Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1100392
www.postmagazine.com 29 POST MAR/APR 2019 SESAME STREET EDITING FOR CHILDREN When asked if editing a TV show for children was any different from editing other types of program- ming, Salazar responded with a sort of, yes and no answer. "At the end of the day, you're still trying to tell a good story and so many people still don't realize how much the success of something is the editor," he explains. "Or the failure sometimes. You can take terrible footage and make it into something halfway watchable if you're good at it or conversely, you can take a great show, if you're not a good editor, and piece all the pieces togeth- er and it's just boring to watch. So, much of these little intricacies in crafting a story that flows and is easy to follow and not confusing is really import- ant and that basic principal is the same, no matter if it's a reality show, a documentary, a music video, a scripted drama or a kid's puppet show — I've cut all of those and all the lessons I learned through those experiences definitely feed into what I'm doing now. In the end, if you're not telling a good story, it's not going to work." For the regular season episodes, new materi- al is created mainly for the nine-minue opening "street stories," while longer, more extensive cuts are required for the 45-minute specials, such as The Magical Wand Chase and Once Upon a Pickle. "The specials are very different," Salazar adds and "require much more of a narrative pace." However, Salazar also points out that Sesame Street is unique, and that along with the show's puppeteers, writers, directors, editors and all the creatives working to make an entertaining, interest- ing show, there's also a strong presence from the education department. "If you're on the set, you'll see them there. They are everywhere — they are on the floor, they are involved in the script stage, during the shooting stage and editing and reviews. Something might work really great narratively and creatively and you're like, 'That's hilarious,' but then they're like, 'No, no, this is not working from a two- year-olds point of view — the words they're using are too complex.' Or they think the kids wouldn't understand or they're trying to model certain be- havior and the way the puppet delivered a certain line came off snarky and that's not the way you want to model something…or something could be a choking hazard, so we shouldn't show that…a million things. So, it's not just about making an entertaining show, but they want to make sure that the educational content is of top quality. That's an important part of it." POST CHALLENGES According to James, there are various post challenges, but one of the biggest happens once the show moves into post production, and "everybody wants to come to post. Writers, directors, talent — and they all have notes. And the challenging part, as well as the fun part, is to accommodate those notes and still put the show forward and meet delivery on time. Things like, our music guy asking us to tweak a note, and my compositing guy asking us to go back and take another pass at compositing? Fix Big Bird, he's on blue, we're still seeing his feathers. They're so light, can you guys fix that texture." Another challenge are the Muppets themselves. "We have a lot of keying issues in post because the Muppets have very fine hair," James explains. "The compositing for us is a challenge. Their colors are vibrant. Even look at Abby Cadabby, she has very fine hair as well. Big Bird is on blue, Elmo is on blue, Abby is on green, Grover is on green — the fineness of the hair, you do those close-up shots with UHD, they're still hard to composite." Early planning meetings with Ganz and Morrisett. This bird was created in CG. Original cast at the iconic street sign. Big Bird and Oscar have been there since Day 1.