Stefanie (00:00)
for Sweethearts, like the second season, I found the normal people original soundtrack really, really helpful. And it was so beautiful too. I used that music as temp all of season two.

Madelyn Cunningham (00:10)
so America's Sweethearts, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders was edited to the normal people soundtrack. This is incredible. I'm like a normal, I'm like a normal people freak. Like, so this is happy news to me.

Stefanie (00:16)
That's the stuff I touch for sure, yeah.

god.

Madelyn (00:30)
Hello, welcome to the Unscripted Files. My name is Madelyn Cunningham. I am a development producer in the unscripted industry, bringing you candid conversations with the minds behind your favorite form of entertainment. Today's the first for the series. I have an editor on who has edited some of your favorite shows specifically on Netflix, Cheer, Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, America's Sweethearts. she sits down with me to talk about her process.

how she got into the industry, what her work ethic is, and ultimately how, mean, Cheer was really, redefining in terms of what a fresh take it was on reality. It was really a big reset for the industry and continues to be a reference for content made today.

My goal of this show has always been to spotlight the creatives that shape the content that we love that never get the credit they deserve. And editors are a huge part of that equation. So really excited for you guys to listen. Here is my chat with Stephanie Maraduena.

Madelyn Cunningham (01:34)
Stephanie welcome to The Unscripted Files. How you doing?

Stefanie (01:37)
I am doing good. I just wrapped a project on Tuesday, so I am excited right now to just have some time off and traveling next week and doing some errands at home. I'm like in a super high place right now.

Madelyn Cunningham (01:52)
very good. I'm

glad that we got to connect during this like little bit of downtime when you've just wrapped. How do you celebrate finishing and delivering a project?

Stefanie (02:01)
So I've started doing this thing recently where I'll take a photo with my timeline and my two screens and just on my last day I'll take a photo and usually my husband will take the photo and technically we like to go to dinner and have a drink but because I'm gonna be

going abroad next week. I'm just gonna postpone. I'm seeing my best friend this weekend too. So I'm just like, we're gonna do a lot of celebrating this weekend and next week. So I didn't do it this time around, but yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (02:35)
I love

that. I love the picture with the timeline. That's so real. I hope like, like a, like a carpal tunnel massage, right? Like, I feel like you need like a full like shoulders, hands, like I know you're in that edit bay just working. And I was just saying how excited I am to have you on. You're the first editor that I've gotten to chat with in the unscripted industry. And I know how critical you are to shaping tone, to shaping story. And I'm so excited to dive in it with you because

Stefanie (02:44)
Yes.

That's so exciting.

Madelyn Cunningham (03:02)
You're responsible for some of our favorite shows. Cheer, Last Chance to You Basketball, America's Sweethearts, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, The Circus, the greatest political show on earth. Just really, and shows specifically that like kind of changed the game. I remember when Cheer came on, the tone of it was different and fresh, the editing style.

Stefanie (03:06)
Thank you.

Madelyn Cunningham (03:24)
And it became a point of reference, you know, I'm in development and it became a point of reference for a lot of people to be like, it's cheer, but for this. And it really did, was kind of a cultural reset in the industry. So talk to me about your journey. Editors typically start off as assistants. Was your path that traditional or was it a bit, was a bit more unconventional?

Stefanie (03:31)
Yes.

Definitely unconventional. I think a good place to start is like, I wasn't even planning to be in the field in the first place. And you hear that a lot actually with a lot of people that I've talked to, there's so many different coworkers that have had or just networking events, people that I'll talk to that will have very similar like experiences where they went to college for something and somehow they just like stumbled upon the film industry. And then that's where they ended up saying.

In my case, I went to school for ecology, so I was always really into science. Yeah. There you go. See, see, you got it. It's like ecology, biology. Like I loved science. It's funny because like at the end of college, like my senior year, I think it was like the end of my junior and like start of my senior year, I took physics because I had been delaying it for the longest. I was like, I feel like I'm going to hate it. So I'm just going to wait to do it till the end. And I ended up loving it.

Madelyn Cunningham (04:15)
fellow science girly biology. Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (04:38)
So it's so funny because sometimes I'm like, shit, should I like, I would have loved to do something like that instead. But I think like one thing is that I always felt like I was a storyteller. So since I was really young, when I was a child, I used to make up stories to like my friends. I would have like scary story time with my friends and literally just make up anything on the spot. And then I would have like little plays that I would have for my grandfather.

