Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1203636
41 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E C O V E R S T O R Y we started showing people after three weeks. I loved "The Weekend" because the comedy was so fresh and new and the jokes were cutting and different. Zadie's character is just so wrong and so right at the same time. And it's also nice to see black people in a romantic comedy not set in the typical places we see ourselves. It's set at a bed-and-breakfast in the middle of nowhere. Black people hiking! Working on "The Weekend" was pret- ty much a teaser for "The Photograph." It was indie, so we got a lot of freedom to try whatever we wanted and be creative; to take chances and not be afraid of taking chances. So when we were working on a studio film with a much bigger budget, we had worked out a shorthand and al- ready knew each others' tastes. So when the tastes of the studio, which represents a much larger audience, came into play, we could adjust to that together, knowing we were already on the same page. Q What were the hardest parts of cutting "The Photograph"? What was tougher than expected? Was it a specific scene? If so, what made it difficult? Cutting a studio film is next level! I had never experienced the rounds of critique and having to navigate preview screenings and marketing and being on location, and the always lingering fact that we held the responsibility of a much bigger budget. On this project more than others, I saw how as an editor, there's so much history to a project that happens before you even touch the footage. To understand that the process may end with you, but didn't begin with you, is eye-opening and becomes a huge re- sponsibility. Frankly, I didn't know what to expect. I learned so much about the process when it comes to a studio film. Sometimes I felt like I was faking my way through things. Then when it felt like a whirlwind, I basically took refuge in knowing no matter what, I'm a good editor and I have good instincts. I could always adjust but I knew I just needed to do what feels right. As far as specific scenes, we really worked and reworked the opening, about the first 12 minutes of the movie. We did so many versions of the opening because we knew we had to get it right. And we have intertwining stories in the past and present so putting those stories together is like working a puzzle, a puzzle where you've lost the box top and you have no idea what the final picture is supposed to be. There's a point when the structure, sort of locks into place, and no one on the outside can tell you where that place is. You have to push yourself to find it. Q Looking back, what parts of the film are you most proud of? I'm most proud of making a simple story feel heavy and emotional. Even if you don't have these specific situations or types of people in your own life, the emotion is there and anyone and ev- eryone can grab onto something in the movie. I hope it grabs onto audiences. Who doesn't want to feel love, and espe- cially on Valentine's Day! When you make something, you never know if people will like it as much as you do. You hope they do, but you never know. When the first trailer was released on the Internet, people went crazy over the movie, and I think it's because there hasn't been a movie like this in a wide re- lease, starring people that look like this, in a long, long time. I'm really proud of being a part of something that people like me, who grew up with great black love stories, are excited to finally see again. Q What made you want to become an editor? What process brought you to this point? I always knew I wanted to do some- thing in television or film. But growing up in Augusta, GA, with parents who were scientists and just wanted me to get a good paying job working for somebody, I had no clue and no access to that career path. I didn't even know that movies were "edited." When I saw "Pulp Fiction" in high school, I think that was the movie that made me aware that a movie was "put to- gether." I went to undergrad at Howard University for Radio-TV-Film and quickly got a job at a post house that cut political ads and Time-Life infomercials. I learned the Avid on that job and watched the edi- tors' process. But I decided I didn't want to stay in the advertising field. So I went to graduate school at the American Film Institute, and that's where I learned the craft of narrative editing. When I graduated from AFI, I had the knowledge but still no access, so I moved to NY and got into reality TV editing. I moved up pretty quickly because I had learned and been basically drilled on sto- rytelling at AFI. Fast-forward 10 years, and I decided I wanted to get back to my first love, scripted editing. With the help of some editors who stuck their necks out for me to give me a shot, I was able to get a job assistant editing on "The Good Wife," "Insecure" and "Nashville" and then I worked my way back to editing. Cut a couple TV series, one of which was "Grown-ish," and that's how I met Stella, and the rest is history. Q Many editors speak of the difficulty of balancing work and home life. How has this been brought home to you? What was that like working on "Photograph"? It's not so hard. Just kidding! It's hands-down the hardest part of adulting, and I'm still trying to figure it out! I am a hard worker, and I like to think I've become an efficient editor. I have to be! When you have young kids and a husband and parents and friends whose faces you want to see as much as possible, you absolutely cannot have wasted time in your days. I also like to think I help the projects I work on by getting the work done in the least wasteful way. Having kids has also taught me to think ahead to plan B, C and D, because with kids, Plan A is usually a pipe dream. My life seems like SEE PAGE 67