Ep. 13 – The Value of Taking Risks and Developing Resilience to Survive with editor Harry Yoon

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Podcast

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January 4, 2021

Harry Yoon recently edited A24’s Minari – winner of the domestic Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards at Sundance 2020 – and the HBO series Euphoria (Season 1). His feature editing credits include Detroit (dir. Kathryn Bigelow), The Best of Enemies (dir. Robin Bissell), and additional editing credits for First Man (dir. Damien Chazelle) and the A24 drama The Last Black Man in San Francisco (dir. Joe Talbot).

In episode 13 of the Hollywood Editing Mentor podcast, Harry and I talk about the importance of taking risks and making bold decisions when pursuing our passions, how building resilience will help us survive a career in post production, the benefits of being part of a community, editing the critically acclaimed film Minari, what he’s learned from working with Oscar-winning editors, and much more!

We also talk about Harry’s online mentorship platform, Sidetime Film, which looks to provide expert advice from experienced professionals through a 1-on-1 audio call.

Some topics Harry and I discuss:

Being born in Korea and growing up in California (Bay Area)
Loving movies, but not thinking it was an actual career
Growing up with immigrant parents created a personal challenge for Harry when deciding to take a risk with a film career
Debating whether to pursue a career that provided more financial stability
Quitting his job in tech at age 30 and moving to LA to begin a career in film as a PA
The importance of taking risks and making bold decisions if you want to pursue your passion
Why Harry pursued a career in editing
The early days of Harry’s editing career and the steps he took to jumpstart it
Looking for a community when you don’t have any contacts in LA
Taking a holistic approach to starting or advancing an editing career
The only way to survive is to develop resiliency
Going from editing a web series to co-editing a studio feature film in the same year
Developing emotional stability and health along with technical skills in order to survive an editing career
How Harry got the opportunity to work with Oscar-winning editors
Any job is a chance to lay the seeds of future work
Harry’s experience with Film Independent’s Project Involve and being mentored by Stephen Mirrione, ACE
Establishing a relationship with Sundance
Learning from his mistakes and curbing our ego
Not thinking your current job is only a stepping stone to something else
The performance and excellence you bring to menial tasks is a reflection of your character
Harry’s failures taught him very important principles that got him more job opportunities
What it means to ‘get it’
Learning from other people’s experiences
Getting rid of fear by being familiar with the pain
What Harry learned from his mentors and how he now provides mentorship to the new generation of editors
Harry’s online mentoring platform, Sidetime Film
Editing the critically acclaimed feature film, Minari
Asian-American films resonating with American audiences
Promoting diversity in post production