And even with my sister at night, we would always just like tell each other stories and make things up. So it always felt like part of me to be a storyteller. So when I graduated from school and I was kind of trying to figure out like, where do I want to specialize in ecology? Like I knew that I would have to like continue further education. And while I figure, but I wasn't really quite ready to commit because I, my interest was so broad within that field. So.

In the meantime, my sister, who's also an editor, she was working on the show the first 48 and I ended up, she was like, listen, I can try to see if I can get you an interview to start as like a transcriber on the show. And so, so at least you'll have like, you know, a job in the meantime while you figure things out. And so I ended up going on the job and I got the job and I was a transcriber and.

Madelyn Cunningham (05:43)
Okay.

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (06:03)
I kind of like started learning a little bit more about, you know, the process of filmmaking through being a transcriber and like seeing everything that was going on around me. But then literally like I still thought I was gonna pursue ecology. I ended up quitting my job because I had like a month long vacation with family. And so I like, I told them like, listen, I'm going on vacation, quit my job, was ready to go on this like, you know, look at jobs.

additional things that I could consider outside of New York City for ecology. And then I ended up, when I came back from my trip, one of my producers, her name was Bianca, she was like, listen, I can give you back your job if you so wanted. yeah. So she ended up, and I kind of took that as a sign, like.

Maybe, you know, I still don't have it figured out what I'm gonna do in ecology. Like I was trying to be like impulsive and just like see where would be land. But I kind of took it as something like, listen, like she really likes me and maybe I am supposed to be here. Like, and I did feel like I was starting to connect more with like the documentary world. ⁓ So once I saved, I started to like start to watch more documentaries and even just like.

Madelyn Cunningham (07:09)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (07:17)
start to think about stories differently. Like whenever I watch something, Like think about like, how are they doing things? And through that process, I eventually just ended up saying in the field. So yeah, they're really very different.

Madelyn Cunningham (07:31)
So it

is, but very typical in this industry because there really is no pipeline. There's no formal training really. It really is all about just getting in there. OK, but you started transcribing. What is your first, how did you, obviously your sister's an editor, so you had a bit of exposure to the career. But when did you first go, I'm going to give this a go. I'm going to try it.

Stefanie (07:40)
Yes.

you

So I watched a TED talk that was talking about shooting a one second video a day. And then at the end of the day, you can put it into like a string, you know, like string it out and you have like your full year. And I started just experimenting with that. Like I literally just started like documenting my own life through like these one second that I would take. I did that for five stopped, think around COVID.

Madelyn Cunningham (08:22)
Mm-hmm. Yeah. They started looking the same. Yeah.

Stefanie (08:23)
or yeah, it was like around the because I was just like getting the pressing, just like turning on like, it's just all the

same. And it's just like, don't know if I wanna like look back at this, you know, in the future. through that process, you know, I even like stringing it out into like the full year, I like went on like iMovie. I didn't know, I had no idea what I was doing.

Madelyn Cunningham (08:32)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (08:43)
Like I put in the, I loaded the files into iMovie and then I was just like, guess I just like drop things in here and like figuring out like, okay, making sure, cause I didn't always just take one second. would take like longer videos sometimes, right? And so I'd be like, I start selecting like, oh, why does like, if it's have like a three minute video of something, I'd be like, oh, let me find like the best chunk here that I like, that I want to highlight for that day. So that also like started like, like I started really like thinking like an editor through that.

Madelyn Cunningham (08:43)
You

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (09:13)
And I didn't really think about it so much in that time. But once I realized like, wait, wait, I'm doing like the same thing as kind of like essentially what theaters around me are doing. was like, okay, this is like something that I, and I really was finding joy in selecting the best shots and, you know, thinking about just like, I mean, this was like a very primitive way of thinking about editing, right? Because it's not just like what you see and what you hear. But that was my first.

Madelyn Cunningham (09:36)
Mm-hmm, sure.

