What I Learned From Editing Matthew McConaughey

In this article I’d like to share what I learned from editing Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey.

Last summer I got a phone call to work on a project for Matthew McConaughey’s Just Keep Livin’ Foundation. His non-profit was launching a program to help schools apply for federal safety grants. With two young kids in public schools, I was eager to be a part of it, but I was extra excited when I learned Matthew would be the spokesperson in the video.

 I accepted the role of script supervisor and editor.

While someday I hope to edit an actor of McConaughey’s caliber in a narrative context, even on this PSA, I learned so much from watching him work.

As script supervisor, I get to hang out near the monitor. After director Scott Rice and Matthew would get a take they liked, Matthew would come over to the monitor to watch playback.

As he watched, he would move his hands almost like a conductor, feeling the rhythm of his performance. If something felt off with the rhythm, he’d go another take.

Once I got into post, the cadence of Matthew’s delivery and the care he had taken to achieve it really stood out.

There’s a section of the video where he explains the initiative in voice over while animation plays on a chalkboard. Given the time constraints of a 90-second PSA, I had to manipulate the timing a bit and speed up Matthew’s voice over, cutting out a few frames here and there.

When it came time to give notes on the edit, Matthew noticed something didn’t feel right, that something felt rushed and needed a beat.

Sure enough, I had cut out literally three frames between two of his lines and that was enough to throw off the rhythm of his delivery. I put the frames back per his feedback and it was indeed better, more natural and as he intended.

Between the care he took on set with his cadence, and the fact that he still had that in his head while watching the rough cut, reinforced for me the importance of rhythm in performance.

It also reminded me that every frame counts and excellence is found when you drill into those details and finesse your edits down to each frame.

Austen is an ADDY award-winning film & commercial editor with over 20 years of experience. He has worked with global brands like Meta, KPMG, SAP, and Christianity Today. His PSA work has championed causes like school safety (with Matthew McConaughey), driving safety, and anti-tobacco. A thought leader in the editing field, his online lessons quickly amassed over 100K views after launch.