Jon Poll is a director, film editor, and producer. He attended the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts and graduated in 1981 with a major in film production. As an editor, Jon worked on 18 films between 1982 and 2004, including Weeds, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Mystery, Alaska, Meet the Parents, Scary Movie 3, Forever Young, and Death to Smoochy. Jon made his directorial debut in 2007 with the comedy-drama Charlie Bartlett. He was also executive producer for The 40 Year Old Virgin and co-producer for Brüno and the television series TV 101 and Eerie, Indiana.

On the My Creative Careers show this week, Jon explores what it means to be a film editor and describes his role in the movie-making process. He shares the differences between what an editor looks for and what a director looks for in a cut and why that difference in perspective can lift a film to the next level. Jon also gives his advice and insight to an emerging editor moving up in the business and highlights the pros and cons of niching down as an editor.

“Editing is a very, very much of a hidden art. It's a little bit of black magic.” - Jon Poll

“Movies need a lot of love ... And sometimes some movies need more love than others.” - Jon Poll

“When you make movies, one of the most interesting parts is your preview which means you go to a real live movie theater and you get real-life people who want to see a movie, and they watch it, and you screen it, and your heart is in your stomach. - Jon Poll

•  The moment when Jon realized that he needed to trust his instincts when cutting a film.
• The differences between editing a big-budget movie and an independent movie.
• Why Jon believes that a film is a communication device between filmmakers and their audience.
• How editing influences the ways a film elicits feelings in an audience.
• Times when Jon has had to choose between performance and visuals when making a cut.
• The three key things that Jon looks for in a movie.
• How technology has changed over the last 50 years and how Jon thinks it will evolve in the future.