Stefanie (09:40)
what's it called like like my first instinct to editing that I had and so Yeah, just from like putting together these videos. I was like, okay, you know what? I'm gonna Try like start to ask for more challenges at work. I was just forever I think for like a year and a half I definitely could have moved up like sooner had I like really wanted to But at the time I still was so unsure so

Madelyn Cunningham (10:00)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (10:04)
but once I decided then I became an editor assistant and I think the main thing that we were doing was like digit, think at the time it was still digitizing tapes and, thinking interviews and then, and then from there I ended up becoming an assistant editor on that show. So this was all at first 48. And so I became assistant editor. I think once I was an assistant editor, that's when I really got to get even more like of a deep dive as like what an editors.

experiences like. So what was great with that show and I feel like you don't really get that much, at least from my experience as an editor now, I feel like you don't get this to give the assistant editors this kind of experience anymore. Where it was very like, I was the only assistant for only one editor for like my assigned episode. And it was a night position. he would work during the day and then at the end of the day he would leave me.

like a list of tasks, of things to do. And it would be anywhere from like, look for these types of shots, find the music, organize certain things. So I, but, then eventually he started like giving me also just like little things like, do you want to do a pass on the scene? And another thing that I really liked that first for me that I don't know if they still do this, but they also gave all their assistant editors a short form assignment. So.

Madelyn Cunningham (10:59)
Mm.

Hmm.

Stefanie (11:25)
that they would put on the website, I believe. So then I would get my assignment and I would get to edit my little assignment that way. And I think that was like just from the get-go. That's when I was like, okay, now I know for a fact I really want to edit. Like I was having a lot of fun deciding, you know, how to build something. I love building things in general. Like I'm very hands-on since I was little. Like I always like to, for example, for this passalowing, I made a costume at

That was of a cheerleader costume for my dog, like from scratch. So I think it's also just like, you you're doing the same in the edit, right? You're like creating something and that you can then show someone and be like, look what I created,

Madelyn Cunningham (11:55)
I love that.

Mm-hmm.

Yes, a tangible result.

It's so satisfying and so validating.

Stefanie (12:09)
Exactly.

Yeah, once I had enough time at the first 48, honestly, the night shift was insane. I did it, think, for a year. And it really messed up with my life. Yeah, it really does. So I knew that I had to go to a daytime position. So soon after I went to a daytime show, actually Bianca, the same producer that

Madelyn Cunningham (12:18)
Mm.

Mmm, it'll get you. That night shift will get you.

Stefanie (12:33)
had me stay at First 48, then hired me for a daytime position when she left to another company as an assistant editor. And then there I was like always very adamant of like really doing a good job of like my actual assistant editor duties. But also I would always go out of my way to talk to my editors and be like, hey, if there's anything that I could like do, like do a pass on, or if you need help with anything, definitely reach out. I would work extra hours that, cause I knew like if I have to do this.

My main job was being an assistant editor. So I had to make sure that all of that was done. So a lot of the time it meant also then going, you know, working extra hours to do the things that I'm requesting to do for my own personal growth, right? But it's not necessarily like for the, for the role. it was like a hustle and I started to just like look for any way that I could edit anything. I might get my hands on something like find on Facebook groups, like.

people requesting, I need someone to edit the short documentary for me. there was like Adobe had a contest for like a music video edit for like Imagine Dragons song. And they give you like all the raw footage that they actually, I think it was the same raw footage that they had for the actual music video. So that was really fun too, yeah. So.

Madelyn Cunningham (13:32)
Mm.

Oh, cool. Okay. Yeah, so just

like portfolio building, like skill building projects as you work your way up. And then your first official editor credit was on an insane show, The Circus, the greatest political show on earth, which is like a, not real time, but like near real time, you're filming Tuesday to Sunday, and then you're airing on Sunday, the same week.

Stefanie (13:51)
Yes, exactly. Exactly.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (14:13)
Talk to me about that experience specifically getting your first official credit with something that was so high pressure and intense.

Stefanie (14:25)
I started out at Circus as a promotional editor. So once I, when I was an assistant editor and I knew that I wanted to move out to editing, that transition is so difficult to go from assistant editor to editor that it was, I ended up having to, know, leave that assistant editor position that was like so cushy and take a risk. through that risk, I left my permalance job.

for this two week, I think three week gig in Florida where we were editing in person. And one of the editors there, Evan Wise, he was an editor from the circus. So because I worked closely with him, he recommended me for the circus as promotional editor. I started out as that. And so I started kind of like editing a little bit. Like the promo editor, you usually were editing like scenes that they wanted to use for promoting the show, either like if a host was going on like the

Madelyn Cunningham (15:17)
Mm.

