Editing with Mike Tenenberg

Mike Tenenberg and I have very different creative processes which has made working together on Neshima incredibly educational.

If he was not so damn fun, that would be only my diplomatic response.

After I spent four weeks working on the first assembly of the film with little to no interruption (averaging 10 hours a day I’d say), I showed it to Mike. Along the way he planted seeds to help me look at the film more objectively.

For a director I’m guessing that’s one of the hardest parts of making a movie. Look at most studio films and you’ll see a longer director’s cut in the DVD Extras section. For myself I believe the director’s cut of Neshima would be longer because I love almost every minute of film we shot and wanted most of it in the movie!

Mike Tenenberg has acted as that producer who helps trim down the movie, but thankfully he’s not looking out for the studio’s financial interests, he’s looking out for our movie’s best interests in serving its future audiences.

I usually like to work by getting my hands into everything and trying it out. Mike likes to strategize before touching anything. I prefer working with warm bodies somewhere in the house. He likes to work completely alone.

Mike is great at guiding my raw creativity. He’s had a lot more education and experience in story telling. I believe a major reason we work well together is because we do our best to respect each other’s contributions. We’re not afraid to say when we don’t like something but we always provide reasons and alternatives. When something sensitive is put on trial (like a scene or cut someone is in love with but it may have to be removed), we make sure to actively acknowledge all the things that make it special and important as we scrutinize it.

Trust me there have been tears and laughs, and we do it to honor the story. We both agree that as long as we’re honoring the story we will make this movie great, and that’s because we believe the core story of Neshima is worth it.

If you want to see the Neshima trailers, go here.