How to Cut a Fable: Editing 'Wicker'

How do you edit a film that blends fantasy, comedy, romance, and the structure of a fable? Editor Sofi Marshall returns to the No Film School Podcast to discuss her work on Wicker, starring Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgård and directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson. Marshall joins host GG Hawkins to break down the challenges of finding the film's distinctive tone, cutting comedic performances, and building a collaborative post-production workflow across three continents. She also shares how Adobe Premiere Pro, LucidLink, and Frame.io helped streamline the editing process, why practical effects made a difference in the cutting room, and what emerging editors should consider when choosing projects, negotiating budgets, and balancing their careers with life outside the industry.

In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guest Sofi Marshall discuss...

• How editing I Saw the TV Glow influenced Sofi's career and brought greater visibility to her work

• Why storytelling remains the foundation of editing, even as technology makes the process faster

• Reuniting with directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson for Wicker after collaborating on Save Yourselves!

• How Alexander Skarsgård's practical wicker costume shaped the editing process and preserved his performance

• Finding the right balance of fantasy, comedy, romance, and fable-like storytelling in the edit

• Managing a remote post-production workflow between New York, Budapest, Los Angeles, and Australia

• Why comedy editing requires extensive experimentation, recutting, and test screenings

• Collaborating with directors on alternate cuts and discovering creative solutions through multiple perspectives

• Using chapter breaks to establish the distinct movements of Wicker

• How Adobe Premiere Pro, LucidLink, and Frame.io improve remote collaboration, feedback, and editorial efficiency

• Choosing creatively fulfilling projects, advocating for fair compensation, and avoiding burnout in independent filmmaking

• Navigating parental leave, career opportunities, and returning to editing after time away

• Sofi's next editing project, Thirsty Girl

Memorable Quotes:

• "It's always story first, so there's just such a drastic difference between the way a film is written and how it comes across on the page, and then looking at the footage and looking at your first assembly and understanding how it's coming across as an actual film, and I think that's something that will never change."

• "No. No, it is... It is the hardest. It is the hardest, hardest thing." — Sofi Marshall, on comedy editing

• "Oh, obviously, like, this is, this is how to do that." — Sofi Marshall, on discovering the chapter-break structure for Wicker

• "So I think just, just feeling like you are the creative force who's picking your projects, and you're not just taking whatever comes at you." — Sofi Marshall

Guests:

• Sofi Marshall (imdb.com/name/nm3629058)

Resources:

• Sofi Marshall's website (sofimarshall.com)

• Follow Sofi Marshall on Instagram (instagram.com/sofimarshall)

• Previous No Film School episode: How 'I Saw the TV Glow' Editor Negotiates Creativity and Higher Pay (nofilmschool.com/i-saw-the-tv-glow-editor)

• Wicker on IMDb (imdb.com/title/tt29611136)

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