Cutting With Purpose: How I Edited Beneath the Same Sky Using Adobe Premiere Pro


Editing is where the film learns how to breathe.

When shooting wraps, most filmmakers hit the wall. The energy shifts. The momentum slows. The story you imagined has now become hours of raw footage, and what happens next determines whether your film lives or falls flat.

For Beneath the Same Sky, the edit mattered as much as the performances. The emotional arc is quiet and internal. There are no explosions to hide behind. The story is carried by pauses, glances, and subtle movement. The edit had to protect the intention of the film.

I chose to cut entirely in Adobe Premiere Pro, because staying inside one ecosystem kept the emotional rhythm intact. Editorial decisions, sound shaping, and color work all flowed together instead of being pulled apart into separate environments.

The goal was simple:
Make the film feel honest.

Organizing the Edit Before Touching the Timeline

Most editing pain comes from disorganization. So before I cut a single frame, I built a system:

Folder Structure (mirrors production drive):

01_Footage
02_Audio
03_Proxies
04_Selects
05_Scenes
06_RoughCuts
07_Music
08_ColorVersions
09_Exports

Naming Conventions:

  • Scene_#

Take#

CameraAngle

  • Example: SC03_TK04_MediumClose_CameraA

This seems boring to some. But it speeds up the entire creative process because:

  • I always know where a clip belongs.

  • I can cross-reference notes instantly.

  • Nothing relies on memory or guessing.

The faster I can find what I need, the more energy I have for emotional storytelling.

Frame.io: Feedback Without Chaos

During editing, I used Frame.io for review and collaboration.

This meant:

  • Cast could see rough performances.

  • Producer could track story clarity.

  • Sound and music could be developed in parallel.

  • Notes came in by timecode, not text chains or vague comments.

A Frame.io note like:

“00:01:34:12 — Hold her look two seconds longer”
is actionable and exact.

This keeps collaboration respectful and efficient.
No guesswork. No wasted revisions. No frustration.

Two Cuts: Festival Cut and Director’s Cut

The edit moved in two major phases:

Festival Cut

  • Tighter pacing

  • Faster emotional escalation

  • Designed for the attention span and rhythm of festival audiences

This version reflects how a film lives in a room with strangers.

Director’s Cut

  • Slightly slower pacing

  • More breathing room in emotional transitions

  • Best for personal screenings and narrative showcase

This version reflects how a film lives when the audience is already invested.

Knowing the difference matters.
Art is emotional.
Strategy is intentional.

Both are necessary.

Color Grading in Adobe Using Lumetri

I graded directly in Lumetri Color inside Adobe Premiere Pro.
Not because it is simpler. Because it keeps the emotional integrity connected to the edit.

The grade was built around:

  • Warm earth tones

  • Soft low-contrast shadows

  • Natural skin color

  • Imperfections preserved, not polished away

We wanted a world that feels lived in, not staged.

Color should support emotion, not declare itself.

Editing Is a Craft You Grow Into

My approach to editing has been shaped by work outside of my own films:

  • Hulu promo work taught me timing and emotional pacing in short form storytelling.

  • Microsoft product releases taught me clarity, message discipline, and clean structure.

  • Guidance from a Netflix mentor (Caleb Ennis) taught me to respect silence, hold frames longer, and trust the viewer.

All three of those influences shaped Beneath the Same Sky.

My editing voice did not appear one day. It was built through repetition, collaboration, and being humble enough to listen.

Final Thought

Editing reveals the film you actually made.

The goal is not to force the footage to match the script.
The goal is to study what the performances are already saying and build the rhythm around truth.

If shooting is discovery, editing is understanding.

And when you take the time to organize, listen, and shape with intention, the story does not just work.

It breathes.

Written by Thomas Scott Adams for Gray Matter
Featuring the short film “Beneath the Same Sky” by Ragged Films.

Location: Seattle, WA, USA

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