In the PBS docu-series The Class, seniors at Deer Valley High School in the East Bay community of Antioch, CA, work towards their futures in higher education amid the turmoil of the pandemic. The school's new college advisor Mr. Cam is looking to change the reality of an overwhelming student-to-counselor ratio, where talented students in low-income communities are often left behind. The six-part series was executive producer by Daveed Diggs (
Blindspotting,
Snowpiercer,
Hamilton) and created by filmmakers Jaye and Adam Fenderson, who filmed the program over the course of the 2020-2021 school year. Wax Taber edited four of the six episodes and also handled finishing. Here, she shared insight into how it came together.
Hi Wax! How did you keep a cohesive feel across all the episodes, given the different tones and subject matter?
"Well first of all, it was not just me. It was a team of amazing editors who poured their hearts into this. Thus, it is an inner struggle for me every time I am given the task of finishing editor. Each editor has their own voice, approach and intention. I want to honor that, because who wants to dilute another artist's style? However, in making a series cohesive, there has to be a certain overarching flavor and pacing to give the project a unified identity. It should have its own personality, just like a character. But, in following these guidelines, therein lies the inner conflict with every tweak I make! Edits need to be altered and hopefully feelings won't be hurt. As co-editor on all but one of the episodes, it creates an interesting dynamic. It takes a hive of talent to recognize and execute a story like this. I always advise my mentees on the traits of an exceptional editor: check your ego at the door. Allow the director’s creative vision to be executed. It’s not about you. It should always be about the elevation of the art. When I switch chairs from editor to finishing editor or lead editor, I usually ask the director which episode they would like me to use to set the series style by. I then try to reflect those traits in the finishing pass. Sometimes, the project tells you what it wants to be. You just have to be able to read it, and abide. On The Class, the wonderful directors Jaye and Adam Fenderson had a brilliantly-clear point of view. Once I climbed into their heads, I knew what to do."
Editing documentary footage often means working with raw, sometimes unpredictable content. How do you balance telling a compelling narrative while staying true to the reality of the footage you’re given?
"In documentaries, every edit is a challenge. If it isn’t, it is not a true documentary. It should be solely documenting the story, with no interference. But because of this, you will never have exactly what you think you need, there will always be technical issues, and the story structure will undoubtedly change multiple times during the discovery process. We are gluttons for punishment. Creativity, a mastery of story structure and a love of problem solving are the key. But on more challenging projects, the additional keys are flexibility and perceptiveness! Being open minded to what the footage provides in content and storytelling style, as well as allowing the material to tell you what the project needs to be, keeps it authentic. You have to understand what it is you have to work with, then come up with a creative way to let the story come through without manufacturing. Having the brilliant supervising story producer Heidi Burkey and story producer Ta’Nai Drayton, were invaluable on a series as challenging as this one!"
The Class includes a mix of personal student stories and broader educational issues. How did you decide where to focus your editing efforts to make sure both aspects were compelling and connected?
"In relation to your previous question, on The Class, the stories were clear and organically interconnected, which isn't always the case. It was super refreshing. The subjects were endearing and passionate, and the directors and the DP John Gardiner were super talented. This series should have required very little work in post to keep the narrative compelling. Should have. However, this series was filmed during the start of the pandemic. The directors and DP had to overcome the challenges of working with a very small crew, using limited lighting, keeping their distance between the cast and filmmakers. Despite all this, the footage turned out beautiful. Ironically, the challenges we faced on The Class ended up being one of the big reasons this series is one-of-a-kind!
"The pandemic forced our subjects to communicate mostly through computers - Zoom, phones, emails, chat. This allowed us to observe and document some of the most challenging times from a whole new distance, yet in a way, it became much more intimate. In the end, the isolation of the pandemic profoundly affected the way the subjects interacted with our directors and other subjects. It made everyone more open and eager to connect with another human being. This was a gift these subjects gave us, simply by being their authentic selves.
"But there lies another challenge. These were young adults, going through what might possibly be the most stressful, exciting, traumatic and meaningful times of their lives. Even adults with honed emotional intelligence had a hard time expressing what they were going through. So though our story producers were some of the best in the biz, if our subjects don’t say it, we won’t fake it. So, my job as an editor on this series, became not only to seamlessly integrate mixed media - often low quality Zoom recordings, text message chains, emails, Facetime, etc., but with the visual storytelling needs, to look past what they were saying, uncovering their internal dialogues. Presenting their journey in multiple ways, including through their nonverbals. It was a rewarding exercise in storytelling. It ended up making for a rich, intimate, multidimensional series."
Do you ever experiment with unconventional techniques in the editing process?
"A good editor is a mix of visual artist and storyteller, right? Especially in the unscripted space, where you have to work with what you are given. Beyond that, what I think makes my creative style unique is a background in acting, music, dance, comedy, as well as my prior career in radio. All the training I have had on character and scene study, I apply to my edits. I approach every project, every scene and every moment not just looking at the story, but the character arc, motivation and character bias. What is the emotional arc of the scene? What about each of the subjects? What are their motivations? What story are their non-verbal cues telling us?
"I love using my comedy chops whenever I can. On a series like The Class, which could be so heavy at times, the viewer needs some levity, so whenever I could find a moment where I could harvest some humor, I would. For example, the moment where one of our students, Ebei, is trying to navigate the automated phone system for financial aid, and is getting super frustrated, that could have been cut multiple ways, but she had a really special sense of humor. To honor that, showing her frustration in a humorous light not only gave the episode more texture, and the audience a needed laugh, but also offered a deeper insight into another facet of her personality.
"Because of my music background, all my work has a tempo, even without a music bed. There is a storytelling structure to any piece of music, right? Well, I use that same theory when editing. The cuts have a tempo with varying pacing that evoke different emotions, much like a symphony. I also tend to choose my music cues by diving into the history genres, and how that history will add another layer of commentary to the story. The music is a character.
"I just recently discovered how my dance background is being used in my edit style. It's crazy how sometimes you just do things a certain way, without realizing they are due to a past skill you no longer use. Anything with human movement: sports, painting, even writing. I edit it as if they are dance movements. They flow, working with the music cue and the cut to become a multi-element choreography of sorts. I wish I could say I planned all this training to pay off, but yeah - sometimes our journeys only make sense with enough distance."
What advice would you give to someone starting out in their career?
"I was told early on that knowing what buttons to press is just a small part of the job. Learning how to craft a story takes time and a lot of work. Don’t let that huge learning curve deter you. Creating your own style is half the fun of this career."
What’s next for you?
"Hopefully another documentary series or film. Working with established directors, like the team of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Duplass Brothers, Ben Stiller, Quest Love, to be able to collaborate with such brilliant minds, see how they work. That’s my big goal. I equally want to work with more directors with the same small-yet-mighty passion, like the amazing Jaye and Adam Fenderson of The Class, or the late director of Searching For Sugarman, Malik Bendjelloul - directors who have a story they are extremely passionate about. A story so special to them, that creating this project is not a job – it's a mission. Small budget, big hearts type feel."