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Alex Ivany is an editor who uses the medium of film to find personal healing and growth. He has worked in both documentary and narrative, and has a penchant for projects that explore racial and social justice issues. His credits include several projects spearheaded by Ava DuVernay including Queen Sugar, the anthology series Cherish the Day, and assistant editor on DuVernay’s 13th for Netflix. Other credits include Beyoncé’s music video for “Family Feud,’ and a short film for the Smithsonian Museum titled August 28th: A Day in the Life of a People. Recently, Alex served as an editor and producer on the film ifine (beauty), and edited the documentary Understanding Autism.
We spoke with Alex about his recent editing projects, his approach to editing narrative and documentary films, his collaborative moments with Ava DuVernay, and learned more about the projects that currently have his heart.
You have served as both an editor and producer on the film ifine (beauty), and were also the editor of the documentary Understanding Autism and the short Black Belts. How has your multidisciplinary skill set informed your work in these different arenas?
I think it comes down to just being enthusiastic about different forms of art and storytelling. With art, I’m interested in many different types of visual and audible art forms, so it naturally lends itself to working on narrative, documentaries, and many different types of filmmaking. With storytelling, I’ve always had an interest in journalism, history, and biographies. As an editor on any multidisciplinary format, combining the art and the story is our main objective.
You honed your editing skills on Ava Duvernay’s Netflix documentary 13th, and have collaborated with the filmmaker on the series Queen Sugar as well. What was that collaborative process like?
I was an assistant editor on 13th, and had the opportunity to learn from a talented and experienced editor (Spencer Averick) who gave me a foundation for cutting a feature documentary. I was able to watch Ava DuVernay (director) and Spencer (editor) collaborate in the editing room. When the opportunity arose for me to jump into the edit chair on Queen Sugar, I already had a pretty good idea of how Ava liked to work, and was able to have some really amazing edit sessions with her. I love how much emphasis she puts on the editorial process. She has always pushed me to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions and editorial “hacks.” I’ve learned that Ava is not just a director/creator who is great with development and production, she also has a real eye and ear when it comes to post-production (both picture and sound). She has a great musical ear, and is always pushing to find up-and-coming musical artists to feature in her projects.
How does an editor inform a script they are working on?
When we think of a film or TV editor, it’s a lot like a writing editor. We’re given a script, some footage, and have to rearrange things not only to make sense, but also to be climatically exciting, or at least give the viewer some emotional connection or reason to watch. This can be enhanced with many techniques: changes in pacing, cut points, music and sound are also big elements. But aside from the obvious enhancements we make as editors, there are also a lot of mistakes that we are tasked with working around. There is a reason for the saying “fix it in post.” Productions are massive endeavors and mistakes are bound to happen. Many of these mistakes can be fixed in the edit room. So I would say rather than informing the script, an editor is enhancing and “smoothing” a script.
How does the editing process differ from narrative to documentary films?
Editing a documentary and editing a narrative are vastly different workflows, but ultimately, they have the same goals. With a narrative, we are given a script alongside footage and our goal is to look at the intention of both, and discern the best representation of that material. With a documentary, the footage is our script. Sometimes on a doc we are given an outline or interview transcripts, but the editor is really the writer of a documentary. If I’m working on a documentary with a lot of footage and interviews, it often feels like there are limitless possibilities for how to cut together the film. With narrative, there is often a structure already in place that an editor will have to abide by. I’m not saying that one is more creative than the other, but there is definitely a different amount of editorial control.
You have a roster of projects that highlight racial justice and social issues. What cause has your heart, and what story would you like to help tell next?
As a biracial person in a very tumultuous country, I find the most healing work to be the projects that show underrepresented communities. It’s unbelievable to see how these projects affect people, and how educational they can be. I felt that 13th was more than just a documentary, it was a piece of history that was left out of so many history books. I felt that Queen Sugar was such a monumental change in how a black family in rural America could be looked at in the media. I felt that Cherish the Day was such an important portrayal of romance and black love.
Do you have any advice for editors looking to diversify their slate of projects?
Create your own story! This industry is built to where you can very easily be pigeonholed into one medium. If you edit television, it’s easy to become a lifelong television editor. Continue to push yourself and don’t be afraid to take a lower rate for a project that you think will elevate your career. Remember that you are a storyteller and an artist, and if you’re told that you lack experience in a certain field, put in the hours to gain experience in that field so that you are never told that again!
What’s next for you?
I am currently editing a follow-up documentary to Understanding Autism which is called ADHD: Wired Differently. I am also developing a short documentary of my own. My plan is to continue to work on both narrative and documentary, while remaining focused on socially meaningful and topical themes.
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Thank you so much for reading! You can learn more about Alex Ivany and his work here.
