What does it sound like when a trailer editor thinks in rhythm, builds in silence, and treats every scene break like a musical beat?

Lead editor Lauren Zoller of X/AV traces her path from a Chapman BFA to a Lionsgate internship, through Ignition (where she shadowed some of the greats) and nearly nine years at Mocean before landing at X/AV in 2021. She's become one of the most versatile editors in streaming, cutting The Punisher and Tulsa King alongside Peaky Blinders, DTF: St. Louis, and Poker Face — sometimes in the same week.

The conversation digs into the sound design on the Peaky Blinders: The Mortal Man teaser, how a Crystal Method track set the structural DNA of the DTF trailer, and why a prominent commercial song changes how she shapes a piece. Lauren also talks about the industry's culture shift, mentorship in a remote-work world, and her role on the Soapbox advisory board.

Key Takeaways

Editing Is Solving a Puzzle Without the Picture Assembling pieces into a story without a finished image to guide you — it's what drew Lauren to the craft over directing or writing, and it still drives how she approaches every project.

Rhythm Is Felt Before It's Measured Growing up playing drums gave Lauren a timing instinct that lives in her body as much as on the timeline. On the Peaky teaser, quiet and loud sections landed within four to six frames of each other in length — not because she mathd it out, but because she could feel it.

Sound Design Is Storytelling Reverb, silence, a spinning coin — every sound element in the Peaky teaser was a narrative choice. On-camera dialogue got less reverb because that's the character's present-tense reality. Off-screen thoughts got more, because we're inside his head.

Range Is Developed, Not Given Lauren's versatility is something she built at X/AV out of necessity. At larger shops, editors sometimes get typecast. At a smaller shop, you have to be able to do it all — and she's found she loves it.

Soft Skills Are the Core of the Job The most durable skill in this industry is adaptive problem-solving: understanding what someone's asking for when the words don't quite match, being easy to work with under pressure, and knowing when to kill your darlings.

Notable Quotes

"It's like solving a puzzle without the picture."

"We contain multitudes."

"You can still do really good work and not get yelled at."

"I just wanna keep making cool shit."

Connect

Lauren Zoller — www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-mckeithan-zoller-3b020016/
Corey Nathan — @coreysnathan on all platforms

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Lauren Zoller, Lead Editor at X/AV