Stefanie (15:19)
the Tonight Show or something like that, or on the website or Instagram, So that's kind of how I started, know, shaping, like editing some of like those types of scenes. And then once I became promoted to edit on the actual show, it was just like being thrown into this chaos, right? Like I...

Madelyn Cunningham (15:20)
Okay, sure.

Stefanie (15:40)
At least I was able to ease into it because in the promo editor position was also kind of chaotic. But it was very intense. definitely like, it's funny for my first editor credit, I felt like I was dealing with a lot of like imposter syndrome and like, what am I doing here? I was surrounded by some really magnificent editors and like I knew that they were really good. I could see what they were putting together. And then I'm like, how are they doing this?

Madelyn Cunningham (15:57)
Mm.

Stefanie (16:06)
But because of that, I was able to learn a lot from everybody, seeing what everyone around me was doing. So a lot of times I would do a first pass on a scene and then I would pass it on to someone else and then I would see how the scene would change when it aired. And I would learn just from that. But it's funny too because it was such a quick, high-paced environment. I didn't have any time to dwell in the anxiety of.

Madelyn Cunningham (16:21)
Hmm.

Stefanie (16:34)
you kind of just like put on this hat of like, yeah, there really isn't. I, you know, you kind of just like get going. the way that we approached it was essentially, I think sometimes they started shooting like Sunday, Monday, and then we would start the edit on Tuesdays, right? So they would kind of have an idea of what was happening that week just from, you know.

Madelyn Cunningham (16:34)
Yeah, there's no room for it. Yeah.

Stefanie (17:01)
current events you kind of like know like okay like the UN is meeting next week things like that and they would kind of shape it around that and also just what just happened the week prior like what what parts of Exactly is are we gonna like continue to follow through on and then but Honestly, like random things happened all the time. There was like one episode where I think it was when Trump

Madelyn Cunningham (17:02)
Mm-hmm.

The fallout. Yeah.

Stefanie (17:25)
bomb Syria, was like the mother of all bombs and I if you remember that and it was like on a Friday night and it just totally like shifted like a lot of what we had edited through the week. We edited it Saturday was like picture lock day. you're like, yeah, exactly. But you know, I think that that job was great in like teaching me flexibility and not being married to like, okay, this is how the scene is and this is how it stays. You.

Madelyn Cunningham (17:40)
of

Mm.

Stefanie (17:53)
We originally like built out a scene that like was cohesive with the themes of that week. But as the week developed, either we have to cut a scene because it was no longer relevant or we would have to tweak it and see what other parts of the scene that we didn't use or like when we first did our pass of it, now.

are more relevant and the story based on like how the rest of the week developed. So unfolded. Yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (18:16)
Yeah.

With the example you gave of Trump bombing Syria, in that case, do you guys just make exceptions for that? And you're like, we're going in early, we're going in late, we're pushing picture lock, we've got to obviously talk about this. And you're really scrambling to make it happen.

Stefanie (18:36)
honestly, think like, thankfully a lot of the times, right, when something crazy like that happened, we were also like, you know, current events show. So, and following Trump, a lot of it was already like very random, very sporadic. So just like having, we would have like a moment of like breaking news and like announce what happened. But then, yeah, exactly.

Madelyn Cunningham (18:44)
Mm.

Okay, so.

So you've created sort of a flexible format where for things that did come in real close to picture lock, you could sort of add to that little breaking news segment that were maybe, you know, not a little more, maybe lo-fi or even just not as like polished just because it was, okay, got it.

Stefanie (19:15)
Right, and towards

the end. And then also, honestly, we were all, the hours that we worked on that show were already insane. So in terms of like, you guys need to come in early tomorrow, was like, we were already doing that. was what was required of that show, which I will say that's really important. We were very well compensated for after we built our initial 50 hours, which really helped. Because I don't wanna like,

Madelyn Cunningham (19:43)
Yes.

