Editing the Sundance Coming-of-Age Film 'Chasing Summer'

Drawing from her personal experience, Iliza plays Jamie, who returns to her hometown after losing her job and boyfriend, for a reflection on a summer’s past. Shlesinger is joined by Lola Tung, Tom Welling, and Garrett Wareing in this coming-of-age story that explores the power of second chances.

We spoke with Barker and his editorial collaborators, Julie Cohen, ACE, and Adam Buchsbaum, for an inside look at bringing the story to life in Premiere. With the team working from all different parts of the world and with production wrapping just six weeks before the Sundance deadline, Premiere Productions helped the team communicate quickly, collaborate efficiently, and edit simultaneously across various time zones. Media Intelligence and Speech to Text were also essential to workshopping takes and experimenting with footage on such a tight timeline.

Check out our full conversation with the editors below.

What does it mean to you to show a film at Sundance?

David Barker: Sundance showed the very first film I ever made, which I wrote, directed, and co-edited. That vote of confidence from the organization was crucial for me to continue filmmaking. It’s almost always the best place to premiere a film from the U.S. in terms of enthusiastic audience reactions, and of course, sales opportunities.

Julie Cohen: It doesn't get much better than Sundance, does it? I've been to Sundance a couple of times before—once for the premiere of a TV show I helped edit in 2017, and the following year for a short—but going with a feature film has always been a dream, and I can't believe it's happening! It's been an honor working on this film with Sundance alums Josephine Decker and David Barker, and I'm beyond excited to see our premiere at Eccles with a sold-out audience!

Adam Buchsbaum: This will be my first time attending Sundance, and for a film that I worked on, to boot! It’s no secret that the film industry’s current climate has challenged many of us. I feel very blessed and privileged to present at an institution so integral to independent film culture. I am so excited to celebrate both “Chasing Summer” and the countless other movies that will play at Sundance. Rest in peace, Robert Redford.

How do you begin a project/set up your workspace?

DB: I always work with an AE, and like to have scenes set up in sequences and to have the takes handy, as well as the director often thinks in terms of their memory of the takes.

AB: Being in the assistant editor chair, it’s my job to both organize the film on an elemental level — synchronize dailies, organize everything by scene, string out the takes — and also be in an ongoing conversation with the editors on what they need. The process definitely evolved a lot over the course of post-production.

Clear organization is also very philosophical for me. If a freak EMP blast wiped our collective memory of the project tomorrow, can I jump back in still without missing a beat? That’s my test.

Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project and why it stands out to you.

DB: The film was shot on an incredibly tight schedule, so we had to get creative with adding in emotional storytelling beats that we didn’t necessarily have time to capture during production. We ended up using archival images to create those elements in an abstract way that brings a lot to the film.

And I love the ending, which came out of the editing process. As we edited, the deeper meaning of the film became clear to us. More than any particular scene, what I love about the film is the merging of two very different sensibilities—Josephine and Iliza’s—which result in a unique film that satisfies many genre conventions about the romantic comedy.

JC: Without spoiling anything, I’m completely obsessed with everything that happens during the Summer Skate event. Josephine and the production designer created such a vibrant, glowing world with the colors, props, and dancing skaters, and when it all inevitably comes crashing down, it’s hilariously chaotic.

AB: I enjoyed witnessing each new version of the scenes. For example, we auditioned some very radical approaches to the ending before finding it. It’s very satisfying to witness. The ending might be my winner purely for its evolution.

What Adobe tools did you use on this project, and why did you originally choose them?

JC: Premiere Productions was set up really well for all of us to be able to work on it at the same time, and we were able to easily go back and forth between working in the office and at home. And within the project, Adam did stringouts that made it easy to use Premiere’s text transcription tool to do keyword searches through takes.

AB: Productions made multi-editor workflows fairly painless. Speech to Text was great for auditioning takes within a stringout, and Media Intelligence bailed us out of two days of scrubbing B-roll from an old hard drive for a small experiment that we embarked on. Finally, Frame.io helped with managing not only link reviews, but also shuttling media back and forth with our all-star team of outside vendors.

