Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1359892
37 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E F E A T U R E encounter unfamiliar workflows. Where- as hour-long episodes of network series consist of about 44 minutes of content per show, episodes of hour-long commer- cial-free cable or streaming series have no such limitation and can run longer. The entire season of a streaming series often premieres at the same time, too. "The fact that you drop all of the episodes at once I think has really changed how we all consume material, but also in terms of editing itself," Yong said. "You're not thinking about repeating any informa- tion. You're assuming and thinking about people watching more episodes than one at once, and sometimes all at once." Epi- sodes are kept open for a longer period of time than on the networks, and editors watch and comment on each other's cuts. "All of that is a different dialogue than what we had seen prior in terms of television," Yong said. Yet, amid all of the uncertainty, the WME agents suggest that editors have an abundance of opportunities in front of them—even on highly sought-after superhero films. Yong noted that Marvel Studios, for example, often works with directors who have emerged from the independent film scene, which can create opportunities for editors. "On these larg- er films, they tend to pair someone who has that experience already, and then maybe another person that comes from a different point of view," Yong said. "It's sort of threading the needle there and seeing about how to get into that opening that exists." The chance to nurture a career is surely the most satisfying aspect of the editor-agent partnership. Picture editor Jeff Groth worked with several agencies before switching to Pagni last year just ahead of the release of Todd Phillip's "Joker" (2019), for which he would re- ceive an Oscar nomination. " I wa s l o o k i n g to k i n d o f m a ke a change," said Groth, who met Pagni following the recommendation of several mutual friends. "It was just kind of a ca- sual meeting, and I said, 'You know what, I think we could do well together.'" For an editor in Groth's position, it's less about getting gigs than discovering the next great challenge. "The kinds of questions that he asks now are like, 'What do you want to do?'" Groth said. "The idea that you have a chance at this stuff because you've got now some things behind you is an exciting place to be." The WME agents see reasons to hope that editors will stay busy as the indus- try climbs out of pandemic-prompted shutdowns, too. "Once movie theaters do open up in a safe way, I think people are going to be really wanting to get back out there," said Pagni, adding that streaming services—including recent entrants HBO Max and Peacock—are likely to be long- term players. "Do I think they're all going to survive? Probably not, but it's going to take a long time for any of them to sort of give up because they're all part of larger conglomerates," Pagni said. Fitterman put it bluntly: "The busi- ness is always going to need product, and we represent people who create product." ■ Robert Komatsu. P H O T O : W M E