Making the Cut: Lynne Willingham, ACE—Crafting the Editor’s Vision

Lynne Willingham, ACE, is best known for editing Breaking Bad (2008/2009), for which she won two Primetime Emmys for 'Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series,' two Eddie Awards from American Cinema Editors (ACE), and an HPA Award from the Hollywood Post Alliance.

Willingham was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy and an Eddie for outstanding editing on The X Files (1993). Her other credits include numerous episodes of over two dozen TV series and mini-series, including True Blood (2010-2012), Ray Donovan (2013-2017), Without a Trace (2005-2007), Body of Proof (2011-2013), Revenge (2013-2014), and Empire (2005.

In her experience, Willingham has found that the craft of editing requires both artistry and diplomacy to tell a story that reflects the creative visions of both the writer and director. If they're not on the same page, as is often the case, the challenge becomes finding a way to make both people happy, while serving the needs of the story. In this way, she says, the editor becomes the third part of the storytelling triangle, and must often ease the director and writer into liking yet a third creative vision, the editor's point of view.