Stefanie (19:43)
people to think like, this is how you make shows like this. Shows like that work because you're like properly taking care of your crew and your team. So yeah, that was something that like definitely, and like a lot of us were very invested in the subject matter and like, know, following policies. I mean, like back then, especially like everyone was like listening to like the daily from New York times every morning and you know, really following like what's happening with our lives. Cause it was so new to have this kind of like,

Madelyn Cunningham (19:46)
No, you're-

A great point.

Stefanie (20:09)
political landscape that was so much more like explosive and random and chaotic. So yes, and polarizing, exactly. Whereas now I feel like we're so used to it.

Madelyn Cunningham (20:13)
Mm-hmm.

Yes, so polarizing. Yeah, like.

We

are, we've gotten so desensitized, but the fact that you could, it just, I don't know, these things that you report on, these wild things that are being said or done used to be so few and far between. You couldn't build a weekly show on them. And the past few years, you probably couldn't even fit it all in, which is wild. So speaking of fitting it all in, how did you decide what was important to include and not? I mean, obviously there's sort of your bigger moments, but-

Stefanie (20:36)
Yes.

Yes.

Madelyn Cunningham (20:51)
you know, when you are personally sort of with an editorial eye looking at it, how do you decide what to keep and what to put away, especially under such a tight timeline?

Stefanie (20:56)
you

Yeah, with a show like that, something that was really important as well, which is like we had a very strong team. So we have a lot of conversations and meetings with our executive producer, Ted Bourne, for example, who was like overseeing the full episode. And he would check in and like let us know if any developments happened either on the field or when they were editing a different scene and seeing that they were leaning into something else that maybe I wasn't aware of.

Madelyn Cunningham (21:29)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (21:29)
then he

would come in and communicate that with us. And we also, you know, had like a Google chat group that we would all like talk in. so it was all like very, like communication was integral in creating a show like that so that I would always be aware of like, okay, what are the main points that we're following through? So to make a show like that, you need to be very focused.

You can't, it's not so much like other documentaries where you're of exploring where you're going and like see where like things land, right? You kind of already have to have a plan set. And the team that I was working with was really good at having like giving me direction on like what they wanted and how they wanted the scene to unfold. And usually like I would watch, they would give me like some string outs that I could also go off of when I would start editing a scene and

Based on that, I would also then go to the raw and see if there was anything missing from there. Go to the raw and see how can I make this more cohesive. But at the same time, the string outs I'd say would be like a 10 minute string out for something that you would wanna be a two minute scene. So you just have to be decisive and it's just being informed on what is happening.

Madelyn Cunningham (22:25)
Mm.

Stefanie (22:45)
And having these conversations with my producers about what is the story that we're following helped me decide, okay, like we should focus on this aspect of the scene rather than, you know, something else.

Madelyn Cunningham (22:58)
Yeah. Do

you find that because in your day-to-day life as an editor, you're constantly sort of thinking, okay, what is efficient? What is optimal? Do you find that you're impatient when you watch other content sometimes? Like, do you see what I'm saying? Like, where you're like, to the, like sort of, yeah, why was this included? Get to the point. Like, do you feel like the career path is sort of like,

Stefanie (23:08)
⁓

⁓ I just, yeah. Why would he?

Madelyn Cunningham (23:23)
made you lean that way a little bit. Okay.

Stefanie (23:25)
Honestly, a little bit. I

will say I don't watch a lot of documentaries. I'm going to have to, yeah, because it feels too much like work. I start analyzing everything that they're doing and I can't just like sit and like focus, right?

Madelyn Cunningham (23:30)
Mm-hmm. You can't.

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (23:41)
I made an effort, it's better if I go to like the theater to watch a documentary, because then it just really like, it becomes more immersive. I definitely find myself like getting distracted by like decisions that were made. Why are they using this music?

Madelyn Cunningham (23:44)
Sure.

course.

Yeah. You mentioned music

and I'm glad that you did because I do want to talk really quickly before we dive into your work on Netflix about music How does that play into your process? it is so integral to the edit. So talk to me about how you do you get the liberty of suggesting music? Do you not? And it's sort of, you know,

Stefanie (24:07)
Yes, totally.

Madelyn Cunningham (24:17)
given to you and you have to edit to it, talk to me about how that plays into your process.

