Spenser Reich - Film/TV Editor
Job title - Editor
Experience - 7+ years
“Each day as an editor, you really have to go with the flow. There are always unexpected things that come up, so you have to know how to pivot and know how to manage your time in a way that accounts for the unexpected.”
Describe your job role and the kinds of projects/clients you work with.
I'm a Film/TV Editor, so I've primarily worked on scripted feature films and episodic television. Most recently, in 2022, I edited on the second season of the episodic television show, 'Power Book IV: Force' as well as an independent feature film, 'SAMSON', directed by Ruth Du. Both will be coming out in 2023!
What does an average day look like in your post production working world?
A typical day starts with a chat with my Assistant Editor (shout out to Emily Hadley!) so we can check in and game plan for the day. After that, it depends on what part of the process we're in. If we're in dailies, I'll start watching down footage and cutting together the scenes. After I finish my first pass, I'll already hand the scene off to Emily to do the sound work, so it's in by the time I'm ready to do my second, third, etc. passes. Time permitting, after cutting a day's dailies, I'll go back and look at scenes from the previous day. This is when I will start with additional passes to get the scene as close to what I want it to be, as an individual scene, as possible. During dailies, that's pretty much the whole day, unless we have multiple episodes going at the same time, in which case, I may be doing dailies part of the day and notes on another episode part of the day. If we're not in dailies, but we're in the post-dailies, Editor's Cut phase of things, then after the morning chat with Emily, I would go into my assembly and start turning it into a proper Editor's Cut. For me, this means starting at the top of the cut and watching each scene, no longer as an individual scene, but as a scene within the greater picture. I'll make adjustments to the edit and I'll start adding music in this pass. Because Emily already did the sound work, as I work my way through polishing my cut and adding music in, Emily follows behind and cleans up the sound work that may need adjusting due to the cut changing. As a result, by the time I'm through my first pass of the "big picture" viewing of my cut, all the sound, music, and edits are in good shape. From there, I watch the full cut down multiple times and tweak, but things are already looking and sounding fairly good by that point. As we get into Director's Cut/Producer's Cut/Studio Cut phases, these days are about implementing notes and sitting with directors/producers as they want to. Around this time, we're usually getting dailies for the next episode, so the cycle continues. Each day as an editor, you really have to go with the flow. There are always unexpected things that come up, so you have to know how to pivot and know how to manage your time in a way that accounts for the unexpected.
How did your career in post production begin?
Right out of film school I was lucky enough to land my first feature film. It was this ultra, ultra micro budget feature film that was a pretty wild experience, but it helped me land the next feature film, which allowed me to quit my "day job" and commit to being an editor full time.
What has been your career highlight?
A recent career highlight is that I was accepted into American Cinema Editors (ACE). Besides that, I feel like the things that I view as "highlights" are less about me and more about ways I've been able to help others in the industry. I love to mentor and I also love helping people break into post production as much as I can. From the "outside" it seems really intimidating and scary to break in, which it can be, but it's actually possible, you just need the right person to say yes to you. I've been fortunate in meeting the right people to give me a shot, so now that I'm working as a film/TV editor, I try to help others get their shot. To give this long-winded answer a point, every time someone I've been helping or mentoring lands a job, or gets the meeting they've wanted, or bumps of from assistant editor to editor, it feels like a win and a highlight in my career. I love it.
Who are your role models in post?
There are so many! A few who come to mind off the top of my head are Joi McMillon, Shannon Baker Davis, Harry Yoon, and Stewart Schill. All for extremely different reasons, but they've all been mentors, inspirations, and/or friends to me at various points in my career and I'm extremely lucky to know them and learn from them. Each of these editors are also incredibly talented and have their own "thing" that makes them unique and not just an "invisible artist" (as editors are often referred to), which I really appreciate. It's super important to me to never stop learning and growing as an editor and when I watch the works of any of the editors I've listed here (as well as many, many others not listed here), it's like taking a masterclass. I really look up to all of them.
What advice do you have for others wanting to start a career in post?
Be unwavering in your belief of yourself. There are times when this industry will knock you on your ass, but you have to stand back up, dust yourself off, know what your goals are (and know that they're valid!), and keep going. I'm not always the most confident person, but the one area I always believe in myself and my goals is my work. I tell myself all the reasons I can do it and it comes down to that I *must* do it because I love editing and I love storytelling, so there's no other option for me. If you love what you do, believe in yourself and your goals enough to fight for what you want in your post production career!