Patrick Moore (RIP), Film Editor
Pat was a friend and film editing legend. He left us too soon. These are my memories of the man, in the brief--but intense--period of time I worked with him.
Patrick Moore (RIP), film editor
Patrick Moore (not to be confused with Sir Patrick Moore) was a very accomplished film editor who lost his life to cancer. I shared a room with him, as his assistant, for much of my time in London (Twickenham film studios), 2003-2006. Patrick was hilarious, he absolutely loved the Stevie Ray Vaughan: Texas Flood album, listening to it practically on loop for years. I gave him a cd of Little Walter and he added that to his blues perpetual 12 bar lifestyle. He was a classic Englishman, despite all odds, optimistic, and one of his memorable quirks was that he loathed editing scenes where a character was crying and wailing uncontrollable - handing those sequences off to me to deal with. Patrick spent decades working and handling 35mm celluloid film as Anne V. Coate's assistant editor (Lawrence of Arabia). He was responsible for keeping her editing room organized (she used to assemble workprint by paperclip!), syncing-assembling dailies, and laying out opticals for films like Elephant Man and others. Anne was actually Godmother to 2 of Patrick's children, Samuel and Thomas. Patrick's stories of seeing Jimi Hendrix play guitar with his teeth at a club on Wardour street and his hilarious breaks for a 'breath of fresh air' at a smoky pub in the afternoons were legendary. He was a gentle giant who taught me a ton about filmmaking. We worked with Avid, yet Pat only really wanted to know the buttons similar to the upright Moviola machine he'd worked with for ages. Looking over the end of his glasses, he would have 1 perfect cut in the bin, where I would have 5 different edits of the same scene. Pat introduced me to director John Strickland (Bodyguard, Flight Attendant). John and I still talk about him today. He loved cricket, loved his children and loved life. A fine example on how to enjoy your life whilst accomplishing new things daily. I miss annoying Pat with my "lousy American made" Tea, watching his face when I swapped his request for 'marmalade on toast' for 'Marmite™️ on toast'. He teased me constantly, yet made me feel welcome to have a bite of every creative experience in the cutting room.
About the Author
Ryno was lucky enough to land a job working in Television for the BBC in London. He worked as an assistant editor on the show [spooks] (MI-5 in the USA), A for Andromeda (2006), and a few other credits. He served as Patrick Moore's (RIP) right hand man in the editorial room for 3 years. Ryno was in London for the July 7th, 2005 bombings, actually working on an episode of [spooks] that had a mirror image plot-line! Needless to say, that show's air-date become wildly important.
These days, Ryan makes songs and continues to work in film and post-production. He now spends his time between Seoul, South Korea and Long Island City, NY. He has worked as a skilled editor, sound designer, and production sound recordist. Ryan's film 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' (2008) combined his experimental filmmaking skills from CU with his AFI and BBC experiences. 'Keep the Home Fires Burning' played in several film festivals, including the Atlanta Film Festival, Ann Arbor Film Festival, and Mill Valley Film Festival. O'Toole was a part of the post production of HBO's "Back on Board: Greg Louganis" 2014 documentary. Ryno is also writes songs for Pretty City Lights—a new music project based in Seoul, South Korea. His songs have been described as, "alternative rock for people dying of middle age". Formerly associated with the band, Amateur Blonde, his songs have been featured in television and film - notably, CBS Extant (2014), FOX Minority Report (2015), and AMC The Walking Dead (2021, S10 Ep21). Ryno is the author of Behind The Lights a freemium substack publication, documenting the Pretty City Lights song & album creation process with the slogan, “watch me make music”.