Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1536513
and a very positive one, but they need months to prepare the show and do all the subtitles and dubbing so it can be released in every country in the world simultaneously. And we needed to bring on two other editors to make those dates, so at the end we brought in Hugo Diaz and Jon Otazua to help out." What were the main editing challenges? "We've got a lot of threads going on and the stories are quite complex, so I think being honest to the story and telling it in the best possible way was a challenge because, besides the thriller plot, you also have issues of acuity in a leader, and then you have to merge that storyline into the political thriller and all of the deep character work. So, it's always find- ing the balance between that and being sure that the pace and rhythm is there, but not to the detriment of character development and relationships." TV shows are usually very different in terms of post for a director. You hand it off and then it's really a producer's job in post. But this was more like a movie post, right? "Yes, and I love post, and I've worked in it now for a while. When I did Love and Death, creator and writer David E. Kelley was an incredible partner in that way, and we were both very involved with post. So, I've always had that great experience of working in collaboration with the writer and the post producer to tell the best possible story, because we get to re-look at the story again in post. I can't imagine not doing post, as it's been a long time since I came into an existing series and after four or six days, you're handing it off. So, I love being part of the whole post process, and on this we had an incredible supervising sound editor that I'd worked with be- fore, Brett Hinton, who did this incred- ible sound design. And with that and the music, you can change your story so drastically in post. So, to not be part of that process is just unthinkable." Fair to say this has more visual effects than one might think? "Yes, we tried to do a lot practically, but we also had quite a lot of VFX, and our visual effects supervisor, Douglas Purver, was just brilliant, and we used several ven- dors, including Dream Machine, RVX, and Fox and Wizard. A lot of it was set en- hancement. We built part of a set for the floor of the House of Representatives, and then the rest of it is VFX, and we used the steps of the courthouse and added the Capitol, because you can't shoot in any of these places now. When I shot West Wing in D.C., there was a lot of access, but that all changed after 911. Now it's very chal- lenging to shoot in D.C. We did shoot a second unit in D.C., where we could close certain streets and put military equipment there, which was great. But you need all the VFX, and I really enjoy working with them, as you get to create worlds." How important is the sound and music part of the equation to you? "It's huge, because you can have great visuals, but if the score doesn't work and if the sound design takes you out of the experience, because you can't hear the dialogue, then nothing works as well as it should. So, I'm very involved in those sessions and we had a great team at Signature. Along with Brett, whose sound design work adds a whole other level to the emotionality of the story, our re-recording mixers Pete Elia and Jason Coleman did a great job. And it's the second time I've worked with our composer, Jeff Russo, who I thought did a spectacular job with the score. And the thing that's so amazing about sound and post in general is that it's such a collaborative team sport, and you want the best possible team that you can get, and it all has to work together, and I feel we got all that." Tell us about doing the DI with colorist Roman Hankewycz and your DP at Harbor. "So much of the look and feel was set early on in prep when they were doing tests, and then John talked to Roman all the time. John really set what the look was going to be, and then for the DI, I went and previewed everything, and in the sessions it was more about finessing the frames. Sometimes there would be something where I'd say, 'I'd love to see that a bit darker,' or maybe lighten up a sequence, and they'd go back and make certain adjustments. And after they felt happy with the pass they did, I would go in and watch it. But honestly, it was not a lot that got changed in the DI, as they did such a great job right from the start of setting the look we wanted." Where does this rate on the scale of great projects you've done? It must be near the top right? "It was a really good one. I feel blessed to have worked on such interesting and provocative material, and that's what I want to continue to do. They still let me do this crazy job and I still love doing it, and hopefully I'll be doing it till they roll me to the set with my walker and my oxygen tank, you know? But it's always about the material at the end of the day. You must have a great story." www.postmagazine.com 11 POST MAY/JUNE 2025 Three editors worked to meet Netflix's delivery requirements for global release.