‘Yellowjackets’ editor Jeff Israel reveals secrets of cutting ‘Edible Complex,’ ‘Qui’ and ‘Storytelling’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
“I had read what the medieval feast was going to look like, but they blew me away when I saw the footage,” says “Yellowjackets” editor Jeff Israel while recalling the Season 2 episode “Edible Complex.” It was one of three installments of the Showtime drama he worked on this cycle — the others being “Qui” and the season finale, “Storytelling.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
While discussing the scene where the teen Yellowjackets eat a deceased Jackie (Ella Purnell), Israel says, “These actors are so committed, it’s amazing. They just dove in. You only get that from a young cast, who are like, ‘We don’t care.’ Because there are so many quick shots in it, we used just about everything they did. While I was putting it together I noticed some parallels, like when medieval Misty (Samantha Hanratty) would bite into an apple, I would cut to a shot of 90s Misty biting into flesh to start teasing it. The intercutting worked really well, but what really got it going was the Radiohead song. With ‘Climbing Up the Walls’ by Radiohead, it did just the right amount of escalating at the right time.”
“I had to ask, ‘What is this made of?'” he continues. Israel reveals the jackfruit and rice paper mixture was referred to as “Jackie fruit” and “Jackie snacks.” “They truly ate it like they were starving. That made it convincing. The horror we show is the darkness in people and what they’re capable of, so the pacing can vary because we play lots of styles on this show.”
The editor says his work on the adult Yellowjackets is slightly different than the teens. “I’ve cut a lot of teen shows,” he explains. “When the teens are talking, they talk fast, they overlap and they interrupt each other. I might subconsciously cut them a little faster. The adults are probably more methodical and they choose their words more carefully. The teens react with their gut. It’s just a different feeling with who’s in the scene, especially if Christina Ricci is playing Misty, because she has her own rhythm.”
For “Qui,” Israel says, “One of the things we decided was Shauna’s (Sophie Nélisse) in the middle of the room having this baby, but everyone’s a little bit frozen in place. Some of them don’t know what their role should be and some of them step up. Most are just watching. We tried not to cut away too much to everyone in the room because we wanted to focus on Shauna and Sophie’s performance is so amazing. You just want to stay on her. It all came together really well. Everything I’ve read is just how amazing the actors bonded together. This is a pretty tight group and that carries over into my work. It’s an easier space to get into when they’re all comfortable.”
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