Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/990701
51 Q2 2018 / CINEMONTAGE JG: As the supervising editor, I'm helping to facilitate the cuts. Right now, we're a two-editor team with three assistants. The other editor is a woman by the name of Jessie Marion, and the assistants are Kenneth McClendon, Yoni Rusnak and Armen Gasparian. It's unique in that we're only two editors, so it's a little bit more work for us. Traditionally, you might put a cut together, send it out, wait for the producer to give you that first round of notes, and then keep whittling away. As the supervising editor, I'm able to step in and, because Mara and I have a shorthand of how she likes to work and what she likes, when she comes into the cutting room, or looks at cuts remotely, it's less for her to have to do. CM: Among the many shows you've worked on, you are particularly proud of Shots Fired, which was also created by a couple. Tell me about it. JG: Yes, another Hollywood power couple — Gina Prince-Blythewood and Reggie Rock Blythewood — developed this 10-hour event series. The whole design for Shots Fired was to be like a 10-hour movie. It's similar to what's happening on Netflix and other platforms. They've always thought of it as a 10-hour movie, and that's why each show is an "hour" instead of an "episode." CM: Shots Fired has been described as "a TV show that aims to reflect the racial tensions and police shooting incidents that have spurred demonstrations and outrage across the country." Talk about its impetus and what the producers were trying to do with this series. JG: The story was originally conceived in the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin case when George Zimmerman was found not guilty. One of the things the producers were trying to do was get more eyes and ears on the subject of what's going on today with police "You can always tell the people in the business that don't have any diversity in their background because they're the people who are usually the most insecure around people who aren't like them." Jacques Gravett and assistant Kenneth McClendon.