Interview with Sean Linal, Editor, Discusses Artistry
Sean Linal, a native New Yorker from Far Rockaway, Queens, has made a name for himself in the film and television industry. Known for his meticulous work and passion for storytelling, Linal has carved out a successful career as an editor, with a particular focus on promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the industry.
Linal's journey began with internships at Women Makes Movies and The Chris Rock Show, followed by a job as a P.A. at MTV. His breakthrough came when he was bumped up from assistant editor to editor on Ava DuVernay's critically acclaimed series, Queen Sugar.
In the realm of editing software, Linal primarily uses Avid Media Composer for major projects, Adobe Premiere Pro for indies, and both Continuum and Sapphire plugins. He uses Continuum for tasks like blurring sensitive materials and compositing layered text messages, while Sapphire is his go-to for blurs and transitions in promos.
When it comes to artistic inspiration, Linal draws from a wide range of sources. He is a fan of classic Hollywood films from the early to mid-1900s, Maverick films from the 1970s, TV series from the 1960s through today, foreign films, and more. Some of his favourite films and TV series include Queen Sugar, Do The Right Thing, The City of Lost Children, I Am Not Your Negro, When They See Us, Freedom Road, Real Women Have Curves, Moonlighting, Twin Peaks, Queen Charlotte, I Like It Like That, 13th, David Makes Man, The Richard Pryor Show, Beef, and many more.
Linal's career advice to his younger self is to find a community college with a great film program for financial reasons, move to Los Angeles immediately after school, volunteer more, network harder, and make meaningful friendships within the film and TV community. To unwind and beat creative burnout, he listens to music on vinyl records or binge-watches films and TV with his wife, Denelle.
As a member of the Editors Guild, Linal is actively involved in guild committees such as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, which fosters inclusion and collaboration among members. However, there is limited information in the public domain about his full career progression or specific notable projects. For more detailed information, one might need to consult professional film editing credits databases, guild publications, or industry-specific profiles beyond these search results.
Despite the lack of detailed public records, there is no denying Linal's dedication to his craft and his commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion in the industry. He is most proud of his work on Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar, for which he served as a picture editor. He has also worked as a picture editor for Lena Waithe on The Chi.
In an industry where talent and passion often shine, Sean Linal continues to make a significant impact, leaving a lasting impression on both the projects he works on and the community he serves.
- Sean Linal, an enthusiast of both education-and-self-development and movies-and-tv, credits classic Hollywood films, Maverick films, TV series from the 1960s to the present, foreign films, and more, as sources of artistic inspiration.
- To further his career development, Sean Linal offers advice to his younger self: attend a community college with a strong film program, move to Los Angeles immediately after school, volunteer more, network harder, and make meaningful relationships within the film and TV community.
- Among his notable accomplishments, Sean Linal is most proud of his work in skills-training and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology of filmmaking; he served as a picture editor on Ava DuVernay's Queen Sugar series and Lena Waithe's The Chi, using editing software like Avid Media Composer, Adobe Premiere Pro, Continuum, and Sapphire to do so.
