I try to surround myself with people that I enjoy working with, no matter what they’re doing.
CineMontage: A lot of editors fall into categories—comedy, drama, etc.
Jancsó: Everyone was trapped in it—directors, DPs, designers. This is not good for the industry. Expanding your knowledge and perspective makes for better movies. I know there’s an algorithmic idea – pairing a comedy editor with a comedy DP to make great comedy – but maybe not. Look at Kubrick; he worked in many genres and mastered them all. It’s about trusting people. The success of a film comes from teamwork, not just being labeled as a “comedy editor.” Being in a box is suffocating. If you’re always doing comedy, you might get bored. Breaking out of these boxes will be the best thing the industry can do. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to go up, down, left, and right.
