Behind every great edit is a storyteller who knows how to bring a vision to life. For Karen Kourtessis, that journey began in the U.S. Army, where she discovered a love for editing while creating training films. Today, as an editor at Union Editorial, she seamlessly transitions between commercials, film, and TV, always prioritizing storytelling above all else.
Karen shared with us her creative process, the mentors who shaped her approach, and the advice she offers to aspiring editors looking to make their mark in the industry
FILMSUPPLY: What inspired you to pursue a career in editing, and how did you get your start in the industry?
Karen Kourtessis: I joined the Army right after high school and was thrown into boot camp. I somehow lucked into the job of working in the military’s TV stations as an electronic engineer. I built and maintained TV/news and radio stations. A small part of the job was creating training films, and I loved it.
After the Army, I landed a job at an ad agency, where I worked in the audio/video department cutting pitch videos. Eventually, I secured an assistant editor position at an editing house.
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How do you transition between editing for commercials, film, and TV while maintaining a unique storytelling voice?
Karen Kourtessis: It’s really a matter of cutting between long-form and short-form! Regardless of the genre, it’s nearly impossible for me to not tell a story. I see a piece of a story in every shot and every scene, and so the difference is in the pacing.
Long-form allows me time to play with sub-stories, while short-form allows me to puzzle things out a bit more. But in both long-form and short-form, I tell stories.
How has your role at Union Editorial influenced your approach to storytelling?
Karen Kourtessis: Sloane Klevin, ACE, who is an editor and partner at Union Editorial, has had a significant influence on my approach to storytelling. I am really fortunate to have collaborated with Sloane on so many projects, both long- and short-form
Every time I work with her, I become a better storyteller.
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What is your creative process with clients when it comes to commercial work?
Karen Kourtessis: I love collaborating with clients, sharing ideas and perspectives on a project, and I’m truly in my element bouncing ideas off a room full of people.
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As I’m putting a cut together, I experiment with every frame of the dailies and every structure of a story I can think of. Then, I present and work with the director. When I finally get to sit in a room with the creative team, I can show what I am confident is a great cut. (I think it’s so important to show as refined an edit as possible.)
And because I’ve already done so much experimentation before I work with the agency team, I can turn around ideas and edits super fast. I can focus on crafting, pacing, and storyline versus technically working out a scene.
What’s one project that pushed you creatively?
Karen Kourtessis: Every project pushes me creatively! But projects that are especially “pushy” are docu-style pieces. With docs, I’m typically not limited to what the director has shot. Often, I’m telling stories with stock footage, too. And that means I can tell almost any story in endless ways.
What advice would you give to aspiring editors looking to make their mark in the industry?
Karen Kourtessis: I would say to put everything you have in every single project you do. Don’t show a cut that you don’t think is perfect.
Try as much as possible to learn from other editors. Watch how they work in a room full of clients and watch how they progress from a batch of dailies to the cuts they show.
Why would you recommend Filmsupply as a resource for editors, agencies, and post houses?
Karen Kourtessis: I would recommend Filmsupply because of the quality of footage. A lot of the footage they have is sourced from production companies directing high-end creative work.
As a result, the work found via Filmsupply is cinematic and creative.
While searching for stock can often be an endless, thankless task, searching for footage on Filmsupply is anything but. It’s inspiring to search the footage. So many times, as I search for one shot, I come up with so many other ideas, all inspired by what I’m browsing.
