It is a demanding job that requires many special skills.
Vanderpump Villas Editors Lauren Stava, Kara Torsny Weir, and Kelly Turangaud sat down with us to discuss all this and much more.
Check out the conversation below:
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Editor's note: The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
No Film School: What software do you primarily use for editing? Vanderpump Villas?
Kara: I use Avid Media Composer
NFS: When editing large sections of footage, what strategies do you employ to maintain narrative coherence?
Lauren:In unscripted television, the viewer only sees a condensed moment of an event. The event may take five minutes to air, but the entire situation may have lasted five hours in real life. Our job as editors is to compress five hours into five minutes while still keeping the story of the scene vivid.
You have to be really selective about the content you feature, so my general rule of thumb is that if it makes me laugh or surprises me, it probably meets the right comedic or dramatic criteria and I want to include that moment in the scene I'm building.
NFS: Can you walk us through the process of editing confrontations and dramatic scenes to maximize tension and audience interest?
Lauren:In episode 109, I edited a scene where Lisa calls Eric, the manager of the chateau, into her office for a meeting. She wants to give him another chance after his recent failure and dangles the opportunity to return to her managerial duties. To maximize the drama of this conversation, I utilized reaction shots in different ways – sometimes to bring out comedy, sometimes to increase tension, and sometimes to prolong the moment so the audience can “take it all in.” Combined with the right music, these elements make for a very dramatic scene.
NFS: What role does music play in your editing process and how do you choose the right track for a particular scene?
Kelly: Music plays a big role in the editing process: it sets the mood and pace of a scene, and takes the audience on an emotional journey. Vanderpump Villas We were really lucky to have a fantastic Musical Director, Kate Rubino, who curated a variety of cues including quirky comedy, drama and French-inspired music.
Vanderpump Villas It's made up of library cues and some amazing cues by composer David Korkis. For me, music is the most fun part of editing because it enhances the story of the scene and helps the audience feel the emotion we're trying to convey. Vanderpump Villas“In 2013, we transported the audience to a castle in the French countryside. The French-inspired songs complemented the events at the castle, perfectly orchestrated by Lisa Vanderpump. The music also helped to heighten the drama and comedy of the show.”
NFS: What techniques do you use to improve the pacing of an episode?
Kara: upon Vanderpump VillasWe like to live in the moment, keeping the shots a little longer, but with a variety of music to keep things moving. Upbeat comedy cues lend themselves to faster shots and also help deliver punchlines. For scenes like guest activities, we used these tasteful slow cues to really let the audience experience the long slow-motion shots and feel the luxury.
NFS: How do you approach editing interviews and confessions to complement the main story?
Kelly: upon Vanderpump Villas Interviews are a peek into the mind of the characters and help paint a bigger picture of the story. We have an amazing story team who gave us strings out with the interview bytes already recorded. The story department is on the front lines making sure the interviews complement the story. They're the first to see the raw footage and then structure the episodes.
When you get an interview, there are two things to make it interesting: it's comedic and it moves the story forward.
In the process of taking notes as an editor, sometimes I have to swap in interviews to change the perspective of a scene. It's always fun to scout for bites because it gives you a peek inside the characters' heads. Interviews are an essential part of conveying the cast members' perspectives. It's one of my favorite parts of editing. Vanderpump Villas This is a short interview with Lisa Vanderpump talking about the glamorous events she hosts for her guests. She shares some great stories about the events and the delicious food that the chefs prepare for the events.
NFS: Tell us about a difficult decision you had to make while editing and how you resolved it.
Kara: Editing a reality TV show is full of challenges. I particularly remember one scene in episode 106. We were trying to tell three stories in one scene: the staff partying with the guests, Marciano getting stuck in the dishwashing area, and Priscilla starting to isolate herself from the rest of the staff. I had to decide what the tone and structure of the scene should be. Is it all fun? Or is it more dramatic for Marciano to be tasked with washing the dishes?
In the end, I structured the scene to introduce the staff party, add a little light drama to Priscilla's beat, then go back to the party, then Marciano in the dish pit plays as comedy, and end with an upbeat ending to the party. I think it flowed pretty well in the end.
