The Magnificent, Magical, Marvelous Mrs. Maisel by Emma Fraser

Author:Emma Fraser
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams Books
Published: 2024-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Capturing the Catskills: How Editing Brings Life to the Mountains

by Ryan Cahill

The Catskills is a rich visual environment,including Susie (Alex Borstein) walking through a hula hoop class with her trusty plunger, which she has named Pamela.

The Maisel-Weissmans’ foray to the Catskills in Season 2 was an opportunity to see our unique cast of characters outside their natural urban surroundings of New York City. The shift in location offered the opportunity for bigger dance numbers, more ambitious stand-up sequences, and costumes befitting a summer in the country. While it is a joy to watch on-screen, the off-screen logistics—and particularly the complex editing required to showcase this new landscape—was a huge feat for the Maisel crew.

“The Catskills is a perfect example of ‘I never went up there!’, and so to me, it felt glorious and big and sprawling,” says Editor Tim Streeto, ACE, who worked on all five seasons of the show. “It was an unused resort that was really worn out, and they did a lot of work.” The production design team’s efforts more than paid off, as there was an array of picturesque spots to add texture and even comedy to the different amenities of this resort. “They shot a lot of extra stuff, like people rowing on the lake and just milling around by the docks. So that gave me some transitional stuff and different elements,” says Streeto. “It was a great location because they found all these different places to have scenes. They got Midge and Rose riding bikes, and they had Susie walking through people doing hula hoop lessons. It was such a rich environment.”

This marks the Weissman family’s 27th year in a row vacationing at the Steiner Mountain Resort. Truly, their “home away from home.”

The grand arrival in the Catskills includes an elaborate unpacking scene at the Weissmann holiday home, where a static camera was used to capture the chaos. “It was a lot of audio. We added a lot of sounds and new lines and stuff to fill in all the gaps to make it seem more chaotic and more frenetic.” Streeto says of that particular scene: “It was really fun to get it because they staged it in such a great way; they have the staff guys running in and out, and Midge is talking to them, and then Abe comes upstairs. Abe is hilarious in his arrival in the Catskills; it’s just his happy place.” After all, this is their 27th consecutive year visiting this resort.

Logistical challenges included the telephone calls in the fifth episode, where we see Midge engage in conversations with Susie and her B. Altman boss that connect the Catskills back to New York. A standout scene from the episode (and season) comes when Susie sets up a last-minute gig for Midge at The Concord, a hotel near the Steiner Resort, where the timeline switches between Midge and her father, Abe, who is unintentionally seeing her routine for the first time. This particular episode is a favorite of Editor Kate Sanford, ACE, who offered up her editing prowess on more than 15 Maisel episodes.

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