
“I Wanted to Make Sure the Energy of the Place Was Preserved”: Editor Chelsi Johnston on Sunfish

In Sierra Falconer’s debut feature Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), the lives of strangers intertwine at the Northern Michigan location, a place where time seems to move more slowly.
Sunfish is editor Chelsi Johnston first editor credit on a fiction feature after working further below the line on productions including Karyn Kusama’s The Invitation and Aaron Sorkin’s Being the Ricardos. Below, she discusses the importance of preserving the film’s location in the edit and finessing the beginning of the film.
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?
Chelsi Johnston: I went to the same graduate film program as Sierra at UCLA just five years before, so she found my name through word of mouth. When she first reached out to me, I was blown away by the script and lookbook. Then when we met in person, we connected immediately on a personal level and bonded over our love of Joanna Hogg’s films. I think also, because we went through the same program, we were able to speak the same language in a way. It not only gave us a way to talk (and gossip) about people or classes that we both took, but we learned how to make a film in the same way. I knew how to make a scrappy indie film and knew the right corners to cut to make it happen. I cleared out my closet space and edited most of the film in there!
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?
Chelsi Johnston: I was actually in Michigan with the crew during production. Because Sierra wanted to make a film that captured a specific place, I thought it was important for me to be there and soak it in myself so I knew what was important to show in the film. My experience on the lake in Michigan was my north star in terms of pacing, shot choices, music, sound design, etc. I wanted to make sure the energy of the place was preserved in the film because I knew it was there in the footage. The script was already so strong, and the performances done well, that we didn’t make drastic changes to the story in post, and instead we were able to play with pace and tone more.
Filmmaker: How did you achieve these goals? What types of editing techniques, or processes, or feedback screenings allowed this work to occur?
Chelsi Johnston: Sierra really allowed me to play with the footage and try new things, and when things didn’t work, she knew it right away and we would try something else out. This way of editing is really fun for me, and I think allows for a stronger film to emerge. We had a couple feedback screenings which were really informative. We figured out what story beats didn’t hit as strong as we would like to, or what parts people found funny or didn’t. But mostly, Sierra is a strong director and had a specific vision for the film, and it was my job to get the film as close to that as possible while making it the best film it could be.
Filmmaker: As an editor, how did you come up in the business, and what influences have affected your work?
Chelsi Johnston: I was in the directing program at UCLA but kept gravitating towards editing. I started editing other students’ films and fell in love. After I graduated, I decided to pursue editing, and I worked on whatever I could get my hands on! Filmmakers’ reels, wedding videos, internet content, trailers for indie films, you name it. Then, eventually, I got a Post PA gig on a feature and worked my way up to assistant editing. I’ve been very fortunate to work in the editing rooms of amazing editors, such as Alan Baumgarten, Julie Monroe, Nancy Richardson, and Mary Jo Markey. I learned so much about editing features from them. I also kept editing short films whenever I could, which all led me to feel ready to edit my first feature with Sunfish.
Filmmaker: What editing system did you use, and why?
Chelsi Johnston: I edited Sunfish on Avid Media Composer. I’m most comfortable with Avid from my experience as an assistant editor on film and TV.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult scene to cut and why? And how did you do it?
Chelsi Johnston: The most difficult scene was the opening of the movie. In test screenings, that was the scene that the audience were connecting least with, and in post we realized it didn’t help set up the world of the film in the best way. So, Sierra and I created a new opening with exterior shots, a main title sequence, and found the right song (which took many tries!), which we ultimately found from my friend Eric Ackerman. The pacing of the first thirty minutes of the film was also tricky to figure out because we wanted to make sure we were showing the audience the “lake life” feel and slow pacing while still hooking the audience into the story and character.
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?
Chelsi Johnston: I really appreciated working on a film that transported me to another world; to really dive into a specific setting was so much fun. So much of editing a film takes place in an isolated room with mostly only the director in the process, so I’m very excited to watch this film with an audience and to hear what they take away from the film. I can’t wait to be transported back into this world with more people in larger rooms.