Editing case study

Love Island USA 2024

Nick Griffiths - Finishing Editor · ITV Entertainment · Peacock

Credit: Nick Griffiths - Finishing Editor
Format: 60’ Reality Entertainment Series
Production: ITV Entertainment
Broadcaster: Peacock

The editorial challenge

Love Island USA is produced at extraordinary speed. Each episode is filmed and edited within a 24-hour cycle: material shot in the villa on Monday can be transmitted on Tuesday evening. A large editorial team begins cutting stories while events are still unfolding, and a major development late in the day can change the direction of the entire show.

Storytelling approach

Story editors build scenes from conversations captured throughout the day. By the evening, those scenes are consolidated around the stories and subjects the producers want the episode to follow. As a finishing editor, I take responsibility for an assigned section and refine the complete viewing experience—clarifying story, strengthening reactions and character looks, shaping music and pace, and ensuring every scene connects cleanly with the wider episode.

Turnaround and workflow

The edit continues overnight towards transmission the following evening. Delays, evolving storylines and late producer changes can mean a section is still being worked on only hours before it goes to air. The workflow demands calm, decisive editorial judgement, close collaboration and meticulous control under intense time pressure.

Contribution

My role was to turn the story teams’ assembled scenes into a polished, broadcast-ready section. I finished every aspect of the material—from story clarity and continuity to music, transitions, pacing and final gloss—delivering exceptional work within one of television’s most demanding turnarounds.