Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/756468
57 Q4 2016 / CINEMONTAGE our show," Gontz says, attributing it to the demands of the editor in a fast-paced television post- production schedule. IT'S ALL IN THE ROTATION While it's a noteworthy accomplishment to cut 100 episodes of a one-hour drama, it's mathematically very impressive for two editors to do so on the same series — and in 11 seasons, as was the case with Ring Jacobson and Weinberg, who between them cut almost 94 percent of the episodes of Aaron Spelling's 7th Heaven. "I cut every other episode," reveals Ring Jacobson. "I started the first season in 1996. Somebody did the pilot — and then there were two other editors hired. I came in as the third editor and was on it for the whole 11 years after that." Weinberg expounds on this point: "For the first two seasons, there were three editors, but by the end of the third season, there just wasn't enough to keep the editors busy. We dropped down to an every-other rotation, and that worked out fine as it was very doable. The show was very straightforward and showrunner Brenda Hampton gave very few notes." That two-editor rotation was not all that common on one- hour dramas in the late 1990s and 2000s. According to Toberen, there were initially two editors on ER, but when the schedule became too compressed, editor Rick Tuber was brought in to cut a few episodes. "That relieved a lot of pressure, but for the most part it was just Randy Morgan and me," she says. "For the third season, we had three editors and it became much more reasonable; it was really difficult with two." For his part, Gontz says that cutting NCIS with a two-editor rotation would be nearly impossible. "I honestly can't imagine doing it with less than three editors without burning out by mid-season," he attests. "By the time I'm in the producer's cut and getting ready to lock and spot the show, another editor is on the last two or three days of dailies on that second rotation," he explains. "I usually get a three-to-four-day break to chill out and recharge the battery." FREELANCING VS. JOB SECURITY AND REASONABLE WORK SCHEDULE Freelancing is a large part of the film business. People may know that fact going into the profession, but the reality of looking for work in this feast-or-famine industry is stressful, to say the least. Working on a series for the long term alleviates some of this anxiety. Toberen got into the film business before she realized how much she hated freelancing. "I much prefer the security of a regular job; I didn't realize that freelancing took such a toll on me," confides the editor, who moved from the crushing schedule of Movies of the Week to ER for the steady timetable and predictable hours. "When you're freelancing, you're constantly sowing seeds, but when working on a series, we went on hiatus every summer for two months and I knew I had a job to go back to. I was able to go on vacation, have a lot of fun and not worry about anything." Gontz recalls the stress of racing to find work over the summer as a freelancer. "You're in that scramble with everyone else to find out what pilots got picked up," he says, adding that he feels a consistent work schedule is the most important. "I could plan a vacation with my family each summer with the peace of mind of knowing that I'd have a job to come back to in July." The uncertainty of the freelance life and going project-to-project is the norm, and it does make it hard to plan ahead, according to Stern, who concedes that most people move around more than she has. Reflecting on 18 years at the Wolf organization editing Law & Order: SVU, she notes that working on a series has given her more flexibility to attain a modicum of work/life balance. "I don't think I ever had to miss a parent/teacher conference or a dance recital," she says. "[Production] was always very sensitive to my needs." Gregory Gontz.