Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/855478
43 Q3 2017 / CINEMONTAGE that was evident in American Gangster. There were some really beautiful transitions that we tried to build into the film to go with that pacing." Spiva insists that developing synergy with other craftspeople is central to his work. The Glass Castle, for instance, features a music score from a young composer named Joel P. West. Spiva says the producers wanted an experienced music editor to "help shepherd [West] through the process, just to make him feel comfortable that the movie and his score were getting the attention they deserved." He continues: "Joel was very active, went through the trouble of having his own setup in the cutting room, and was involved in the day-to-day goings-on of the post process. When there was a logjam, I would feed him and the director ideas and offer [temp music] generally. I'd also talk through the scenes with them, giving Joel anywhere from 12 to 20 different ideas for each scene in some places. Joel would say, 'I have yet another idea,' and he'd pop back to his room and come back with something really beautiful. So a big part of my job was to feed them ideas about how they might approach scenes musically and then, through our discussion, we would hammer out the new direction." There was a constant back-and-forth throughout The Glass Castle, according to Spiva. "Often, we'd just play with subtle variances of music, because there were often cases where we had to switch things out," he explains. "If they made a new picture cut, then all of a sudden a dialogue scene might reveal more bluntness or a different thread of the story, and changes like that can affect how you treat the scene musically. Minor changes can totally affect the pace of the film, and you have to adjust the music accordingly, from start to finish." Crucial to Spiva's success is his personal