Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1521235
M OT I O N P I CTU R E S O U N D E D I TO R S 53 weeks, they were inseparable, spending every moment of non- work with each other. But the clock was ticking. Avram would be leaving for New York in a month and yet the pull to remain with Tina couldn't be greater. They had to decide if they were going to make a go at it. Joined by Tina, Avram left for New York City to reboot his career for the third time. After two months of interviews, Avram settled into the role of a documentary picture editor at Amram Novak Productions, a company that focused on small commercials and modest documentaries. His starting salary was $250 per week, underpaid even for 1975. Despite the humble income and non-union status, Avram remained undeterred, harboring aspirations of joining the esteemed ranks of the unionized editors in New York. His days were spent meticulously piecing together footage on flatbed Kems and Steenbecks—working with both 16mm and 35mm film formats. As he delved deeper into documentary editing, Avram honed his skills in overlapping sound, layering audio tracks, and orchestrating the elements to weave compelling narratives. One of the defining aspects of his role as a documentary editor was the challenge of distilling vast amounts of raw footage into coherent stories. "One of the things about being a documentary editor is the cameraman comes back from a field trip in Africa, and he throws you a whole bunch of stuff, asking you to find the story. So that's what I did." Whether sifting through hours of scenery and random dialogue or documenting the choreography of George Balanchine's New York Ballet productions, Avram's journey through the tumultuous landscape of New York City's film industry was fraught with challenges that tested his marriage. Income anxiety can eat away at the most loving relationship. Avram was just not making enough non- union money and the New York Editors Guild was a closed shop back then. Thankfully, Tina carried them though the storms. As a registered nurse, she worked in surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital across town. While this worked for a period of time, it eventually took a toll. Manhattan is a great place to live if you can afford it. But if you're struggling, it can feel like an endless pit of despair. After some much needed advice to help the young couple through this tough time, they decided it was best for Avram to head to LA to clear his head. Upon landing in LA, Avram felt something he didn't expect. It was an inner knowing that everything was going to be okay, that he was back HOME, where he was supposed to be. Within three days, Avram was touring the converted-garage cutting room of a 50-something sound editor named Eddy K. Eddy who was doing bottom-tier TV shows and he needed a sound editor for a show that was dubbing at the end of the week. Avram needed this. He had no choice but to stretch the truth about his sound editing history and how he had union credibility. He stepped up to the Moviola and turned it on, something he hadn't done since film school eight years before. Somehow, by sheer determination, or maybe desperation, Avram cut the backgrounds and 40 car-bys. The next afternoon, Eddy K. crossed his garage to Avram's cutting space. "Hey, Gold. You said you were a union man. I called New York. Nobody's ever heard of you." Caught in a lie, Avram fessed Avram and Tina, 1978.