Saturday Night Live’s prerecorded sketches can go from first footage to national broadcast in roughly 36 hours. Host GG Hawkins talks with SNL editors Christopher Salerno and Mak Makower about the post-production workflow behind that turnaround, including their work on the Emmy-nominated “MAHAspital” sketch starring Harry Styles. They break down how footage moves from set to the edit, why line-by-line stringouts are essential, how they use Adobe Premiere Pro tools like transcription, Essential Sound, multicam sequences, and reverse match frame, and how sound design helps build tension before a joke lands. They also discuss the differences between editing SNL, commercials, and longer narrative projects, the importance of collaboration in the edit room, and the technical habits aspiring editors can develop to work faster without sacrificing storytelling.
In this episode, No Film School's GG Hawkins and guests Christopher Salerno and Mak Makower discuss...
How SNL goes from Wednesday night table read to a finished prerecorded sketch airing Saturday
What happens when footage begins arriving from set on Friday morning
Why Mak creates “line-by-lines” containing every take of every scripted line
How organizing footage early allows editors, writers, and directors to make decisions quickly
Finding the visual language of “MAHAspital” while parodying HBO’s The Pitt
Using the structure and pacing of a trailer to increase the energy of a parody
Why Mak watched The Pitt during the edit to understand its characters and visual style
How Premiere Pro’s transcription and search tools make it easier to locate specific dialogue
Using the Essential Sound panel, EQ, reverb, panning, and the audio track mixer during picture editing
Why sound design can be essential to making comedy work
Building tension with heart monitors, ventilators, overlapping dialogue, and strategic silence
Keyboard shortcuts that speed up multicam editing and navigation through massive stringouts
How a longer commercial schedule can actually create new challenges by allowing editors to second-guess decisions
Editing Kate McKinnon’s Zoom commercial and balancing comedy with the need to sell a product
Why editors can function as storytellers, collaborators, and sometimes even therapists during long-form projects
Mak’s “puzzle-solving” approach to rearranging footage until a scene or story unlocks
Why trust, openness to feedback, and leaving ego outside the edit room matter on collaborative projects
How SNL’s dress audience functions as a real-time test screening
Why editors should continually learn new software, techniques, graphics, sound, and VFX tools
How YouTube tutorials and experimentation can help editors expand their skills and become more valuable
Memorable Quotes:
“There’s a real intuition you have to have and there’s a real understanding of rhythm and of, you know, how the shoot’s going to make this happen.”
“I feel like sometimes when you have too much time, it becomes almost more difficult.”
“And so, like, it really is about, like, finding each little bit that, like, will match with this little bit that, like, will actually tell a story.”
“As the tools change and as younger generations find newer ways to edit, it’s really important to just stay up to date and not get locked into your old ways.”
Guests:
Christopher Salerno
Mak Makower
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