Writer and Story Editor
As a writer, I can provide a pitch, treatment, narration and more. I bring a journalist’s rigour and an author’s love of language to every collaboration. As a story editor, I’ll watch raw footage, build a structure, select archives, integrate GFX and guide the edit. Every creative project demands a unique formula, but I employ both writing and story editing skills no matter the assignment.
Skill Set
Mining: Starting with tens of hours of footage, I evaluate the most compelling turns and coherent throughlines. I have an obsessive eye and ear for detail that also picks up the hidden gems – asides, expressions and candid moments – that bring depth and magic to the screen.
Rhythm and Flow: Clear and concise storytelling shouldn’t be pedantic or overstated. I axe repetition, create unexpected turns, and find moments of reflection to ensure a dynamic ride.
Wordplay: Good narration guides the viewer to bring a complicated story into sharper focus and underline nuance. I believe the best narration is succinct and sparing. When a piece is narrated by an interviewee, I sharpen their voice and intention, organizing their words for a natural feel and sincere representation.
Orchestration: In senior story-editor roles I have worked with writers and story editors to oversee and shape narrative, often taking the reins at rough cut stage. In the hairy weeks of delivery deadlines, I have overseen multiple editors, all working together to get the job done.
Collaboration: I enjoy people, and I prioritize the relationships that form in the process of hard work and problem solving, whether in a dark edit suite or via zoom and text.
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Top writing: Even the most accomplished documentary filmmakers may need a fresh set of eyes and a helping hand. I have collaborated with many to streamline pitch documents, flesh out treatments, and polish narration along their path to festivals and broadcast.
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Edit suite 101: I leave real editing to real editors, but I can find my way around a project in Avid or Premiere to string together a rough assembly.
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Side hustles: In addition to my work in documentary tv and film, I have published essays in the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star, and directed and produced a piece for CBC radio’s Outfront. I edited the novel Claremont and write prose and develop fiction series in my spare time.​
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Tastes and influences: I love a doc that can get to a truth without necessarily stating it; that pushes the genre in new directions; pulls me into a story I didn’t know I wanted to hear; envelops me in a world I can’t otherwise access.
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The following is an incomplete list of feature docs and TV series that have marked and inspired me:
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High School (Frederick Wiseman), Salesman (The Maysles Brothers), The War Room (D.A. Pennebaker), I am not your Negro (Raoul Peck), The Square (Jehane Noujaim), Always for Pleasure (Les Blank), Wisecracks (Gail Singer), Hoop Dreams (Steve James), American Movie (Chris Smith), Nobody’s Business (Alan Berliner), Hell House (George Ratliff), Cinemania (Anjela Christlieb / Stephen Kijak), Finding Vivian Meier (John Maloof / Charlie Siskel), O.J.: Made in America (Ezra Edelman), Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley), Actress (Robert Greene), Watch the Sound with Mark Ronson (Morgan Neville), Hale County: This Morning, This Evening (RaMell Ross), American Murder: The Family Next Door (Jenny Popplewell), Hip Hop Evolution ( Darby Wheeler and others) Losers (Mickey Duzyj), Malice in the Palace (Floyd Russ) and the spectacularly soothing Great Canadian Baking Show.