Stefanie (24:21)
Yeah, so every show is different, right? Some shows, for example, with Circus, we had a composer that had... And, you know, Circus was on for many years, so we almost had like a whole library of music that he had composed for the show. So we mainly relied a lot on that, and then he would compose some new things for us. But then more, like, for example, my Netflix work or like some of my other shows that I worked on, my approach to music is always like at the beginning.

I kind of like to think about, and also just like things that I've gathered from having conversations with the director or like the story team. I kind of try to gauge an idea, okay, like what is the vibe that we're going for and what's the tones that are we gonna like be exploring and focus on that. And then I start to literally just like think about like, what are things that I've watched recently that kind of, that I feel could fit this. So I'll start Googling a lot of different shows and like going on like their like pull up.

Madelyn Cunningham (25:12)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (25:18)
from their original soundtracks. So like for Sweethearts, like the second season, I found the normal people original soundtrack really, really helpful. And it was so beautiful too. So yes, it's so funny because I hadn't watched it at first and I had pulled all this music for them and I used that music as temp all of season two. And then I finally watched the show after I wrapped season two and I was like,

Madelyn Cunningham (25:30)
Have you seen this series? Whew!

Stefanie (25:44)
my God, this is so intense because I like was so used to like, I had like a connection to those songs already to like those tracks and then watching it how it was originally used. This is like a whole new experience for me. You know, like I never usually watch like how that happened.

Madelyn Cunningham (25:50)
Right.

Okay, so I love

that. So, okay, so America's Sweethearts, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders was edited to the normal people soundtrack. This is incredible. I'm like a normal, I'm like a normal people freak. Like, so this is happy news to me.

Stefanie (26:07)
That's the stuff I touch for sure, yeah.

god.

Madelyn Cunningham (26:15)
Okay, interesting. So you will, so you do edit to...

a vibe and then obviously once the actual music is composed or dropped in then you'll sharpen it up. Okay that makes a lot of sense. Okay cool.

Stefanie (26:26)
Exactly, yeah. But I love that process

of music. I love music and so it's definitely one of the things that I have the most fun with because it's like you really get to navigate how you want to use it and just looking at the intricacies. So then when it goes to the composer, I always hope that they pick up on the same things that I picked up on for when I used or how I edited a cue so that

Madelyn Cunningham (26:47)
Hmm.

Stefanie (26:53)
Hopefully they know like this is when we're kind of building and this is why.

Madelyn Cunningham (26:55)
right?

Stefanie (26:56)
I get very attached to the music for sure. Yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (26:57)
No, absolutely, of course you do. Of course you do. Yeah.

And working hand in hand with that team, I think is so critical. I loved that little nugget of information. Okay, let's dive into cheer. ⁓ You seem to have like a really good partnership with Greg Whiteley, his production company, One Potato. They've done cheer. Last Chance U, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, America's Sweethearts, all kind of with this very similar tone, obviously in the sports industry following.

Stefanie (27:04)
Okay.

Yes.

Mm-hmm.

Madelyn Cunningham (27:22)
these very specific sort of niche stories that are very character driven. Talk to me about how that partnership started and what it was like to be brought on for season two of Cheer.

Stefanie (27:32)
Yeah, so it's funny, like everyone else, I watched season one and I was blown away. I loved how it was such an unexpected approach. I feel like what people really connected to was how surprised they were, how interested and how invested they would get in the story of Cheer. So I remember.

Madelyn Cunningham (27:48)
Guess.

Right, not celebrities,

not like just a very normal story with like high stakes for those particular characters. And was incredibly compelling.

Stefanie (28:03)
Exactly. And also just like, I think the way that Greg and his team are able to really just like capture like what embodies a person and like their motivations and what drives them and what their weaknesses are. It's just like a very human and intimate approach that they have that

I don't think you see a lot, and there's like a whole way that they do this that I don't think that a lot of people understand. you have to be very patient with, other, like you were saying, a lot of sports series are like, this is gonna be like, blah, blah, like cheer, we're blah, blah, right? But you can't just like imitate this process. It's like something that I think is very innate to like Greg's ability to interview his subjects, and then also the rest of the team that has.

kind of come up under him and learn from him. So I was very excited. When that finished, I remember thinking like, my God, I would love to edit for a show like that. I thought it was such a beautiful show that was so captivating. And that's kind of like this stuff, I knew that I wanted the kind of work that I wanted to do, something that was very revealing of what a human experience is like, right?

