Still from Serious People. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Serious People is co-directors Pasqual Gutierrez and Ben Mullinkosson NEXT feature about a music video director who hires a lookalike to replace him at work while his wife is pregnant. The film is inspired by Gutierrez’s own expectant fatherhood.
Serious People is also the feature editorial debut of Nick Rondeau. Below, Rondeau talks about keeping the emotional core of the story central even while adapting a fly-on-the-wall observational approach.
See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here.
Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job?
Rondeau: I’ve worked with Pasqual on numerous projects in the past. I happened to see he needed help basically DIT-ing this project, so I reached out to lend my support. As we began speaking more in depth, I could see the full scale of the work ahead and called on the expertise and logistics of Cabin Edit. The film’s concept spoke to me as a father and specifically with my relationship to Pasqual and our industry. It was something I strongly felt I needed to be a part of.
Filmmaker: In terms of advancing your film from its earliest assembly to your final cut, what were your goals as an editor? What elements of the film did you want to enhance, or preserve, or tease out or totally reshape?
Rondeau: Pasqual and Ben heavily shaped the structure of the narrative in the script and in the early assemblies of the film. My goal as an editor is to constantly champion the story. In this film, it felt crucial to highlight the tension of the events that unfold. I wanted to create a clear understanding of what Pasqual is doing from the opening of the film and throughout. Pasqual (in the film) keeps raising the stakes in his house-of-cards balancing act, and this needed to stay central in the story. Pasqual and Ben wanted to create a languid, fly-on-the-wall, voyeuristic element to the photography, so restraint and holding on shots and not editing was also important. Similarly, the absurd beauty of Miguel’s performances demands space and attention, and it was equally important to create room for those moments to unfold.

Filmmaker: How did you achieve these goals? What types of editing techniques, or processes, or feedback screenings allowed this work to occur?
Rondeau: Holding on something as long as possible. Finding the beauty in silence or any action that served as punctuation to a scene. Miguel’s role needed to be established as a foundation at the beginning of the film. We auditioned various ways to open the film and ended up extrapolating Pasqual’s casting scene to showcase his motivation, as well as to establish Miguel as a main character.
Filmmaker: As an editor, how did you come up in the business, and what influences have affected your work?
Rondeau: I began my career as a runner in an advertising agency where I familiarized myself with the industry’s top talent as I catalogued and organized reels for producers. I grew up in the music video age and have an undying affinity for them to this day. I enjoy the absurd and have an affinity for anyone creating magic in that arena.
Filmmaker: What editing system did you use, and why?
Rondeau: Adobe Premiere Pro was used for this film. Ben and Pasqual wanted to edit as well, so for us there was no other option besides Premiere’s “Production Project” workflow. We would ingest any new footage, sync and break down, then provide Ben and Pasqual the day’s material on a drive and update their Production. This allowed us to seamlessly work together with zero lag on media management. This seamless post process would not have been possible without my producer Lorelei Mira Polk and the team of assistants at Cabin Edit.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult scene to cut and why? And how did you do it?

Rondeau: The opening scene proved to be the most challenging for reasons stated above. We needed to convey a lot in a short amount of time all while trying to avoid being too cutty. We tried various options and ultimately kept coming back to how you see it in the film. Similarly, the reprise of Miguel’s casting in the middle of the film as well as Pasqual’s realization near the end proved to be tricky. Finding the right balance of story while not being too prescriptive.
Filmmaker: What role did VFX work, or compositing, or other post-production techniques play in terms of the final edit?
Rondeau: The final grade of the film, by TJ Seiler and Mikey Rossiter, as well as the sound design, by David Perlick-Molinair, Austin Mendenhall and Derek Muro, absolutely transformed the film in a beautiful way. The edit that Ben, Pasqual and I made tells the story, but these finishing touches completely bring that story to life.
Filmmaker: Finally, now that the process is over, what new meanings has the film taken on for you? What did you discover in the footage that you might not have seen initially, and how does your final understanding of the film differ from the understanding that you began with?
Rondeau: The people who star in the film are my friends and family. This film has only made me love and respect them more. The struggle Pasqual endures in this film is very real. Becoming a parent while remaining a hungry, dedicated creative in this industry is quite an undertaking. This story is a beautiful poem on what it means to be a human straddling these two worlds and is a wonderful love song Pasqual has written for us to all sing along to.