2013 Sundance Doc Lab pt.4: The A[E] Team

I was invited to attend this years Sundance Documentary Edit and Story Lab as an assistant editor. Each assistant is assigned to one of the five feature-length documentaries that have been invited to participate in the lab. Each project consists of its director(s) and editor. This is Part Four in my Sundance Labs re-cap. Part One. Part Two. Part Three.

Each year, Labs and Artist Support Director Kristin Feeley and Labs and Artist Support Coordinator John Cardellino seek out recommendations for assistant editors from past fellows and advisors. They try to maintain a high turnover of assistants each year in order to expose new people to the lab. By assigning assistants to projects they have no knowledge of, it gives the assistants a chance to quickly gel with new filmmakers. It also gives those filmmakers another pair of eyes to bounce ideas off of.

Now that there are two doc labs, there is more opportunity for past assistants to return as Mark Harrison and I did this summer. We were able to serve as a resource for other first-time AEs when they had procedural questions or faced a delicate situation with their team. That can lift the burden off Kristin, John and Post Production Supervisor Dave Drusky: We can tackle something before we need to involve them, giving them time to concentrate on other important matters. Being a returning AE allowed me to feel more comfortable and increased my participation and engagement twofold.


The job of the assistant editor is two-fold. The assistants are a resource for the project they are assigned. They can troubleshoot technical issues. They can work on scenes or stringouts on their own system (the assistants get their own trailer). They can also participate in story discussions. Assistants have to balance these expectations with lab duties. We will frequently get pulled out of our edit trailer to address a task for Dave that helps him stay ahead of any issues he may encounter. This can sometimes be a tough balance to strike when a team has come to rely on their assistant, but it's necessary that we always come together as a team when Dave needs us, otherwise the lab won't function. This teamwork happens in the background - at least that's how we'd like it to appear to the fellows so they can concentrate on their films.

The team I got to be a part of this year was exceptional. Besides Mark and me, there were three AEs new to the lab (Victoria Chalk, Shane Tippet, and Jason Zeldes). Each of us were from different parts of the country. We had a variety of credits and experiences. All of us were ready to work long days but to also learn from the experienced professionals around us.

I had previously met Mark through Dave. He used to live in Austin, although we never took advantage of that fact. We made up for not really getting to know each other then by getting to know each other better over the course of this lab.

I knew Victoria through cinematographer Mike Simpson, but again, we only had a chance to hang out a handful of times. We bonded our shared memory-recall abilities for useless 90s pop culture.

Jason, who edited the currently in theaters 20 Feet From Stardom, I met when we got off the plane in Salt Lake City. I just happened to be sitting behind him on the flight and overheard him mention he was headed to the labs. He sat down between two college aged girls. One of them was about to start at BYU because "that's where her sister goes, so it'll make my parents feel better." She was a walking, talking live-blog. Poor Jason.

Finally, I met Shane when Jason and I got to the base of the mountain. Shane lives in Maine and is assisting one of the advisors, Mary Lampson. If you know Mary's work at all then you know what an incredible opportunity that is. Shane is one of the nicest guys on the planet and a very talented editor.

We bunked in the same cabin together which is a great way to bond and compare notes after a long work day. Once editing gets going, we don't see much of each other during the day, but there are the occasional late night sessions involving stuffing ourselves with candy, movie trivia games, or night caps at the Owl Bar.

A few years ago, the labs established Assistant Editor night. We get ten minutes to show samples of our work to advisors and fellows followed by some time to sit and chat with the advisors about careers and navigating the independent film landscape. I was impressed by all the work my fellow AEs screened. The assistants the lab recruits are each editors in their own right and the work by Jason, Mark, Victoria and Shane were impressive examples of soulful storytelling. I was the odd man out with only narrative samples to show. I was blown away by everyone's doc work.

The conversation with the advisors afterward was frank, fun and emboldening. Because they get to see our work, they get to know us a little a bit better. It's invaluable that the lab make time for this sort of meeting for the AEs. We receive tips both creative and practical from some of the most accomplished doc directors and editors working today.

Since leaving the labs, we've been texting and chain-emailing each other, sharing pictures we had taken during our stay and comparing notes on our current projects. Not only have we made new professional contacts, we've also forged new friendships I hope continue far into the future.