Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1468810
36 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E some of the heaviness of the scene with a great button. Natasha is always great for a comedic button at the end of the scene. I've always believed comedy helps the drama. You've got to have this levity for the drama to work. CineMontage: Talk about the use of music in the series. Sadlek: We all love this music so much. Issa was also such a huge part of it in just driving what she liked. I think Issa even said, "The show is going to be good, but the music is going to be dope." We really focused on that and used as much as we could for those transitions. The beautiful part of that is the music drove everything emotionally, and we found these great par- allels with tracks and using the lyrics in the track to really drive our emotional stories and the comedy, too. O u r g r e a t m u s i c s u p e r v i s o r, K i e r Lehman, supplied these packages every week—these music dumps, which we would just salivate for. We would have this pletho- ra of great stuff to choose from. In the pilot, a song like "Lavish" by TT the Artist was used under that first mirror montage with Issa putting on the lipstick. That really just set the tone for us. CineMontage: During Season 4, you directed an episode: "Lowkey Thankful," which was your first experience as a director. Sadlek: It was terrif ying and anxi - ety-driven, but it was one of the best times I've had in my life. For me, my strength was knowledge of sequences, especially sequences for "Insecure." The shot list was one of the easiest things. The harder parts were the things I didn't know as well, like the acting and lighting. I took some acting classes. I spoke to a lot of the actors about it. I started to find this pathway from edit- ing into the shots I like. There's a storyline where Molly is sort of separated from her father because he did something in the past that upset Molly. She wants to make up with her dad, so, at the end of the episode, she brings this piece of pie from the kitchen to the couch where he's sitting. In edit, you could cut it a couple different ways: where you shoot a piece of pie, she's looking at it, custard coming out. But with directing, I was able to think, "Wait. We can just do this all in one shot. Let's focus on the piece of pie. We don't know who's holding it. We track her across. And then that shot becomes her father, and then Molly sits down in the shot to be with her father." Emotionally, it had a bigger impact for me. That's just thinking about, "OK, what do I need to tell this story?" And then, "Can I eliminate some edits and make that work even more power- fully emotionally?" CineMontage: As the co-creator and executive producer of the show, did Issa like to join you in the cutting room? Sadlek: It was tough being a lead actor because time is limited. She would find that moment any time she could. I would get the call, "Okay, Issa's got ten minutes," and she would come in. One of the great joys of it is that collaboration and her thoughts and just knowing the story so well. Also, her specific thoughts on the music, too, were amazing. She loved coming to hang in the bay. It was an amazing collaboration. CineMontage: What was it like cutting the series finale? Did you give yourself a moment to reflect on your journey that began with the pilot? Sadlek: Of course. It was this amazing journey. It's almost like if you've ever cut an anniversary video for your family or something like a wedding video. They were family. I've known all these people for so long and worked with them. To see the char- acter stories culminate and these actors' stories and these relationships culminate— it was very special. Every scene became like, "Well, that's the last scene there. That's the last scene here." It was really amazing to be a part of that whole process, from beginning to end for every season, too. I'm not sure words can really justify how that feels and how satisfying it is to be there through that whole thing. ■ Issa Rae and Kendrick Sampson in "Insecure." P H OT O : H B O