DOC NYC PRO Day: Documentary Editing

In session one, we’re joined by Sabrina Schmidt Gordon (BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez, Documented, Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes) and Jaime Meyers Schlenck (9to5: The Story of a Movement), who join moderator (and DOC NYC feature programmer) Karen McMullen to talk about the editor’s role in shaping the narrative arc of a film–its pacing, its moments of tension and climax, the evolution of its characters, and other topics. How does the documentary editor’s role contribute to the film’s storytelling? What emerges in the edit room that might not have been evident during production? And in this moment: how might the limitations of producing during a pandemic–including the ubiquitous use of Zoom calls and the increase in subject-gathered footage–influence the editor’s role in the months to come?

In our second session, DOC NYC‘s Director of Industry & Education, Caitlin Boyle, moderates a conversation with editors Tyler Walk (Welcome to Chechnya, Where to Invade Next, How to Survive a Plague) and Miranda Yousef (The New Bauhaus, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution, Inequality for All) as they discuss the intimate collaboration between editor and director; the trust and shared language that develops over the course of post-production; and the opportunities and challenges of working collaboratively when editor and director can’t share space in an edit room.

In our final session, Karen McMullen moderates a conversation with Emmy-nominated sound editor Glenfield Payne (Sweetbitter, Master of None); music editor Annette Kudrak (Boardwalk Empire, Drive, Chicago); and producer Nicole London (Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool) join to talk about the role of sound and music in documentary storytelling. Bringing their experience in both nonfiction and fiction content, our panelists discuss the impact of music and sound editing on the development of a film’s tone and narrative thrust, and where tactics for docs and fiction converge and diverge.

Following our panel programming, live attendees will be paired with presenters in small-group settings for virtual breakout question-and-answer sessions.