Ice Breakers

Sometimes less tells you more.

Knowing what to leave out.

There's a natural temptation in editing to use the material you've been given.

A great performance. A funny reaction. Another angle. If it was shot, there can be a feeling that it ought to be in the commercial.

But sometimes adding more actually gives you less.

With Ice Breakers, I realized pretty quickly that the power of the idea was in the negative moments—the pauses when seemingly nothing was happening.

The family is sitting there. Waiting.

The longer we stay with them, the more uncomfortable it becomes.

As an editor, the instinct can be to relieve that discomfort. Cut to something else. Find another reaction. Keep things moving.

But the discomfort is the point.

Those pauses are building tension and preparing us for the moment when Mom finally breaks.

So rather than asking, “What else can I put in?” the more important question became:

“What can I take out?”

I've always thought editing has a lot in common with music.

The notes matter. But so do the timing, rhythm and the spaces in between.

This commercial is a good example of that.

Some of the most important moments in the edit are the moments when seemingly nothing is happening.

The empty space isn't empty. It's doing work.