Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546034
35 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E F E A T U R E I'd say, 'Can we dig into that scene? How did you know to do that?' Her taking the time to talk me through what she did really meant a lot to me." 'This is your seat' When she first met Benson at the Televi- sion Academy roughly two decades ago, Erb recalls being a newcomer entering a room full of established ACE editors. "I didn't feel like I belonged at all, but Lillian was there," Erb said. "She made room for me immediately and took me under her wing. She helped me navigate the politics of the room. ... Without so much as saying so, she made me feel like I had a right to be there: This is your seat. You can claim it." She also credits Rasch with offering a different kind of perspective. "Whenever wonky things would happen, I would call Steve and say, 'This is what's happening. This doesn't feel right. What's your take on it?' And he was very honest with me. All three of them [Moul, Benson, Rasch] helped me navigate the industry in such different ways. They set up the foundation for how I mentor going forward." That solid foundation allowed her to build a working relationship with picture editor Lynarion Hubbard, whom Erb hired as an assistant editor on Issa Rae's hit series, "Insecure." The team won the Emmy for "Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series" in 2020, and Erb earned two additional ACE Eddie Awards for her work on the show. E r b's m e n to r s h i p o n " I n s e c u re" — and her friendship and guidance since then — have led Hubbard to describe the relationship as "better than winning the l o tte r y." S h e's c u r re n t ly wo r k i n g a s a picture editor on Season 4 of "Reasonable Doubt" for Hulu. "I don't know if I would've built the con- fidence that I have now without having been in the room with her and seeing how she manages multiple different viewpoints," H u b b a rd s a i d . " Wo r k i n g w i t h N e n a , I learned so many things — managing a room, being creative, and keeping the creative juices flowing, especially in stressful situa- tions when you don't have time." Erb sees pushing her assistants past their comfort zones as part of the same process: "I was always telling both Gioia and Lynarion, 'Cut whatever you want. … If it's great, I'm going to put it in the show. If it isn't, we'll talk about it later.' I pushed them out of the nest very fast, and both of them really rose to the challenge." Erb is currently editing the second sea- son of the "Legally Blonde" prequel series, "Elle," for Amazon, while Caruso is working on the Netflix miniseries "All the Sinners Bleed." In her free time, Erb volunteers as a mentor in ACE's Diversity Mentorship and Internship programs. "As a woman and a woman of color, there's a lot of pressure for you to never make a mistake, because if you do, you're messing it up for everybody else that's going to come after you," Erb said. "We have to be excellent, articulate, composed, unflappable, all at the same time while we're trying to figure out what our voice is. So I think it's helpful to have someone in your corner to explain the unspoken rules. It's not just about representation; it's about us connecting and advocating for one an- other. I think that's really how we're going to be able to build a place for ourselves in this industry." ■ Lynarion Hubbard. Gioia Caruso. P H OT O : D I S N E Y 'WONDER'-FUL: A scene from "Wonder Man."