by Rob Feld
Eleanor Infante’s journey to the film editing chair is a masterclass in building a career through building relationships and seizing opportunities when they arise.
Growing up in Los Angeles, with siblings who also started arts-related careers, creativity was in her blood. Her parents, who owned a video store, introduced her to a world of art and unconventional thinkers, sparking her interest in the arts. Although she initially pursued theater at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, a chance encounter with film school students set her on a different path. Infante ultimately chose to attend UCLA, where she discovered her knack for editing class projects, encouraged by her peers who saw something special in her work.
But it wasn’t a direct leap into editing from there. Infante’s early career saw her dabbling in production work before a lucky break landed her in the world of movie trailers. For 10 years, she honed her skills as a trailer editor under the mentorship of Skip Chaisson, who worked closely with Ridley and Tony Scott. This experience taught her the technical aspects of editing but also the importance of style and pacing, which she later adapted for long-form narratives.
Infante’s big break into film editing came through relationships she built over the years, particularly with director Nisha Ganatra. Their collaboration on various projects, including PBS shorts and Hallmark movies, provided Infante with the experience and confidence she needed to transition into narrative filmmaking. This was further bolstered by another serendipitous connection with Glen Morgan, which led to her working on projects like “The X-Files” and “The Twilight Zone” (2019). Taken together, her career has enabled her to work in a great range of genres and styles.
CineMontage: Why film and not ballet or painting or something else?
Eleanor Infante: I grew up in LA. My brother’s a production designer, my sister’s a painter, and my parents owned a video store. I was surrounded by art, but I didn’t know I wanted to do film. I went to high school for theater, then met some film school people, and thought, “Maybe I should go to film school.” So I did, and at UCLA, everyone said I was good at editing. It wasn’t like I knew I wanted to be an editor—I just wanted to do something creative. But people kept telling me I was good at it, so I thought, “Maybe this is something I could do.” After that, I worked in production, did some PA work, then got into movie trailers. I was a trailer editor for 10 years, working with Skip Chaisson, who taught me so much. It was really through people taking a chance on me that I worked my way up.
CineMontage: What did you take from editing trailers?
Infante: Trailer editing is very cutty, very abstract. You’re extending moments, and sometimes you’re not even sure if you’re in the past or the future. It works well for certain things, but when I transitioned into long-form, I had to learn to be more subtle. Not everything needs a ton of flourish; sometimes, you need to be restrained. But having that trailer background gave me a toolset that’s been very useful in certain situations. It’s about knowing when to use it and when to leave it in the jar.
CineMontage: Your career spans both film and television. How do you manage to balance both worlds?
Infante: For me, it’s been about relationships. Working in trailers and commercials for so long wasn’t really me, but it taught me to think abstractly and to be open-minded. Directors like Peter Atencio, who I worked with on “The Twilight Zone,” noticed that. We clicked on that project, and a year or two later, he called me to work on his movie “The Machine.” I’ve never been super-strategic; I just try to click with directors and build those relationships. When you do, they start to trust you, and that trust allows you to experiment and bring new ideas to the table.
CineMontage: Can you tell us about the tools you’ve picked up along the way, especially moving between different genres like comedy and drama?
Infante: Doing comedy was something I didn’t expect. I worked on “Late Night” and “The Machine,” which are very different kinds of comedies. Working on those taught me that you can find humor in unexpected places, even in darker or more serious content. For example, in “Presumed Innocent,” I noticed a comedic duo dynamic between Peter Sarsgaard’s character and another, and I tried to bring that out in the editing. It’s about recognizing what’s naturally there and amplifying it through editing. But again, it’s about using the right tool for the right job. Sometimes you want to push things and be a little more stylistic, and other times you need to pull back and let the material speak for itself.
CineMontage: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career so far?
Infante: The biggest lesson is to listen. Really listen to what people are saying—whether it’s the director, the producer, or even the audience. You have to be open-minded about your work and not get defensive. It’s about finding ways to creatively satisfy everyone’s needs while staying true to the project. And sometimes that means trying something new, even if it feels risky. But as long as you have the safety nets in place, it’s worth going for it. Trust your instincts, and if something feels weird, it probably is.
CineMontage: What has been a standout project for you where you learned a great deal?
Infante: I’ve worked with Anne Sewitsky twice now—she was one of the directors on “Presumed Innocent” and we had worked together on “Castle Rock.” She has a really interesting style. She likes to do these cool zooms and she shoots a lot of extra material that you don’t always know exactly how you want to use. It’s almost like a fever dream or Terrence Malick. She might have known what she wanted from it but she would just give it to you. So, when you’re doing your editor’s pass, you just go for it and figure out what it is. And it was neat for me because it was such a different style of editing that I hadn’t gotten a chance to do with the sci-fi, comedy or slight horror I’ve done. Then it was neat to do something that felt a little more artistic or sort of in someone’s brain, where you’re allowed to be abstract. I felt like I was stretched, doing more drama. The abstract editing reminded me of my time doing trailers in a way, being non-linear with two separate timelines happening simultaneously. I like playing with inter-cutting and time and working with her has been a way to do that more.
CineMontage: You move back and forth between television and film fluidly—you’re now on a big studio sequel. How do you find the processes?
Infante: Working on a film versus a TV show is actually quite different. Besides being the lone editor, you are in many ways the main point person in all aspects of editorial from sound to music to VFX along with the director. Also, you are often very much in contact by email and phone and sharing assemblies of scenes during filming so the director can make sure they are getting the shots and performances they need. I think as an editor it definitely opens up the job to not just being creative but also having to run a department along with the help of your first assistant. You definitely have to utilize both leadership and creative skills here as well as being good at delegating the additional duties. You are much more involved with the overall look and feel of the movie. I think in TV the equivalent would be a producing editor. I think the great part of TV is that you have a team of editors that you can bond with and learn from. Also on a TV show, you have a peer group and mostly a set style that you all need to work together to keep consistent. You definitely can give your input on various aspects of the show but often you are confined more to just editing.
CineMontage: It seems like the strong relationships you built with filmmakers have been defining for you.
Infante: I feel so lucky that through director Nisha Ganatra, with whom I did “Late Night,” “You Me Her,” and commercials for Stacy’s and Google Home, and writer/producer/director Glen Morgan, with whom I did “X-Files,” “Twilight Zone,” and “Lore,” I got to take these two very different paths in my career. I have had the opportunity to cut comedy mostly in film as well as work on science fiction, drama, and horror on television. I love that with each opportunity I go in a little bit scared but excited to challenge myself and explore new tools in my arsenal.
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