Hailing from a small town in Ontario, Canada, Coutts realized he had a knack for film editing after writing, shooting and editing a short film in high school. Deciding to make it into a career, he then went on to college to study film. Although Coutts learned about all facets of filmmaking, he says it was there that he realized where his real passion was. "It was picture editing that resonated with me most," he reveals. "It was at this point that I discovered my love for storytelling through filmmaking and specifically through the craft of editing."
From there, Coutts jumped feet first into film editing, learning everything he could about his chosen craft, and making valuable contacts along the way. His hard work paid off as he was hired for his first professional editing job as an assistant picture editor on the TV Series Beastmaster shortly after graduating college. This ultimately led him to what Coutts refers to as his big break -- being named lead editor for Saw VI and Saw 3D: The Final Chapter.
Coutts says having a career in the film industry is all about the experiences you've had and the knowledge you have taken from them, which is why he uses every project as a learning opportunity. For instance, one of Coutts' most recent projects is the horror comedy film Bloodsucking Bastards, starring Fran Kranz (The Cabin in the Woods, Donnie Darko, Training Day) and Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, The Adjustment Bureau). Directed by Brian James O'Connell (Angry White Man, The Girls' Room), the film is set to premier at the Slamdance Film Festival in Utah later this month.
As an independent feature film Bloodsucking Bastards did not have a large budget, but Coutts says it gave him a great opportunity to be a one-man show when it came to editing the film. Additionally, the comedy horror genre was a relatively new area for Coutts, an aspect that provided him an opportunity to test out his skills in the genre. He says, "Editing for comedy was a challenge -- finding the right jokes, rhythms and pacing for the film to hit the right balance and make sure we were hitting the comedy beats as strongly as possible."
Andrew Coutts has a created an incredible reputation for himself as a go to film editor for countless projects including the films The Commandments of Bob, Somba Ke: The Money Place, The Man Who Loved Flowers, The Unspoken Promise, Nurse 3D, Knight of Badassdom, Altergeist and many more. He was also the lead editor on the films Sequence, which won Best of Fest at the 2013 LA Shorts Fest and garnered him a nomination for Best Picture Editing at the Canadian Cinema Editors Awards, The Day, which was an Official Selection at Toronto Film Festival Midnight Madness, and 10:17, which won Best International Short at the Los Angeles First Glance Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the Palm Springs ShortFest.
So what's next for Coutts? He plans to continue doing what he loves, he says, "I hope to keep working on projects that challenge and excite me, to keep working with people whose creativity inspires me, and that I never stop striving to be better and to find new and interesting ways to tell stories."