Paul Machliss Case Study
Paul Machliss is an Australian born editor who his known for his work with Edgar Wright on 'Baby Driver', 'The World's End' and 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World'. Machliss is originally from Melbourne, Australia and studied at Brighton Secondary College. From there he decided to go straight into industry, instead of university, and begin working as a runner for an Australian comedy series. He then went into post production as a videotape librarian which is where he taught himself to use editing software. This allowed him to move to Europe as a freelance editor where he was then employed on a number of British TV series. He started work on the series 'Spaced' before moving on to the well known shows 'The IT Crowd' and 'Peep Show'. His work on these TV series then got him a job as the editor for Edgar Wright's 'Scott Pilgrim vs. the World' where he was nominated for 6 awards as well as winning a San Diego Film Critics Society Award. Wright then employed Machliss again for both 'The World's End' and the recently released 'Baby Driver'. 'Baby Driver' has been Machliss' most successful film to date having been nominated for a Critics Choice Award as well as winning 5 other awards for it.
I am inspired by Paul Machliss because of the journey he has gone through and the style of editing he now produces. I admire the fact that he never went to university and taught himself how to edit and yet has managed to work on some very well known productions. I also like the way he edits with regards to pace and editing to the beat. His style allows films, especially 'Baby Driver' to keep moving at an incredibly fast pace whilst making seamless, flowing cuts.
Machliss' career has shown me that I do not necessarily need to go to university to become an editor but instead I just need perseverence and experience. It shows that apprenticeships and and trainee roles can land you in just as good stead as getting a degree.