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Q1 2018

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27 Q1 2018 / CINEMONTAGE by Debra Kaufman portraits by Wm. Stetz T he editing career of Monty DeGraff has been in sync with some of television's cultural icons. Starting off with his first editing credit, cutting a 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), followed by five early episodes of Melrose Place (1992- 1999) as an assistant editor, he went on to edit throughout five seasons of Law & Order (1990-2010), nine episodes of Daredevil (2015-present), and now several yet-to- air installments of Amazon Studios' The Man in the High Castle (2015-present) and the pilot of the much-anticipated upcoming ABC sci-fi thriller The Crossing (2018). From his first film job as an apprentice on the lot of Lorimar (the studio that brought us such mainstays as The Waltons, Dallas and Falcon Crest), to the golden age of original streaming content, DeGraff has achieved his goal in the field. "What I really wanted was experience cutting lots of different types of shows, and get to work with the very best material on the most compelling shows," he says. ABC's The Crossing, which is set to premiere April 2, is a high-concept story that some have compared to Lost: A town becomes a haven for war refugees escaping an event 250 years in the future, ultimately revealing a conspiracy. DeGraff said the pilot came to him through ABC post-production executive Paul Rabwin, with whom he worked on the 2005 miniseries Revelations. "He convinced the producers to meet me, and they did in fact hire me," DeGraff relates. Although he doesn't want to reveal too much about The Crossing, DeGraff says the pilot's opening scene takes place under water. "They did a lot of shooting in a water tank in Vancouver," he says. "It's a phenomenally beautiful shot and such a strong piece, it pulls you in for the rest of the episode. I think all of us who worked on it are really proud of it. It was a rare project where, even in the middle, we felt the show was going to be picked up." The pilot, he recounts, was "one of the smoothest" he's worked on, in part because of his assistants, Greg Sirota and Kaylee Koenig, along with music editor Amber Funk. "Greg was my first assistant and took control of everything that came into the cutting room," says DeGraff. He also played a role in advancing Sirota's career. "Greg was very experienced," he reveals. "He couldn't figure out how to make the leap to editor, so at the end of the pilot process, when it was assured the pilot would be picked up, I spoke with the producers and convinced them they could take a chance on Greg. He got picked up as an editor and he's thriving. There's nothing more exciting than seeing someone do really good work and become a peer." Mentoring younger editors has become an important focus for DeGraff. When he was editing City of Angels (2000-present), he had his first experience mentoring an assistant, Kelley Dixon (now ACE). "First of all, she was African American and it was startling to me how she got there," the editor concedes. "She was also a tremendously talented sound editor and made my cuts look good. She and I also did Bull [2000-present] and Revelations Monty the Mentor In-Demand TV Editor DeGraff Eager to Help Any Assistant Who Asks The Crossing. ABC

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