Kirk Baxter | |
|---|---|
_(53255664790).jpg) Baxter andRen Klyce on the red carpet forThe Killer | |
| Born | 1972 (age 52–53) Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Occupation | Film editor |
| Spouse | Susan Murphy |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Academy Award for Best Film Editing (The Social Network (2010),The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)) |
Kirk Baxter (born 1972)[1] is an Australianfilm editor. He has worked with directorDavid Fincher and editorAngus Wall several times, winningAcademy Awards forThe Social Network andThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Baxter grew up on Sydney's Northern Beaches and attendedPittwater High School.[1]
At age 17, Baxter's school gave him the chance to undertake work experience with a local production company,[1] Ross Wood Productions.[2] The company had a range of departments in both production and post-production, allowing Baxter to see how directors, cinematographers, editors, focus pullers, grips and gaffers operated.[3]Baxter quickly fell in love with the editorial process and dropped out of school to pursue a career.[1]
Baxter was a full-time assistant editor by the age of 18.[4]
Due to a scarcity of work in the Australian film industry, Baxter focused primarily on editing commercials.[4] He was an early adopter ofAvid, anon-linear editing software.[citation needed] Due to his family's Scottish heritage, Baxter was able to secure a British Passport and moved to London at age 23.[4] Baxter worked for the post-production houseFinal Cut (not to be confused with the software).[2] He soon begin flying to the United States for projects with British directors abroad.[5] Preferring both the lifestyle and wages, Baxter decided to emigrate to the US after six years in London.[5] He led the newly openedFinal Cut offices in New York.[2] Baxter co-owns editorial company Exile Edit.[6]
In 2004, Baxter joinedAngus Wall's firm Rock Paper Scissors, which specialised in feature film and commercial work.[7] Baxter then worked with Wall as an "additional editor" onDavid Fincher's filmZodiac. When Wall began to prepare to editThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button, he proposed to Fincher that Baxter be the co-editor.[8]
Baxter and Wall were nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Film Editing, theBAFTA Award for Best Editing, and theAmerican Cinema Editors Eddie Award for their work onThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button.[9] For their work onThe Social Network, Baxter and Wall won anOscar and aBAFTA in 2011. The following year, they won a second Oscar forThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Baxter refutes that Fincher does "a thousand takes", saying "it is not the same angle getting repeated a thousand times, it is coverage. So there is always somewhere to be in the scene...It’s the volume of angles that really differentiates how information is presented in David’s work."[3]
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In 2014, Baxter editedGone Girl, his first solo editorial credit with David Fincher. It was the first Hollywood film to be cut entirely inPremiere Pro.[10] Baxter said they chose the software "to bring all theAfter Effects closer. Shots could be stabilized, have split screens done perfectly, all the editing within scenes of inside monitors. There’s VFX in every couple of shots... It’s about speed and working with the most up to date material immediately. It’s creating the best sort of utopia for a village.”[11]
Baxter also has editorial credits for Fincher's TV SeriesMindhunter,House of Cards andLove, Death and Robots. In 2023, Baxter editedDumb Money, his first non-Fincher feature film.[6]
Typically, Baxter joins the production early, starting to cut after the second or third day of shooting.[12] He starts by treating each scene as a sole entity, a unit he will extensively fine cut even before the whole film is assembled.[6] Baxter likens editing to a headgame, similar to writing.[13]
When working with Fincher, Baxter will initially cut and aligndailies as they are positioned in a scene, allowing quick changes between takes and camera angle for every line of dialogue or action.[14] The method allows Fincher to quickly review Baxter's choices forcoverage and understand why he has chosen one angle over another for each moment.
Baxter prefers not to visit the set, having stated that his workload and a desire to be at a distance from the shooting process keep him away.[15] The separation helps to keep Baxter's eyes fresh and prevents his editorial choices being biased by what he experiences on set.
When asked if he was a "tech head", Baxter replied that he has "no curiosity in the technology at all. It just allows me to do my work efficiently."[13]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | House of Cards | 2 Episodes (Chapter 1 & 2) |
| 2017-19 | Mindhunter | 8 Episodes |
| 2022 | Love, Death and Robots | 1 Episode (S3 E2) Won -American Cinema Editors Awards 2023 for Best Edited Animated Series |
| 2022 | Mike | 2 Episodes |
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