Social Studies Receives Cinema Eye Honors Award
What an honor to be recognized at the 18th Annual Cinema Eye Honors ceremony in East Harlem, New York.
FX’s Social Studies series from director Lauren Greenfield has been one of the most prolific and meaningful non-fiction projects that I have had the fortune to work on. I could not have engaged this material at a more timely moment as a father myself of pre-teen daughters. The project came with its challenges editorially. There was simply a mass of footage from a large cast of young subjects curated by the director and producers behind the project. It took time for the young subjects to lend their trust to our director enough to begin to allow the cameras deeper into their personal lives through the gateway of their mobile device; which arguably at times seemed to me to be an actual appendage to their minds bodies and souls. The series also challenged editors to create a grammar that allowed viewers to experience the subjects’ way of communicating and living through their devices, alongside the traditional picture, dialogue, music etcetera that makes up a film experience. The material was ultimately crafted into a 5-episode series that premiered to packed houses at the 51st Telluride Film Festival; followed by its television premiere on FX on Sept. 27, 2024.
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And The Emmy Goes To...
I am permanently beaming with gratitude after receiving my first Emmy nomination and win at the 75th Emmy Awards.
And I’m as equally fortunate as I am grateful to have been an Emmy nominee for the longest period in Hollywood history. The WGA/SAG-AFTRA strike of 2023 sent the entire film and television industry into a complete tailspin pushing the would-have-happend-in-September Emmy Awards ceremonies into January of 2024.
That’s an additional twelve or more weeks that I and my colleagues got to spend as Emmy Nominees; which isn’t too shabby I might add. I took full advantage of the offset and rode out the extended Emmy season. I met a few of my very own heroes in person like Pamela Martin (King Richard, One Love), Spike Lee, Donald Faison (Scrubs) and Television Academy Governors Nena Erb (Insecure) and Robert Malachowski, Jr. (The Voice). I had great conversations, meetings and interviews with the likes of Michael Krulick and Matt Feury at Avid and Joaquin Elizando’s Hollywood Editing Mentor Podcast. I finally met up with one of the most prolific picture editors in our community Stephanie Filo-Jones, the Post In Black team and reconnected with some of my very first collegues in this business like Angel Gamboa-Bryant who entered into the 75th Emmys race with a total of three nominations. I learned so much working on the premiere season of Welcome To Wrexham about myself as well as my craft. I am motivated beyond words and fortunate beyond measure. I look forward to going deeper into my craft as an editor as well as taking new risks and furthering my expression in the boundless medium of filmmaking.
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9-1-1 Lone Star Editors on The Rough Cut Podcast
Editors Charles Little II, ACE and Bryan Colvin discuss crafting FOX's hit procedural 9-1-1 Lone Star
I take in The Rough Cut Podcast hosted by Matt Feury every week. Its an honor to be a guest and to contribute alongside one of my most respected collaborators.
I was excited enough to share all of the magic and madness that comes along with cutting Tim Minear’s hit procedural franchise for FOX. But when The Rough Cut host Matt Feury mentioned that out of all of the episodes and conversations that he’s had around cutting film and television; the genre of Procedurals is one that he hadn’t actually covered. Procedurals are a popular genre and one that has allowed me timely opportunities to experience cutting action, drama and even a bit of funny on a regular basis. I came on to Ryan Murphy Television’s 9-1-1 spin-off (well, it’s not a “spin-off” per se but…) 9-1-1 Lone Star in the fall of 2019. The Covid-19 Pandemic soon followed in the spring of the following year and nothing has been the same since. But one thing that has remained consistent has been 9-1-1 and 9-1-1 Lone Star’s ratings. No doubt powered by the shock and awe of the series and the characters’ journeys. That shock and awe and those characters have taught me a lot whilst working on the series over the past three seasons; but not as much as I’ve gathered from collaborating with the writers, directors, editors and assistant editors in the 9-1-1 Universe. To quote Executive Producer and Showrunner Tim Minear: “Editors are the last line of defense before the material reaches the audience.” Those words landed during my first season on 9-1-1 Lone Star and have remained a constant reminder of the responsibility an Editor has in baking in all of the contributions from everyone involved in making a story come to life on the screen. Motion picture editing can be an unforgiving craft, sometimes overlooked, misunderstood when the work is well crafted and the editing rendered invisible. But when editors collaborate with filmmakers that prioritize the material first, those continue to be some of the greatest experiences from my perspective in the Editor’s chair. Because that is my mission. To elevate the material at every opportunity. Thank you Matt Feury for having us on the podcast.
Please take a listen to the podcast below, stream it on Apple Podcasts, or follow the podcast HERE and thank you for stopping by.
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Shooting Awakening Giants in Liberia, West Africa
The fall of 2018 took me to the Motherland and gifted me with unimaginable personal insight, human connection and field experience that leaves me forever changed and more inspired than ever.
I felt as nervous as I was excited upon touching down in the wee hours at Lungi airport in Sierra Leone. Only passengers not continuing on were allowed off the plane so I waited patiently and stared wide-eyed out of the window of the giant KLM airliner until we were again in the air and on route to our final destination of Monrovia, Liberia. In the case you don’t know the sorted and direct relationship that the United States shares with LIberia here’s an article to give you a little background on our “sister-nation” and our unique relationship. Just recently our illustrious forty fifth President Mr. Donald Trump made a play to do away with some special considerations for immigrants to the USA from Liberia since the end of a 20-plus year civil war that leaves behind it tales of child-soldiers, rape, dismemberment, terror and dismantled families and a dismantled nation. A civil war that can be traced back directly to American influence. Here’s another article for more on that.
The country of Liberia is visually awe-inspiring. I was constantly bombarded, embraced and engulfed by brilliant colors, texture and contrast. So much contrast, so much texture, so much magic. At one point I was walking behind a line of people as we moved equipment from one location to the next and I think I received a glimpse of the power that attracts so many to this land and seduces them to a point of desire that then morphs into lust and greed. Africa is a photographers paradise. The land itself struck me immediately as a palate of RGB. The Red dirt, Green land and bright Blue sky is reminiscent of our own great state of Mississippi. Another key land in the great Afro-American narrative.
This was my first venture with the production and I am thoroughly moved and inspired to be a part of a series that contains so much potential. Potential to entertain, to illuminate, to inspire and to inform. At the time of writing this post the material is still waist-deep in post-production as the story and episode structure is still being determined and refined. But I am optimistic about where this series can go and where it can take everyone involved and everyone who views it.
My tools were always at the ready during the 2.5 weeks on the ground in Liberia. We shot the series at UHD resolution on Sony Fs7 Super 35 digital cinema cameras and a single Panasonic GH5 package courtesy of Eastside Camera Services (Los Angeles) and Lensrentals.com (Tennessee); and I enlisted my trusty Canon 5DMkIII to capture stills along the way. The concert of digital imaging tools was a perfect combo for my small crew which included two local additions that offered great teaching and learning opportunities for both us and them. The 5D images became the ingredients to what turned out to be my first ever full color photo book. I’m super excited to share the photo book and the images with my inner circle, the cast and crew who were with us in Liberia and my extended circle within the film/tv community back here at home.
(L-R) David Bowsky, Sharon Turay, Jabu Msomi, Yudawhere Jacobs, Charles Little II
The greatest gift in life is to be alive in concert with other living beings. Human beings, animals and plants of all sorts; all connected through our beloved mother earth. I am excited to share this full color photo book entitled Awakening Liberia* to grace your coffee table, office foyer, creative space or personal collection.
*All books are made to order. Please allow 15 days for delivery to US and Canada (UK, Africa, Australia or other locations may incur longer shipping times).