By Robert Goldrich

Editor Marco Perez, noted for his work in commercials, short films and documentaries, joined bicoastal Union Editorial in 2009, and was named a company partner in 2013. Perez’s recent endeavors include: a spot project for Duracell via Anomaly; the short film The Driver (Michael Pitt’s directorial debut); and “ThankList,” a series of short films created for American Greetings via Mullen and directed by two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Barbara Kopple of Nonfiction Unlimited (co-edited with fellow Union partner Sloane Klevin).

On the long-form front, Perez cut the documentary feature Uncertain which just screened at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Co-directed by Anna Sandilands and Ewan McNicol, the film explores the once outlaw town of Uncertain, Texas, whose inhabitants are haunted by their pasts and constantly battling their demons. (As a directorial duo, Sandilands and McNicol recently joined RSA for commercials and branded content.)

A “director’s editor,” Perez began his career in his native Rome and has since cut all over the world, building a fan base of filmmakers in the US, London and across Europe with whom he enjoys numerous collaborations. Perez studied film at Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (the National School of Cinema) in 1996, then moved to Milan and began work as a commercial editor for directors Wim Wenders, Spike Lee, Joel Schumacher, Michael Haussman, Mathias Zentner, Laurence Dunmore, Federico Brugia and Luca Maroni, among many others. Perez traveled to Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Auckland, Cape Town, and more to ply his craft, relocating to New York in 2006. Perez has complemented his spot work by editing documentaries, movies for television, and independent short films. Perez’s work has appeared in various international film festivals, featuring notable actors such as George Clooney, Adrien Brody, Penelope Cruz and the aforementioned Pitt. Balancing editing with writing, Perez co-wrote the screenplay Ferdinandea with Luca Maroni and Suzanne Reyenke, winning the National Prize for Best Screenplay from the Italian Ministry of Culture in 2006. Perez made his directorial debut in 2007 with Cose che facciamo per amore (Things We Do for Love), which earned a commendation from the Jury at the 51st London Film Festival. It has since been featured on TMC Classic Shorts.

“I like balancing commercial work and long form edits (both narrative and documentary),” observed Perez. “I think they all bring a lot to my work as an editor. Sometimes, I use something I’ve learned in solving a scene in a narrative feature during the edit of a commercial and vice versa. Doing so keeps my attitude towards the footage crisp.”

SHOOT: Is Uncertain your first collaboration with Anna Sandilands and Ewan McNicol? If not, tell us of your collaborative history together. How did you connect with the directorial duo?

Perez: I first met Ewan McNicol and Anna Sandilands in Seattle in 2011 editing a few commercials they shot for BlackBerry. I liked their style a lot and we all felt an immediate connection.

In the summer of 2012, I was back in Seattle editing a narrative feature film (You Can’t Win, directed by Rob Devor, starring Michael Pitt) and we reconnected. Anna and Ewan showed me the initial footage they shot in the town of Uncertain and I thought it was riveting; it felt mythical.

At the time, Anna and Ewan were also working on a documentary short, The Roper, and they asked me to edit it. Working on that project, we quickly realized that we shared similar sensibilities for storytelling, pacing, structure–and also that we complemented each other quite well. The Roper was a success for us. It was invited to Sundance, SXSW and True/False. It won Best Documentary Short at the One Club and the Webby Award for Best Internet Documentary.

Anna and Ewan are amazing directors and any opportunity work with directors as talented as they are is a gift. On Uncertain, I immediately felt that the characters, the town itself and its lake were extremely powerful. It was clear to me that I would be working with filmmakers who had the talent and the footage to edit a remarkable movie.

SHOOT: You and director/cinematographer McNicol are credited as editors on Uncertain. How did the two of you work together? What was the division of labor between you?

Perez: Anna and Ewan shot in Uncertain over 18 months. During this time, we discussed the themes and characters extensively. Ewan started pulling selects and after they wrapped the shoot, since I was unavailable, Ewan started an assembly. As soon as I freed up, I started working with them and took the helm of the edit. From Ewan’s first assembly, the edit has changed considerably, but the work done by Ewan was key to finding the core theme of Uncertain–redemption–and the shape of many sequences has a lot to do with that early assemble. Ewan was extremely gracious in listing me first in the editing credits and I’m proud to share this credit with him.