What were some specific post-production challenges you faced that were unique to your project?

DB: The film was written quickly and shot immediately afterwards, so many of the story elements that are typically worked on over the course of a development process didn’t get that time. This meant the editing was more like an indie film, and involved a lot of working out story issues.

Since Josephine and I have a long history together on our five past features, we were able to work rapidly. The timeline was short—the film was shot in August, and we needed to submit to Sundance after six weeks, even before the director’s cut was done. Normally, I would say that is impossible, but because of our track record working together, we took it on as a challenge and somehow succeeded.

AB: The challenge for me began before the cameras even rolled. Our team needed to be able to work across the world at essentially the same time. David lives in Chile, Josephine and Julie live in Los Angeles, and the shooting was completed in St. Louis. And we wanted to cut dailies as they came in. A combination of LucidLink, Premiere Productions, Jump Desktop, and a lot of note-taking helped me craft a smooth system for the team. It wasn’t uncommon for the film to be open on David’s laptop, my laptop, Julie’s laptop, Josephine’s laptop, my desktop, and our edit suite computer all at once!

Once we got into the edit proper and found our workflow, the edit infrastructure could take a backseat to narrative concerns — and that’s the fun part.

What’s your favorite Premiere shortcut, and why?

DB: I am very rudimentary in my software use - don’t even use many shortcuts! So anytime I learn and remember one, it is my favorite until I forget it.

JC: I really love pancake editing! Adam introduced me to it on this film, and it’s been incredibly helpful, especially when working with stringouts and multiple versions of the movie. It makes it easy to work on several timelines at once and compare them side by side.

AB: It’s the tilde key. I love making things full-screen. But I’ll also shout out my custom shortcut for Add Edit, and the classic JKL.

Who is your creative inspiration?

DB: I can say I'm always inspired when I work with Josephine Decker. When I first worked with her on her debut films, Butter on the Latch and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely, Josephine would say I taught her to make films. In reality, I was at a dead end creatively when it came to my own filmmaking. Watching her bring her beautiful and poetic vision to films has inspired me. If it weren't for working with Josephine over the past 15 years, I don't know if I would still be working in film.

JC: My mom is an art dealer, so I grew up believing that making art was not only allowed, but a real job. Andy Warhol is a lifelong hero of mine. His idea that “art is what you can get away with” feels especially true in editing. I’m also constantly inspired by indie filmmakers like Andrea Arnold, Mike White, and Josephine Decker, who make work that feels fearless, messy, and very alive.

AB: I’m from Los Angeles, so I do believe that a good al pastor taco is a fair answer. I also highly admire the film programming at institutions like The Academy Museum, Vidiots, and The American Cinematheque – they introduce me to so many excellent films, new and old alike, that nourish me and the entire community of this city.

My dad also took me regularly to the Laemmle theaters. I loved watching international films that were above my intellectual paygrade as a kid. I could travel the world from a theater in the Valley.

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers or content creators?

DB: Since the time of Ancient Athens, drama has been a way for societies and people to see themselves, and they can only do that when you are authentic and allow people to see parts of you that they hide in themselves…so I find the willingness to be authentic is a huge factor in whether first films find legs to stand on.

I also love what Philippe Grandrieux tells his students at Harvard: make whatever you want, as long as it is radical. I find many young filmmakers I consult with are very cautious and end up creating something that I feel I have seen before, rather than something that strikes me as new. Josephine’s career is an example of making things no one would see as calling cards, but announces the arrival of a filmmaker to watch.

JC: If you are lucky enough to get paid to be a creative person, don’t take it for granted! Few people in the history of the world have had such a privilege. And be fearless and free in your creative choices. Josephine is a great example of that! She’s incredibly open to experimentation and encourages trying things simply to see what they reveal.

AB: Be kind. Stay curious. Make your deadlines. Master cooking at least one good dish for a dinner party. Get a good night’s sleep. Disregard aphorisms.