ETCH CAST - Episode 3 - Towards Thee I Cut

Welcome back to the shadows. Episode 3 of ETCH CAST is here, and this time we’re in the editing suite — where stories finally find their pulse. Our guest: April Merl, the editor whose cuts shape tension, rhythm, and atmosphere across everything we make.

This week we talk about how April’s path wound from production accounting into documentary editing (The Yes Men Fix the World, Sundance panic and all), and finally into First Word on Horror, where nonfiction interviews and fictional reenactments collide. We dig into what makes a cut sing, how a missing frame can unravel a scare, and why sometimes the most powerful decision is knowing what to leave out.

Also inside: the happy accidents that bridged fiction and nonfiction, the shadowy Liz Hand sequence that almost broke Morgan’s rotoscoping hand, and a sneak peek at April’s work on Cassie Workman Is Witchy AF (spoiler: puppets, graphics, and a voice cameo you won’t see coming). Plus, our running segment What Lurks in Our Queue — zombie taxonomy, manga weirdness, and one very strange French metal record.

🎧 Listen now, free on Spotify.

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Stay curious. Stay weird. The shadows are listening.