Editing Musicals like Wicked with Myron Kerstein, ACE
Editing has often been regarded as one of the most stressful professions in the world — maybe ranked second only to neurosurgery. For Myron Kerstein, ACE, that stress becomes his fuel. From the indie-cool of Garden State to the massive, operatic scale of Jon M. Chu’s Wicked and Wicked: For Good, Kerstein has cemented himself as the go-to editor for the modern cinematic musical.
In the latest episode of Finding the Frame, host Chris Haigh sits down with Kerstein to deconstruct his transition from architecture to film, his decade-long shorthand with director Jon M. Chu, and the rhythmic tenets that keep a musical grounded in human emotion.
What You Will Learn:
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WATCH/LISTEN TO EPISODE:
The Editor’s Origin:
Before he was an Academy Award-nominated editor, Myron Kerstein was a student of architecture. While he eventually traded floor plans for film reels, the structural influence remains. Kerstein views the Avid timeline as more than a sequence of clips, but as his instrument for emotional unraveling.
“I have a love for architecture, production design, music, fashion, and photography,” Kerstein explains. “All these interests came into editing in a really beautiful way.”
His early days in New York involved working on experimental documentaries like Michael Moore’s TV Nation and Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. These projects taught him the power of the “awkward hang” — leaving a shot on screen just long enough for the artifice to break and the humanity to seep through.
Editing Musicals: Performance Over Spectacle
When editing films like In the Heights, Tick, Tick… Boom!, and Wicked, it is easy to get lost in the “jazz hands” of it all. However, Kerstein’s primary tenet is simple: Performance and character must come first.
1. The Organic Transition
A common pitfall in musicals is the “schizophrenic” jump from dialogue into a canned, studio-recorded song. Kerstein works to ensure the song organically emerges from the scene.
“The only reason they’re singing is because they can’t express it any other way,” he says.
2. Utilizing Live Vocals
Kerstein credits production sound mixer Simon Hayes for providing high-quality live vocal recordings on the set of Wicked. This allows him to cut a musical number with the same flexibility as a dialogue scene. By weaving live vocals with dialogue, the transition becomes invisible to the audience, keeping them immersed in the story rather than the spectacle.
3. The Power of Intimacy
Even in a blockbuster like Wicked, Kerstein emphasizes the need for grounded, intimate moments. He points to the “For Good” number as a “movie star cinematic moment” that relies on the pain and love in the actors’ eyes rather than excessive sweeping camera moves.
The “War Room” and the Challenge of Wicked:
Editing Wicked was a behemoth. Kerstein describes arriving at the studios in the UK to find a “War Room” filled with models, costume sketches, and a sequential map of both films.
Giles Keyte | Universal Pictures
The logistical challenge was immense…
Simultaneous Assemblies
Kerstein was assembling Part 1 and Part 2 at the same time, often cutting a joyful number one day and a tragic, tonal shift the next.
VFX Integration
Each film contained over 1,000 VFX shots. To keep up, Jon M. Chu used the Apple Vision Pro headset as a high-tech viewfinder, allowing him to review cuts and approve visual effects on a “movie theater-sized screen” from anywhere in the world.
The “Door” Moment
In Wicked: For Good, Kerstein and Chu fought for a bold editorial choice — holding on a closed door between Elphaba and Glinda. This silence serves as the emotional release for the audience, proving that sometimes the most powerful cut is the one you don’t make.
Jon M. Chu directs Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba), Ariana Grande (as Glinda), on the set of ‘Wicked for Good.’ | Universal Studios
Advice for Aspiring Editors: Exercise the Heart
Myron’s journey from the son of a plumber to a Hollywood powerhouse was built on hustle and a refusal to be “snobby” about work. For those looking to enter the edit suite, he offers three primary pieces of advice:
Cut Everything
“Just start cutting anything — your friend’s birthday party, short videos, anything you can get your hands on.”
Exercise the “Heart” Muscle
Technical proficiency is common; emotional connection is rare. Kerstein urges editors to ask why a specific image moves them. Is it the way a tree sways? The rhythm of a breath?
Don’t Burnish the Edges
“Humanity starts to get lost when things feel too perfect.”
Be careful not to polish away the camera shakes or out-of-focus moments if they contribute to the raw, human element of the scene.
Watch the Full Episode
Want to hear more about the Myron Kerstein, ACE style of editing, the pressures of working on Universal’s biggest movie ever, and his secret to surviving the “brain fry” of post-production?
Watch Myron Kerstein on Finding the Frame!
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