The Rough Cut

Bullshit videos: a theory

Or: What happens when AI reveals that nobody wanted this content anyway

Jan 3

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December 2025

The Third Safdie: Ronald Bronstein and the Art of Editing Without Assembly Cuts

A deep dive into the editor who turns footage into warfare, scripts into tyranny, and Marty Supreme into a single sustained panic attack.

Dec 26, 2025

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Jafar Panahi: The Filmmaker Who Won a Palme d’Or by Making a Film in Secret

He once smuggled his film out of Iran inside a birthday cake. Or did he? A story about MacBook Airs, police raids, and making cinema against all odds

Dec 18, 2025

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The Rough Cut: 2025 Wrap-Up

What our biggest deep dives and the year’s biggest news revealed about where video is heading.

Dec 11, 2025

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How Steven Soderbergh Shot a Feature in 13 Days...and Had a Rough Cut Three Hours Later

A masterclass in real-time editing, built for the era of mobile cameras and pocket post-production.

Dec 4, 2025

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November 2025

FYI: FYC* - How to win an Oscar (for a Short)

The real machinery, money, and manipulation behind the most engineered category in Hollywood.

Nov 27, 2025

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Scott Ross’ and James Cameron’s Pirate Ship: The Impossible Voyage and the Multi Million Dollar Iceberg (Pt.2)

Million-dollar compromises, a business model from hell, and the impossible partnership that revolutionized Hollywood.

Nov 20, 2025

9

Michael Caine’s Forever Deal with the $6.6 Billion Voice Cloning Company

At 92, Michael Caine just became immortal by licensing his iconic voice to $6.6 billion AI company ElevenLabs

Nov 13, 2025

7

Inside the COVID Hotel Factory Fueling China’s $6.9 Billion Micro-Drama Boom

The story of how a COVID hotel became the capital of the world’s newest addiction: 60-second drama.

Nov 7, 2025

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October 2025

Kogonada: From Vimeo Essayist to Hollywood auteur

How a Vimeo essayist turned film theory into filmmaking and made it to Hollywood.

Oct 30, 2025

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The Anatomy of a Great Trailer

From hype to heartbeat: Inside the craft of selling a film in 150 Seconds

Oct 24, 2025

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Could AI save Springfield?

Four decades in, The Simpsons is confronting its most human problem and its most digital solution.

Oct 16, 2025

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