EDITOR'S NOTE
All This and World War II
by Tomm Carroll
 Tomm Carroll |
As the country continues to grow more skeptical about the wisdom of invading Iraq over four years ago, and less tolerant of the mounting death toll of US soldiers (let alone Iraqi citizens) during the seemingly endless aftermath, anti-war sentiment is increasing. It has been pointed out by many that our military now has already been involved longer in this conflict than it was in World War II, often considered the “good war” because of its defeat of Fascism, over 60 years ago. But no such “victory” in this Middle East quagmire is in sight.
Award-winning documentarian Ken Burns is undoubtedly aware of this comparison as he prepares for the September 23 premiere on PBS of his seven-part, 14-plus-hour documentary series on the Second World War, entitled simply The War, in which American survivors tell their stories. The timing is coincidental, however. Burns and his team at Florentine Films began work on the project in the late 1990s––long before the ill-fated decision to attack Iraq, and even before the current presidential administration came to office––upon learning that some 1,000 US veterans of the war were passing away every day. “The Greatest Generation,” as they were called, was starting to die off.
For this issue’s cover story, Burns and his longtime chief editor, Paul Barnes, were photographed by renowned New England photographer, Diana Mara Henry. They were interviewed about The War––the most anticipated of Burns’ multi-part documentaries––and their working methods by writer Kevin Lewis in the bucolic setting of Walpole, New Hampshire, where Florentine Films is based. Lewis also checked in with Florentine editors Erik Ewers and Tricia Reidy, as well as sound editors Ira Spiegel, Marlena Grzaslewicz and Mariusz Glabinski and re-recording mixer Dominick Tavella regarding their work on this epic––and no doubt educational documentary.
Speaking of education, it’s September, the traditional “Back to School” month. In recognition of this, Laura Almo investigates the American Film Institute (AFI) Conservatory’s Master of Fine Arts in Editing program. AFI is believed to be the only institution in the country to offer an MFA degree in the discipline. For her article, she spoke to most of the department’s faculty––all of whom are Editors Guild members.
September also means the annual Emmy Awards. Congratulations to all of our Creative Emmy nominees, and good luck at the awards ceremony on September 8! The results of television’s highest honor will be covered in our NOV-DEC 07 edition. But for now, writer Robin Rowe makes an “Office” call to David Rogers and Dean Holland, Emmy-nominated editors (including this year) of NBC’s hit comedy The Office, now entering its fourth season. He talks to them, and assistant editor Michael Zurer, about cutting comedy and their workflow.
Also, multi-hyphenate Robert Pulcini, editor of the current The Nanny Diaries feature, which he and his wife, Shari Springer Berman, co-wrote and co-directed, reveals to Rob Feld how he manages to wear all of those hats––and why he feels most at home in the editing suite.
And finally, in our recurring spotlight on different classifications of the membership, Michael Kunkes lends an ear to an octet of music editors, who sing the praises of composers and discuss such issues as temp music, new technologies, length of tenure on a project and the job stability of their chosen field.