Director Kim A. Snyder's new documentary The Librarians looks at today's America and the political polarization that finds librarians under siege during a wave of book banning. With limitations already set in Texas and Florida, these unlikely defenders join force to resist censorship efforts.
Editor Austin Reedy (pictured) had a few conversations with Snyder and producer Janique L. Robillard about visual ideas, and ultimately came onboard, joining editors Gaby Torres and Leah Boatright.
"I was able to fit pretty seamlessly in at that point," he recalls. "A lot of that early work was on some of the visual ideas Kim wanted to try, so I did some experiments largely using After Effects to try and work some visual ideas into the edit. I started using After Effects a few years ago to mock-up temporary GFX. I’ve done a lot of films as a VFX editor as well, and I found that learning some basics in After Effects really helped me communicate ideas for directors more quickly than staying inside the NLE. I’m not a master by any stretch, but it helps pull visual ideas into a more actualized place much more quickly."
In addition to the visual style, the team also worked a lot on the documentary's structure. The film follows several librarians connected primarily through their shared experiences.
"The challenge with these ensemble stories is how to balance them to make sure the narrative continues forward while making sure we don’t lose track of the characters," he explains. "We were lucky to have three editors onboard at this time. Kim really values that collaboration, so we were able to move quickly as a team more than we would have been able to accomplish as a solo edit."
Reedy points to the stories of the librarians in modern times, and how they blend seamlessly with archival footage and cinematic references as a highlight.
"That was one of the early ideas Kim wanted to figure out and it came together over time with several people all tweaking those pieces," he explains. "I think that flow through time and style works really well, and wouldn’t have been possible without all the folks contributing to them. I ended up having to move to a new project right before the film finished for Sundance, and so Mark Becker came to work on it, and he did a great job with the other editors to really make that stuff shine. Overall, I’m really proud of the film and am looking forward to more people getting a chance to see it. I feel the story is really important to share, and expect the film to bring a lot of attention to this story and the brave librarians at the heart of it."