Sophie is a video editor and music photographer based in New York City, with 7+ years of experience in the Digital Media space in/around culture and arts.

Previously she’s worked full-time as a video editor for Complex Networks, as well as a video editor and studio photographer for The Fader. Currently she is the senior video editor for Hypebeast North America.

How many years have you been a judge?

This is my first year!

What was your first job in the industry? What did it teach you?

My first full-time job out of college was as a Junior Video Editor for Complex Networks, following a summer Video Production internship at the same company.

I learned a lot about the free-flowing nature of digital media and what it means to be part of team where you may have to wear many creative hats to reach your shared end goal. I learned a lot about editing in general and picked up a lot of tricks and tips from my manager there that I still utilize to this day!

What project are you most proud to have worked on?

Some of the projects I’ve been most proud to work on were either ones that highlighted under-represented voices and/or ones where I really felt I was allowed room to experiment and let my creativity flourish.

An example of the former would be the mini-doc I edited for a musician named Aluna back in 2020. It briefly highlights different aspects that went into creating the album she was working on at the time, while also being close to the end of her pregnancy with her first child.

An example of the latter would be some of the mini-docs I’ve gotten to edit during my time at Hypebeast. One of my more recent favorites was one profiling Ecuadorian UFC fighter Chito Vera in the weeks leading up to the biggest title fight of his career.

What’s the most challenging part about your job and/or the industry?

Most challenging about being in my sector of the Media space is probably the fact it feels so male dominated. There have been times over the years and in different jobs where I felt my input or voice wasn’t as highly regarded as similar input from a male colleague. It can make you feel like you have to work double as hard to be heard or recognized in certain spaces.

I also think the expectation that all creatives should be able to be masters of a bunch of different things makes the industry a hard one to get into. As a video editor my speciality is editing. I have some very light motion graphics knowledge, but you see all the time companies looking to hire “editors” who are also proficient animators, and to me that’s two separate jobs!

What do you look for to determine excellence in video?

Excellence in video and television to me can mean many things, but I tend to be drawn towards pieces that either have a really strong narrative that’s communicated with a certain level of sensitivity OR towards pieces that are super creative and interesting and feature cinematic techniques and ideas I’ve never seen before.

What are your current roles and responsibilities and what do you love most about your job?

I currently work as a senior video editor which entails conceptualizing and creating content for my company. Sometimes from start to finish or sometimes by collaborating with one of our Directors or Producers.

I also manage and mentor the entire editing team. I try to focus on fostering collaboration and streamlining workflows while also ensuring that every project meets our collective creative vision.

I love the creative freedom offered while editing as I am currently part of a team that I feel really trusts my input and ideas, and I love being able to guide other editors and help be a part of the process even on projects I’m not directly editing or assigned to!

When did you know that this career is what you wanted to do?

I’ve always loved taking photos and editing little videos since I was super young! I remember recording clips on my little digital canon point and shoot and editing those in windows movie maker on my family’s desktop computer. I don’t think i realized it could really be my career until I went to college in 2013 and realized a lot of the publications I dreamed about working for were starting to create video content (mostly for Youtube at the time) and that that was a way I could potentially get my foot in the door.