We worked for a little more than a year on the edit of Uncertain–off and on. Since Anna and Ewan are based in Seattle and I’m based in New York, a lot of the editing was done remotely. We have been together for the most important moments. The restructuring of the first assemble, locking the picture, and so on.

SHOOT: What was the nature of your working relationship and creative process with directors Sandilands and McNicol on Uncertain? Were you involved early on in the process? Were you present at any of the shooting, etc.?

Perez: I wasn’t present for any of the shooting and, in fact, I now can’t wait to visit Uncertain.

I was, however, already involved in the process during the shoot. I didn’t begin the actual editing until the shoot was wrapped and Ewan had done a first assembly, including his invaluable strings of selects.

As I described earlier, I did a lot of the edit remotely. This wasn’t difficult for us since we have a lot of trust in each other’s sensibilities and instincts. I had a complete set of media in NY and they had the same in Seattle. So sharing edits and trying tweaks was quick and easy.

We like talking among us and discussing and dissecting our work, so our Skype and FaceTime calls were (and are) usually endless.

I think we complement each other extremely well. In our creative process, there is nothing that is off the table; everything is up for discussion. Because of the trust we have in each other, we’re not afraid to disagree. So often, out of a disagreement came a third, and better, solution for the movie.

SHOOT: What was (were) the biggest creative challenge(s) that Uncertain posed to you as an editor?

Perez: Finding the storyline is always the biggest challenge in a documentary. Uncertain was no exception.

Here, I was also facing the challenge of having three main characters with their individual stories and the story of the dying lake surrounding Uncertain. Therefore, it was extremely important for me to strike the right balance between the stories and at the same time keep the documentary flowing. Finding the right moment to cut from one character to the next and letting emotions grow and blend was a long, attentive process. It was key to reveal things very slowly and since all the characters have extremely dark things in their past, I wanted the audience’s heart to skip a beat when those thing were revealed and still maintain a compassionate feeling towards them.

Uncertain also has a very special pace in revealing the characters and unfolding its story. The documentary starts in silence. For the first seven minutes, not a word is spoken. We just observe and hear the nature and the humans living in it. I worked hard to keep every beat essential and the pace pure.

In achieving all this, Anna and Ewan’s support was essential. They have let me explore and fail; together, we’ve been able to find an alchemy in the edit that is really unique.

I have to add that Uncertain was invited to the Sundance Story and Edit Lab: it is a blessing for filmmakers that Sundance Labs exist. The advisors and documentary team’s insight had a key part in the final structure of Uncertain.

SHOOT: What does the inclusion of Uncertain at Tribeca mean to you personally and professionally?

Perez: Last year, I had a narrative feature film in the international competition at Tribeca, and Uncertain screening at Tribeca 2015 marks my debut as a feature documentary editor. I’m really fond of Uncertain. It is a documentary planned for the big screen, so it was an incredible feeling sitting with an audience and hearing them laugh and hold their breath at the premiere. I am also incredibly proud of Anna and Ewan. Tribeca awarded them with the Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award. I think this is incredibly well-deserved. Talent like theirs is rare.

SHOOT: What’s next for you as an editor? What’s on your docket? More features; if so, can you share details. Assume you’re continuing to cut commercials, etc.

Perez: On the long form side, I’m actually editing Liv, a narrative feature film written and directed by Catherine Eaton (starring Teddy Sears and Catherine Eaton). Good Guys, written by director Michael Haussman is in early pre-production and I’m also co-writing with Michael Pitt the script for a feature film (I can’t share much more about this one).

I love editing commercials and as I said earlier, mixing long form and commercials brings new energy to my edits. I don’t see why I would ever set limits on such a great source of inspiration.

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UNCERTAIN – Film Trailer from Lucid Inc. on Vimeo.

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