John Soh

Editor


The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents

02:26

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About
About this interview

In his nearly two-and-a-half hour Archive interview, John Soh discusses his early years in South Korea, where he developed an interest in American films. He talks about moving to the United States and attending Chapman College, where a professor noticed his talents and encouraged him to transfer to UCLA film school. He talks about learning the craft of editing, and his concurrent jobs at F. K. Rockett Co. He discusses joining Wolper Productions, where he edited on many of David Wolper's documentary series. He then discusses his long-term association with Jacques Cousteau's television specials. He describes editing the first programs, coming up with concepts, and sorting through the huge volume of film the crews created. He also discusses his work on the filmed documentary The Hellstrom Chronicle (1971), which won an Academy Award as Best Documentary Feature. Other projects he discusses are The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich and Hiroshima. In conclusion, Mr. Soh discusses the art and craft of editing, his overall philosophy of telling a story through editing, and the honor of receiving the A.C.E. 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award. Karen Herman conducted the interview in a joint venture with American Cinema Editors (ACE) at Universal Studios in Los Angeles, CA on February 17, 2007.

All views expressed by interviewees are theirs alone and not necessarily those of the Television Academy.

"You're telling the story with a picture. It's great satisfaction, being able to tell the story, and at the same time learning all different aspects of life. Whether it's science or music or life, or it's sadness, happiness, you're learning and you're telling millions of people that story. Sitting in front of that Moviola, that's happiness." 

People Talking About ...
Highlights
John Soh on deciding he wanted to be an editor
01:34
John Soh on going on expeditions with Jacques Cousteau for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
04:13
John Soh on what he considers to be the best thing about film editing
02:31
John Soh on editing Hiroshima
06:13
John Soh on working directly with Jacques Cousteau on editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
05:12
John Soh on editing the feature film "The Hellstrom Chronicle" produced by David Wolper
13:19
Full Interview

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Chapter 1

On his early life and influences
On making films in college; on deciding he wanted to be an editor; on his earliest editing work in television and films

Chapter 2

On editing Beany and Cecil for Bob Clampett; on editing Story Of... for David Wolper; on his time working for David Wolper Productions editing documentaries
On editing the documentary feature film "The Hellstrom Chronicle" produced by David Wolper

Chapter 3

On editing David Wolper's feature film "The Hellstrom Chronicle" and on Wolper's producing style
On how he came to edit The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau; on the challenges of editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
On working directly with Jacques Cousteau on editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau; on the challenge of telling a story with the raw footage of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

Chapter 4

On creating a story from the raw footage of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and on the characterization of Cousteau himself on the series; on going on expeditions with Jacques Cousteau for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau; on Jacques Cousteau's on-camera persona on The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
On the rhythm of editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau; on the challenge of editing hundreds of hours of raw footage into an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
On the craft of editing for television based on the work of Slavko Vorkapić; on editing special effects

Chapter 5

On working with composers as an editor; on editing the documentary short "The Really Big Family"; on editing the documentary feature "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"
On editing Hiroshima; on advice to aspiring editors; on being honored by the American Society of Cinema Editors
On what he considers to be the best thing about film editing; on his wife
Shows

Beany and Cecil

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John Soh on editing Beany and Cecil for Bob Clampett
02:58

Hiroshima

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John Soh on editing Hiroshima
06:13

Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, The

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John Soh on how he came to edit The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:23
John Soh on the challenges of editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:35
John Soh on problems he had synching the dailies for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:43
John Soh on working directly with Jacques Cousteau on editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
05:12
John Soh on the challenge of telling a story with the raw footage of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
04:26
John Soh on creating a story from the raw footage of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and on the characterization of Cousteau himself on the series
04:45
John Soh on going on expeditions with Jacques Cousteau for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
04:13
John Soh on Jacques Cousteau's on-camera persona on The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:34
John Soh on the rhythm of editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
02:49
John Soh on the challenge of editing hundreds of hours of raw footage into an episode of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
05:16
Topics

Advice

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John Soh on advice to aspiring editors
04:20

Television Industry

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John Soh on advice to aspiring editors
04:20
Professions

Editor

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John Soh on the craft of editing for television based on the work of Slavko Vorkapić
05:02
John Soh on editing special effects
03:01
John Soh on working with composers as an editor
02:42
John Soh on advice to aspiring editors
04:20
John Soh on what he considers to be the best thing about film editing
02:31

Post-Production Professionals

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John Soh on the craft of editing for television based on the work of Slavko Vorkapić
05:03
John Soh on editing special effects
03:01
John Soh on working with composers as an editor
02:42
John Soh on advice to aspiring editors
04:20
John Soh on what he considers to be the best thing about film editing
02:31
Genres

News and Documentary

View Genre
John Soh on editing Story Of... for David Wolper
06:16
John Soh on editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
20:19
John Soh on editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
20:37

TV Movies/Miniseries/Dramatic Specials

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John Soh on editing Hiroshima
06:13
People

Bob Clampett

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John Soh on editing Beany and Cecil for Bob Clampett
02:58

Jacques Cousteau

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John Soh on how he came to edit The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:23
John Soh on the challenges of editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:35
John Soh on problems he had synching the dailies for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:43
John Soh on working directly with Jacques Cousteau on editing The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
05:12
John Soh on the challenge of telling a story with the raw footage of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
04:26
John Soh on creating a story from the raw footage of The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau and on the characterization of Cousteau himself on the series
04:45
John Soh on going on expeditions with Jacques Cousteau for The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
04:12
John Soh on Jacques Cousteau's on-camera persona on The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau
03:34

David L. Wolper

View Interview Page
John Soh on editing Story Of... for David Wolper
06:16
John Soh on his time working for David Wolper Productions editing documentaries
06:42
John Soh on editing the feature film "The Hellstrom Chronicle" produced by David Wolper
13:19
John Soh on editing David Wolper's feature film "The Hellstrom Chronicle" and on Wolper's producing style
08:31

All Interviews

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