Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/681807
37 Q2 2016 / CINEMONTAGE "We didn't do that. In this show, we said, 'Do whatever you want,' so there are four distinct films, four directors, four editorial styles." There are universal themes and a continuity built into the nights through story and music. Night One Marty Nicholson, ACE, Lead Editor Greg Babor, Editor Philip Noyce, Director N ight one is the "parent of all episodes," according to lead editor Marty Nicholson. It is in this episode that Kinte is captured and sold as a slave. "Night One establishes the story and has to travel through the rest of the episodes," says Nicholson. "It is big and compelling and has to get your attention right away." The saga begins in Africa and incorporates the same iconic scene as the original Roots, in which the protagonist's father holds him up to the night sky full of stars and powerfully declares, "Behold, Kunta Kinte, the only thing greater than you," illustrating the importance of identity, a theme throughout the miniseries. But the storytelling and filmmaking is different. "It's a much more energetic and visceral style," Nicholson continues. "It does not let you sit back; it challenges you. It's very Kunta-centric. Philip Noyce never wanted it to be out of Kunta's point of view. He always wanted it to echo and have the presence of Kunta Kinte's African spirit — even when he was in America. The challenge of the editing was to maintain this vision." Director Noyce, who shot in both Africa and the United States, was chosen in part because of his first-hand knowledge of and deep connection to, Africa (his wife, Vuyo Dyasi, with whom he has two children, is from South Africa). It was photographed with two color palettes — one for Africa and one for the US, reveals Greg Babor, who was bumped up from assistant to editor in December because of the accelerated post- production schedule and his prior relationships with Nicholson and Noyce. "The most fascinating thing about Night One is the contrast between worlds — the color palette, the cutting style and the songs are very different and show the contrast between the beauty of Africa and the horror of the United States," Babor says. Agustin "Auggie" Rexach, assistant editor, left, and James Wilcox, editor, Night Two. A scene from Roots. HISTORY