How this SXSW Film Editor/Composer Got Creative on A Micro-Budget

Most people know actress Amy Landecker from her roles in Transparent, A Serious Man, The Handmaid’s Tale, or Minx, but she is also adding feature film director to her resume.

Her latest project, For Worse, just premiered at SXSW and was named by Rolling Stone as one of the “20 Most Anticipated Movies at SXSW 2025”.

It’s no surprise that indie film budgets can sometimes lead to very scaled-down crews, so assembling a team that isn’t afraid to take on multiple roles is always beneficial.

In the case of For Worse, Jason Gallagher became one of those crucial figures that Amy recruited, serving as both editor and composer. After looking at Jason’s long list of credits, it’s apparent he is well-versed in both fields having edited projects, such as Sony’s Universal Soldier: Regeneration and Netflix’s Fresh, Fried, and Crispy and scoring Syfy’s long-running series Z Nation.

When working on For Worse, Jason adopted the mindset of “whatever the film needs”, even if that meant stepping in front of the camera. He explains, “I cut an early version of the climax of the film, and they had another day of shooting left and wanted to know if they should get any more coverage. So I fired up my camera and shot myself in make-shift costumes as the bride and other characters and edited the shots into the scene. They ended up picking some of those shots and it really helped.”

Jason goes more in-depth about his process for scoring and editing the film in the Q&A below.

'For Worse' CREDIT: SXSW

No Film School: You have been a composer almost as long as you have been an editor. How did you get into these two, very different fields?

Jason Gallagher: I feel like I’ve been an editor since college. I went to film school at Boston University and got a job at MTV soon after. They let me edit my own shows eventually. I always had a band at the same time, and love music. The two jobs came together when a director I worked with as an editor hired me to score Z Nation because he thought my sensibility matched the show’s tone. I’m lucky to be able to shift between the two worlds, especially during times like these.

NFS: How did you become involved with For Worse?

JG: Our neighbor Jenica Bergere (producer, For Worse) is a friend of my wife. She walked down the street one day and said “You’re an editor, you should edit the movie I’m producing.” I met Amy Landecker at her house soon after, and we all hit it off. We joke we should just block off the street and call it Juniette Street Studios.

NFS: What was the biggest challenge you faced with editing For Worse?

JG: I think with any micro-budget film, the shooting schedule is far from ideal, so you end up compromising some things along the way. We had to get creative with some scenes in post because of that, but the crew did such an amazing job capturing great performances by the incredible cast, that the only real difficulty was choosing which hilarious take to use. It was a good problem to have.

NFS: What did the post-production process look like for you on For Worse? I imagine you edited the film first, then began scoring it after it was fully complete.

JG: I completed an editor’s cut first, then took that to Amy and Brad’s house, where we spent the better part of two months making the movie really great. We set up a MacBook Pro and monitor on their dining room table, and worked most days. One day I showed up and they had Dodgers jerseys on. They said we’re having lunch “out” today and we caught a Dodgers afternoon game. Ohtani hit a homerun. Best edit ever.

Amy, her husband Bradley Whitford and Jason at a Dodgers gameCREDIT: Jason Gallagher

NFS: When you were scoring the film, did you go back and make any editing tweaks because something wasn’t flowing with you?

JG: We originally put in a lot of temp music. Some beats, and some cool songs we loved. When it came to scoring the scenes that needed music, Amy just said, “Why don’t you just do it, you know how and you know what I want!” From there I could customize the cues to my cuts and work back and forth just by switching programs.

NFS: Can you talk about what tools and software you used to edit For Worse?

JG: We cut the film in Premiere Pro, using a team project that my assistant editor Andrew Drazek and I shared. That way I could have the project at home, at Amy’s house, and at Andrew’s house. The music was all composed in Pro Tools, my go-to for production.

NFS: How would you describe the score for For Worse?

JG: The original music is all based on some dub music we had in as temp. I think we agreed the music should be cool, driving, and a little masculine. We didn’t want the typical romantic comedy score. That’s reflected in the needle-drop music as well. The opening track is “When U Love Somebody” by the Fruit Bats, sung by Eric D. Johnson, and has some sardonic edge to it. It sets the tone nicely.

NFS: Did Amy Landecker (director) give you specific parameters of how she wanted the score to sound? Did she give you any other movies as references?

JG: Amy always wanted this movie to be a romantic comedy, but a cool one that wasn’t typical. She wanted a big, fun, musical moment near the end, and she wanted to incorporate classics that she loved. That’s how “Push It” and “Bust a Move” made it into the soundtrack. She loved how Baby Reindeer used lots of needle drops rather than score, so much of our soundtrack ended up being music by bands we know and love. I think there are three Scott Metzger tracks in there, he’s an old friend from New York City who is one of the best guitarists in the country and is always (thankfully) willing to let me use some of his music in projects that I edit.

Jason Gallagher CREDIT Jason Gallagher

NFS: Did you use any found objects or unique instruments to create the score for the film?

JG: The score I created mostly with produced beats and bass on my customized Fender Bass vi. I had a luthier in Pennsylvania named Dave Vetack turbocharge a store-bought version and it’s my favorite bass to add to soundtracks right now.

NFS: What are the benefits of being both the composer and editor of a film?

JG: All of the Zoom meetings happen right in my head. “Hey, can you edit that track to hit on a certain cut?” “Sure, give me 3 minutes.” “Thanks, you’re the best.”

NFS: Can you tell us something we might not know about your work on the film?

JG: I cut an early version of the climax of the film, and they had another day of shooting left and wanted to know if they should get any more coverage. So I fired up my camera and shot myself in make-shift costumes as the bride and other characters and edited the shots into the scene. They ended up picking some of those shots and it really helped.