Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1543164
43 S P R I N G Q 1 I S S U E T E C H different locations, to create a cohesive storytelling style. Both seasons of HBO Max's hospital drama, from creator/showrunner R. Scott Gemmill, follow emergency room staffers for one 15-hour shift, with each episode approximating one hour on the clock. The action unfolds in near-real time using long takes and minimal cuts, putting viewers in the trenches alongside healthcare workers in this chaotic, demanding environment. Season 1 editors Mark Strand (recently nominated for the 2026 ACE Eddie Awards for editing "The Pitt" S1, E12: "6:00 P.M.") and Joey Reinisch added editor Tammie Lu- ciano for Season 2. Luciano and Strand had previously worked for executive producer John Wells, but "The Pitt" was the first show they cut together. Jumping into "The Pitt," which Strand described as a well-oiled machine built from past collaborations, could be an intimidating experience, but Luciano said, "Joining the show was a welcoming transition, and I felt really sup- ported whenever I had questions or asked for feedback on scenes. Since 'The Pitt' has a very specific style, I wanted to make sure my episodes aligned with what Joey and Mark already established." "The Pitt" editors begin reviewing the dailies during production, and have four days after the last day of shooting to com- plete their editor's cut. Next, they spend four days reviewing with the director and another four days with the producers before the studio sees the episode. Reinisch said, "It's been 30 episodes in about a year and a half now, which is crazy. It's like the old days of TV." Strand agreed, "It feels like we're in Season 15, yet we're in Season 2." The show's editing schedule mirrors the fast pace of the ER in "The Pitt," but also its feeling of synergy. Strand said, "Everyone is pulling the oars in the same direction. Showrunner R. Scott Gemmel ran 'ER' for eight seasons, starting on Season 6. All the writers, actors, directors, and DPs — everybody down the line is so good at their job that our editing time is used incredibly well. They know what they want and what they're doing. It's very efficient, so we're not scrubbing through unnecessary shots." All three editors cut on Avid Media Com- poser 2025.12, yet they use different tactics to familiarize themselves with the footage. Luciano likes to watch the dailies and then organize her cuts by Act. When she's done with a scene, it gets copied to an Act bin, and her assistant editor, Sarah E. Williams, then performs preliminary dialogue cleanup and adds sound effects to the guide track. Luciano said: "Sarah and I have been a team for about 7 years. We've built a strong working relationship and friendship. Hav- ing that connection gives us a shorthand that keeps things moving. We use markers to communicate specific notes or thoughts as we're assembling our editor's cut. After dailies are complete, we'll watch down the cut together, take notes, and tackle the second pass — and repeat if there's time. Our teamwork is what makes our workflow run smoothly." Reinisch, on the other hand, prefers the couch-potato method: Watching footage from the sofa. He explained, "I don't want to lock myself into a train of thought before I've seen all the pieces because the initial temp bias is 'this is what I thought of first, so this is obviously how I want it to be.'" To prevent that, Reinisch has assistant editor Ross Wooldridge put together a "viewer sequence" that has side-by-side cameras for all the takes. "Then I force myself to sit on the couch and watch the footage so I physically do not have the ability to get sidetracked and start cutting a scene before I've internalized how the scene is being constructed. This way I can't assemble something before I know all the information," he said. For Strand, Avid's ScriptSync tool pro- vides the most efficient way to sort through s h o t s. S c r i p t Sy n c i n d e xe s a l l a u d i b l e dialogue and syncs each source clip to its corresponding line in the script. Strand's assistant editor Emily Merriman will group set all the bins and then use ScriptSync to organize the clips. "I like to have all that set up to really lock it in and call it done. It's a lot of front-loaded work by Emily to get those Joey Reinisch. Tammie Luciano. Mark Strand.