Madelyn Cunningham (28:49)
Hmm.

Stefanie (29:11)
And so they literally just like randomly emailed me one day and they were like, cheer is looking for an editor for season two. And I was like, is this happening? Like, did I really just get this email? And I was like, okay. I mean, obviously I was like, yes, I'm available. you know, I remember I interviewed and I was like, I think that went okay, but I honestly didn't think I was going to get it. At this point, I think I had only had like three editor credits under my belt or something like that.

Madelyn Cunningham (29:20)
What?

Hmm.

Stefanie (29:42)
So in my head I was just like, I don't know if I'm like good enough, you know, I was still kind of dealing with some of that like imposter syndrome. And then they called me and they were like, yeah, we really liked you and like the interview, we would love to work with you. And that's how that turned out. So when I was in season two, you know, I cheer season two and then they reached out again for L'Asian Sioux basketball, the second season of that.

Madelyn Cunningham (29:53)
Amazing.

Stefanie (30:04)
then again for like the first season of America's Sweet Heart. And then at this point it's kind of like, I've been so blessed that I've been able to build this relationship with them where they, I'm like one of their go-to people when it comes to editing. It's literally like such a blessing and I feel so fortunate because they're such an amazing team to work with. So I feel like I'm so lucky.

Madelyn Cunningham (30:24)
I love that you really manifested that

I thought you were going to say I watched it. I emailed their team. I reached out 10 times. No, they came to you. I'm obsessed with that. That's amazing.

Stefanie (30:30)
No.

Yeah,

yeah, yeah, it really was like, I even just to think about like how, and that's like, honestly, like a lot of things like with my life that I think about, I feel like so much of it was so fateful. Like even me, like getting hired back on like that first 48 job when I like, when they let me, I actually, I said I quit, but they actually let me go because I was going to be gone for so long. And so like, I just kind of took these as signs, right? So it just,

Madelyn Cunningham (30:57)
Hmm.

Stefanie (30:58)
reinforce that I am where I'm supposed to be. it's always like, then like as my career continued, I was like thinking like, I really, like things like having like the people from cheer reach out to me and then hiring me. I'm like, wow, this really is like what's supposed to happen. Like what's meant to happen. It's just crazy, you know?

Madelyn Cunningham (31:15)
Absolutely. No, I

love that so much. I love that. What was different, like coming on to cheer, it's in its second season. The first season was obviously so popular, pivotal. So what was it like sort of coming onto the second season where we already know most of the characters, the style's really been established, but how did you really try to continue to elevate the show in its second season?

Stefanie (31:38)
So one thing that was great with the second season is that, you know, I think that the team knew that it couldn't just be like another, like following Navarro through their season, right? Cause it was going to be very, some things have changed right now. These characters had newfound fame, for example, and you do see kind of like how that starts affecting somebody and like changing some, and they were also young. So you also kind of start to see.

how just like as young as they continue to develop as young adults, you are always kind of changing, right? And like evolving and like up until like your 30s or something, I don't know. But so that kind of already like gave us something that was like a little bit different than like what was in season one. The fact that they were changed people just because they had all this popularity around them and like so many more, like so much more of a spotlight and eyes on the program. But then what they also did was they decided to

follow the other team, the TVCC. can't, I forget what it stood for, but so that gave us an opportunity to then dive into new characters and build a new foundation of people, to like, for the audience to be invested in. And that was also really fun because now we could also kind of like look at the new conflict would be just like, you're invested in both of them, right? You're invested in TVCC and Navarro.

Madelyn Cunningham (32:55)
Right, yeah.

Stefanie (32:58)
and you understand now how the stories of all the people involved on both sides. So it's like, how do you choose who you like when they're all very compelling characters? So that was really fun, I think, to navigate.

Madelyn Cunningham (33:11)
that is fun.

Stefanie (33:12)
so it was just really fun like getting to explore like TVCC's side of like the underdog. You know that they kind of have this like grungy like

Madelyn Cunningham (33:17)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (33:20)
kind of like, what the hell, now Navarro is, you know, the popular ones, everyone's gonna be rooting for them and they're, you know, it's just always kind of fun to like navigate these conflicts within like different teams and different characters like that. So.

Madelyn Cunningham (33:25)
Mm-hmm.

