Issac Balachandran talks about his success as a film editor

“Although, credit is not visible on the outside, working in this field has its rewards,” says Issac Balachandran, an independent film editor, who has worked in films such as Spring Break Forever (2020), The Old Man (2019), Tiger Blanket (2021).

These films have been selected for screening at a plethora of international film festivals including the Greenwich International Film Festival, New York City Independent Film Festival, Carrboro Film Festival, Venice Shorts film festival, and Joedance Film Festival for his work in picture editing ( The Old Man), sound editing ( Spring Break Forever) and editing ( Tiger Blanket).

At 23, Issac, who is also a supervising sound editor, is proficient in background, dialogues, and picture editing too. Originally from Bengaluru, he studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Speaking on the phone from New York, he says he was always interested in the technical part of filmmaking. “When I was exposed to this side of the film industry, I wanted to know more about it, and the whole auditory experience piqued my interest to take this up.”

Issac says the demand for this field is very high. “If you do not notice the editing in the film, it is a good thing, because that means it was well done.”

Film editor Isaac Balachandran
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Music, says Issac, is one of the most important parts of the whole filmmaking process. “I have composed music for a short film, and I know what role it plays. Music can shape other sounds.”

Talking about his work, he says Movie Night is about a boy’s love for old movies that takes him into the VHS world. “In terms of sound, the process included several layers of dark, eerie backgrounds to fill the space of the VHS world and the demon alterations of the voice of the antagonist. Some of the challenges faced were balancing the demon’s deep voice with similar tones from the sound effects and score.”

Issac says cutting each scene separately is easy because it is like finding the edge pieces of a puzzle and creating the border of the puzzle. “What is difficult is cutting each scene with the entire project in mind because the picture that we create can end up completely different from what was first intended.”

This process, he says, involves effective communication between the director and the editor. “From the script to the screen, many things feel different, look different, are received differently, and the final product should reflect, if not the script, the intention of the director.”

The entire process of filmmaking in the U.S. is very streamlined, feels Issac. “It is like a fast-moving train, the music, dialogues, animation, images, everything is laid out, it is up to you to decide whether to hop on or not.”

Explaining his structure of work, he says, “On the picture side of things, it involves labelling footage, syncing the audio to the video, making sure that all the media is perfectly compatible with the software, and then cutting the movie.

“On the sound side of things, I start by editing the dialogue of each scene, making sure every transition is smooth and each line is audible. After I cut in the background sound effects, I cut in the sound effects for every prop that is handled by characters like a door closing, glasses clinking etc. Finally, I mix the dialogues, backgrounds, effects with the music from the composer, and make sure the most important parts of each scene are highlighted for the right reasons.”

Issac says in the U.S., content is more accessible, and because of great editing, even mediocre actors leave an impression on the audience. In India, on the other hand, people in the filmmaking business are not tech-savvy, and there is a clear difference especially when it comes to films that are editing-oriented because of this.

Issac, who prefers drama and comedy over other genres of filmmaking, says with so many platforms now, good content is easily accessible. “Editing plays an important role, and there are so many options of editing available such as picture editing, sound design and colour correction.

He hopes to make sitcoms one day. “I’m currently working on a podcast and two documentaries, one of them is on marijuana and drug abuse.”

Issac agrees that the technical part of filmmaking is gendered. “There were many women of my age in my class, but all my professors were men. It is slowly changing as more women are coming forward to take these classes, but we are not completely there yet.”

Issac says films such as Inception, Gravity and The Dark Knight are great examples of the work that goes into creating art. “These are the kind of films that are so foreign to our sense of reality that the sound design has to convince us that it is real. A dream world, space, and Gotham city are experiences that are so foreign to us and yet the sound helps bridge that gap between the viewer’s seat and the screen.”