Mar 31, 2025 12:42:00

It turns out that Apple's hit TV series 'Severance' was edited via remote Mac connections

In the behind-the-scenes footage released by Apple for the TV drama '

Severance ,' the company emphasized that the footage was edited using its own Macs, but it has now been revealed that much of the editing work was actually done on another Mac via the remote desktop software ' Jump Desktop .'

Why Apple's Severance Gets Edited Over Remote Desktop Software
https://tedium.co/2025/03/29/severance-apple-remote-editing-weirdness/

You can watch the making of 'Severance' below.

Behind the Mac: Editing Severance | Apple - YouTube


At the end of the making-of video, the message 'Severance was edited on a Mac mini, iMac, and MacBook Pro' is displayed, highlighting that 'Severance' was edited on a Mac.

However, rather than doing all the editing on a Mac in Apple's studio, the making-of footage reveals that an editor ran the editing sessions remotely from home, connecting to the studio's Mac mini.

Tedium points out that the Jump Desktop window was reflected in the making-of video at

around 7 minutes and 50 seconds . The reason the image in the preview window looks choppy is not due to the Mac Mini's low performance, but due to the display effect of the remote connection.

The background to this remote editing is that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult to gather editors in one place. Nowadays, with high-speed internet and remote editing software, an environment is being created where editing can be done safely and efficiently even from outside the office. In fact, Jump Desktop and Parsec have become standard in the video industry.

However, Tedium points out that this method also has problems specific to Apple. According to Tedium, macOS has strict restrictions on operation in a virtual environment, making it difficult to create a large-scale cloud or to split operations using virtual machines. This is also due to the discontinuation of the server product ' Xserve ' that Apple once offered.

In addition, the editing software used, Avid Media Composer , has only recently become compatible with Apple Silicon, and the Mac used for editing this time was likely made by Intel. Given these technical circumstances, Tedium speculates that it is highly likely that the editing was done remotely by connecting to an older Mac.

Remote editing has contributed to significant cost reductions in low-budget program production, and it is expected that this method will continue to become mainstream throughout the industry. Nevertheless, Apple's current product line and licensing agreements are not adequately adapted to these changes, exposing the limitations of Apple's professional strategy, Tedium pointed out, arguing that 'Apple should urgently consider providing a more reasonable system for professional users.'