A look inside the world of award winning Editor Azi Rahman

An in depth look at Film editor Azi Rahman

 

 

Filmmaking powerhouse Azi Rahman first began editing films at the tender age of 13; and even though his extraordinary talent was easily recognized during the early days, few could have predicted the magnitude of work he would come to accomplish.

 

As the editor of a recent commercial for Target that was created in association with the popular television series Revenge, Azi's profile got a boost in the eyes of international audiences after Hollywood.com dubbed the project “the future of advertising."

 

Today Azi's editing prowess not only extends to include virtually every genre imaginable, but his unique skillset and creative vision have also allowed him to successfully transition between editing television shows, fashion films, high profile commercials and multi-award winning films from filmmakers across the globe. 

 

From drama to comedy Azi has become a prolific name in the industry. After winning numerous awards from the Filmaka.com film contests, he was approached by Alive Entertainment to dote his editing genius upon the television series Christie, a comedy about an eccentric plumbing salesman hell bent on bringing his brand of toilet appliances to the world.

 

Switching genres Azi went on to edit Alive Entertainment's dramatic thriller Viral, which starred Guy Burnet from the film Mortdecai and the hit series Ray Donavan. The footage for Viral was taken entirely from CCTV cameras and it was up to Azi to devise a strategy to compile the footage into scenes that would flow seamlessly in classical narrative form. Showcasing both his talent as an editor and his creative intelligence, Azi's approach was a success, and now both Christie and Viral are now being developed to pitch to major networks including Fox and NBC.

 

Azi was also tapped by Next Stop Media to edit the comedy series British Andy, a comedy series that has been compared to the hit television series The Office. Banca Studios recently purchased eight episodes of the new series, which stars Luke Pasqualino from The Musketeers, Inside No. 9, Snowpiercer and The Borgias, and award-winning actress Emma Rigby from Endless Love, The Counselor and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

 

Azi's once again proved his ability to switch editing styles with ease with his work on the cutting edge flash mob video for Florida-based advertising agency Lionmaus Media, which went viral last year and screened on the nationally broadcast news show Right This Minute.

 

The video came to fruition after the ad agency sponsored a competition where the winner would receive a "flash mob" to celebrate an event; and when Linda won, she used the flash mob to celebrate her husband Dan's 80^th birthday. Azi was tasked with a unique challenge in this production as the footage for the video was intentionally candid, but it needed to be sewn together just right in order to convey the couple’s beautiful and endearing love story"something that wouldn’t have been possible without his touch.

 

In 2013 Azi received an Action on Film Award from the Action on Film International Film Festival for his work on the film Drake. An action-packed martial arts thriller, the film starred acclaimed actor Cengiz Dervis, and screened at festivals around the globe.

 

For Azi Rahman the best part of the job comes from working with directors and producers who embrace editing as a form of storytelling and share the desire to tell these stories in the most creative ways possible. A behind the scenes genius that all filmmakers can learn a little something from, Azi has undoubtedly pushed the boundaries of editing over the course of his career.

 

And to all aspiring editors out there, he says: "Learn your keyboard shortcuts! They’ll save you plenty of time on any project. Don’t turn down work. Always network and build relationships."