Editor / Producer / Post-production

Film & television

I was seven or eight when I skipped school to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at a second-run theater. At twelve, I began in community television at American Cable Systems in Hull, Massachusetts. First came the love of film. Then came the room where I could begin learning how pictures were made.

Television taught me to think in time. Not time as an idea: the running time, the air date, the delivery hour, and the fraction of a second that lets a reaction register before the next line takes it away. I moved among performance, reporting, production, and editing, and eventually took responsibility for the room and the delivery. I liked the pressure. It made judgment visible.

Community television / Interactive media / Regional sports / Live transmission / Studio campaigns / Cable series / Educational media

01 / Reel

The work in motion

A reel cannot carry the whole record, and it should not try. This one is a short view of the work moving: performance, timing, information, tone, and finish. The documented record follows below.

The reel is hosted as a public Vimeo showcase. If you are looking for a particular program, campaign, or kind of work, ask me directly.

02 / How the work developed

The screen kept changing shape

  1. 1986-1993

    Community television, from every side

    I began at American Cable Systems in Hull. After moving back to Somerville in 1989, I chose Arlington Community Television because it had the better equipment and studios. I acted in sketches, reported news, made documentary and entertainment tapes, wrote scripts, and produced original programs including The Missing Tooth. Before I was eighteen, the work had brought a program award and a CableACE nomination. I also performed in the Massachusetts High School Drama Festival and placed fourth in the state monologue contest.

  2. 1993-1996

    Picture, sound, language, choice

    At D.C. Heath, I worked as an interactive media developer on educational CD-ROM projects including Discovering French Interactive and ¡DIME!. Picture, sound, text, navigation, and instruction had to become one usable experience. In 1995, while working at the systems-thinking publisher Pegasus Communications, I saw Mindwalk. It gave a name to a problem I already knew from the edit room: language changes what an image allows us to see.

  3. 1996-2000

    Regional broadcast and live transmission

    At MediaOne, the work included Forever Baseball, the Red Sox Pregame Show, and satellite coordination for Harvard University's convocation honoring Nelson Mandela. During the 100th running of the Boston Marathon, I was the RF signal producer in the lead helicopter, helping hold the transmission between the race cameras and the receiving tower at the Prudential Center.

  4. 2000-2007

    Los Angeles production and post

    Through Donroy Media, Burrud Productions, and related work, I moved among broadcast programs, cable series, studio campaigns, and supplemental features. As Postproduction Supervisor at Burrud, I supported staff, workflows, and broadcast standards. Those years also carried the larger change from analog editorial systems into digital post, including helping studios move from Media100 to Final Cut Pro.

  5. 2007-2011

    Educational and instructional media

    Back in Boston and working remotely, I produced and edited media for parents, teachers, and publishers, including Heinemann Publishing, ShowMe Education, and Sara Hunter Productions. The work joined contributors, editing, DVD authoring, web content, schedules, and delivery.

03 / Broadcast and long-form

The documented broadcast record

Programs, roles, outlets, and episode counts are listed individually. This is the record, not a paragraph of highlights.

  • On the Set: Finding Nemo

    Producer and editor

    Starz/Encore

  • Finding Nemo - Brad Garrett interstitials

    Producer and editor

    Animal Planet

  • Finding Nemo - Fishy Facts bumper

    Producer and editor

    ABC

  • Monsters, Inc.: The Making of a Monsterpiece

    Producer and editor

    ABC

  • Wonderful World of Disney - Monsters, Inc. interstitials

    Producer and editor

    ABC

  • Blockbuster Awards

    Producer and editor

    FOX

  • Forever Baseball

    Producer and editor

    SportsChannel America / 120 episodes

  • Earth Rescue

    Producer and editor

    Outdoor Life Network

  • AmIHot pilot

    Producer

    Broadway Video / Spike TV

  • Mardi Gras Cops

    Supervising editor

    TLC / 2 episodes

  • Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament

    Supervising editor

    Travel Channel

  • Mostly True Stories: Urban Legends Revealed

    Supervising editor

    TLC / 6 episodes

  • Overhaulin'

    Editor

    TLC / 4 episodes

  • Vegas Challenge

    Editor

    Travel Channel / 4 episodes

  • Reno Cops

    Editor

    TLC

04 / Studio and supplemental work

A second piece, made from the first

Supplemental work begins after the feature has already found its form. Interviews, commentary, deleted scenes, demonstrations, music, and production history have to become another piece without flattening the film into publicity. These are the documented campaigns and features.

  • Finding NemoStudio Tour of Pixar - producer and editor, Disney/Pixar
  • Lilo & StitchOn Location with the Directors; audio commentary; deleted scenes; A-Teens "Can't Help Falling in Love" music video; Wynonna "Burning Love" behind the scenes; and Young Voices of Hawaii - producer and editor, Disney
  • Home on the Range"Draw!" featurette - producer and editor, Disney
  • 8 MileDVD release campaign - producer and editor, Universal
  • CSI"Lady Heather's Box" broadcast featurette - producer and editor, CBS
  • Back to the FutureDVD release campaign - producer and editor, Universal
  • Spy Kids 2DVD release campaign - producer and editor, Buena Vista
  • Monsters, Inc.Theatrical and DVD release - producer and editor, Disney/Pixar
  • Lilo & StitchTheatrical and DVD release - producer and editor, Disney
  • AtlantisDVD release campaign - producer and editor, Buena Vista
  • DumboDVD release campaign - producer and editor, Buena Vista
  • The Emperor's New GrooveDVD release campaign - producer and editor, Buena Vista
  • The Hunchback of Notre Dame IIDVD release campaign - producer and editor, Buena Vista
  • Fantasia 2000DVD release campaign - producer and editor, Buena Vista

05 / The room

Editing looks solitary from the hallway

It is not. A finished program carries producers, directors, performers, clients, network notes, assistants, graphics, sound, technical standards, schedules, and delivery. My job was to keep those demands from becoming a pile: hear the problem inside a note, protect the performance, make the decision, and keep the room moving toward the same piece.

At times I supervised the post-production staff and workflow; at others I produced and edited the piece myself. The title changed. The responsibility did not. The work had to be good, the people had to be able to do their jobs, and the finished program had to be delivered.

06 / Recognition and clients

Recognition and additional clients

  • 2005

    Telly Award
    Finding Nemo

  • 1995

    Invision Gold
    ¡DIME! Interactive

  • 1993

    Macromedia People's Choice
    Discovering French Interactive

  • Before 18

    CableACE nomination
    Arlington community television

Additional documented clients and institutions

D.C. Heath / Heinemann Publishers / Los Angeles Kings / Pentacom Productions & Jeanne Wolf / Procter & Gamble / Spanish Béisbol Network / Walt Disney Pictures / Whole Foods

Work together

Five facts are enough to begin

What is the piece? What material exists now? Who is it for? Who has to approve it? When does it need to be finished? Add the part that keeps going wrong. If you are asking about the reel or a documented credit, name it and I will answer directly.