Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1546034
27 F A L L Q 3 I S S U E F E A T U R E CineMontage: What do you hope other post teams will learn from the path you all charted on "Beast Games"? Fisco: We had over 100 team members in editorial, and I personally onboarded each one of them. I wanted to give them a tour of the complex Adobe P remiere production, walking them through how the thousand-layer multi-cam stacks were synced by Chiaramonte and the rest of our team; how the After Effects Dynamic Links were maintained and kept online by Budd and his graphics guys; how Kenny and Wolfson organized the backbone of the thousands of project folders and files. Not everyone came from a Premiere background, so whenever that was the case, I would give a quick crash course to get them on their feet. This proved invaluable to keeping our editing flowing consistently. And I came out the other side a much stron- ger teacher and team leader. C r a i g E u s t i s : I h o p e o t h e r t e a m s will learn that nothing is impossible. If something hasn't been done before, it simply means it hasn't been done before; it doesn't mean we can't do it. Every day, we ran up against a challenge that hadn't been encountered before and often that Premiere had never seen, as well. Working in uncharted territory was the norm for "Beast Games." W e w e r e b l e s s e d t o w o r k o n a non-scripted show with some of the most talented, supportive, and knowledgeable assistant editors in the world. And that s u p p o r t i v e t e a m w a s c r u c i a l f o r t h e show's success. Matthew Chiaramonte: Each episode was like working on a totally different show. One moment we'd be figuring out how to organize footage of an obstacle course competition, and the next we'd be stacking footage for a challenge being done on a stage or inside towers with multiple floors. There were definitely those bump-in- the-road moments where we had to figure out how things could work efficiently and intuitively, and moments where things got messy and we had to figure out how to un- tangle a bowl of spaghetti, but those weren't met with frustration. It was enjoyable, and those challenges made completing these tasks so much more rewarding. It felt like leveling up or finishing a mountain climb when you get to look back and actually see all the progress that was made. It gave me a sense of accomplishment that not many jobs can, and that's why I love what I do and hope to keep doing it for the rest of my life. CineMontage: What's been your favorite moment together so far? Ryan: It's not a moment per se, but we had the Evercast open constantly, so you were never alone, no matter how busy or overwhelming tasks could get. You would always have team members virtually right by your side, working on their stuff but also available if you wanted to ask for help, collaborate, or solve a problem. Kenny Kiesecker: Everyone had their own mini-celebrations during the premiere. Being there in person, you could feel the incredible energy in the room — people reacting, cheering, and even shouting along with moments from the show, like "I am standing on $5 million!" It felt similar to participatory viewing experiences like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "Mystery Science Theater 3000," where the audience becomes part of the show. There was such a strong sense of shared excitement and camaraderie. It was extra special because, up to that point, most of us had only seen each other through Evercast. Being able to finally share that moment together in person made it even more meaningful. CineMontage: Were there allies behind the scenes who aided in your success? Ben Striz: Josh Kulic at Beast Studios was absolutely instrumental in getting the marriage of traditional TV and YouTube James Honiball. Andrew Ryan. Kenny Kiesecker. SEE PAGE 47