Well, and I like how that challenges the audience as well, because you're right, we do get so attached and we feel like our characters are typically the heroes. Like they're the protagonists. And when you bring in sort of the traditional opposition in that way, but you humanize them, it does create a conflict as a viewer of being like, that's right, that's right. Everyone's got their own story. Everyone's got their own thing going on. And it reminds you.

I don't know, there's just this interesting reminder that everyone's got their own journey and it's easy to like side with the people that you get to know, but like the other team is not just the other team, it's a whole new set of humans and emotions and stories. And I do love that that is what season two brought into it was like, yeah, we know that you fell in love with these people and the other team is like the enemy, but like, let's bring in this new dynamic. That's so interesting. How...

Stefanie (34:06)
Yes.

Exactly.

Madelyn Cunningham (34:29)
You know, as an editor, how do you strike the balance between like the sports action piece, like the high athlete and these, you know, really human character arcs? How do you approach them differently?

Stefanie (34:38)
Mm-hmm.

For me, and I think this is like with my experience on like all the One Potato production shows, you know, there's all the sports series that I've done. The sports aspect of it is really more of like canvas of sorts, or almost like a timeline that like helps us like propel the story in terms of like what we're like aiming for, what are the goals, what's, like help us understand what the characters are, like ultimate goals are.

Madelyn Cunningham (34:45)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (35:07)
But there's not what really is, I think, important in these stories is navigating and exploring the human aspect So the sports kind of just is in.

You kind of use it as like the connection, right? To like all your characters is like the thing that while we're there, why we're there. But to me, I don't really think of it as like the main event. It's not really like a struggle when like, when do we go to the sports? And when do we go to like the personal characters? I feel like the personal characters are the ones that like drive the story forward. They're the reason why the audience gets invested. Cause you could watch a sport.

You know, can always just tune in TV, your television or like go online and like watch a sport, right? So there's inherent energy that like, you know, it's gonna make you like excited or like wanna root for someone that when you become so personally invested and like understanding who are the people are behind these themes, I think that's what really like helps repel the story and really makes the audience want to like navigate through that journey with them.

Madelyn Cunningham (36:08)
Mm.

Stefanie (36:15)
So.

Madelyn Cunningham (36:15)
Yeah, so the

sports is the backdrop and ultimately the upcoming competition or trying to make the squad. These are all goals that these characters have and they give us this sort of countdown and this sort of time, yeah, this time bound thing to sort of anchor us. But ultimately it's the backdrop for these character journeys and that's how you guys really approach it. And that's why it's so successful.

Stefanie (36:18)
Yeah, it is the backdrop, yeah.

It's almost like an outline of sorts, yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah,

and kind of understanding to like the dynamics within the team and using the games as an opportunity to further understand your characters and what you've learned about them, right? So you remember that like, say for example, for, I'm gonna throw an example for like America's sweetheart, there was one and that was a little bit trickier because they don't really.

they're performers, so they're not necessarily playing in the sport in that way that they're competing against another team or something like that. And training camp kind of becomes that first thing that grounds us. But in season two, we have a story about Ariel that's telling us how she really struggles with her flexibility and that it's something that she's been working on for so long. So then that helps us to know.

when we go to training camp, like to look at the training camp footage and see her performing, where do we see that reflected in her performance, right? So we see her when she's warming up, struggling to put her leg up, when everyone is just like flat and she's like fighting with her foot, right? Or like when they're doing the kicks and the kicks practice and she just like, you learn to like.

Madelyn Cunningham (37:40)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (37:50)
let's see what happened with Ariel during this practice and see, like, and then we see exactly what she told us. You know, she's still not flexible as flexible as she wants to be. And you can see them correcting her and her flexibility. So that kind of helps us like shape what we put based on like the performance, right? Like what we've learned from the interview or the OTF of the character helps us like kind of like know like where to focus, what to focus on in the performance or in the game.

Madelyn Cunningham (37:52)
Right.

Right.

Stefanie (38:19)
Same with like last year's and cheer. Now that we knew like what were the things that they were getting in their heads, like for Jada, she had that mental block with her tumbling. And we could see that reflected in her practices, right? She would be like getting flustered and like would be getting, you know, so afraid of getting injured that then she was messing up a lot. So that kind of just helps inform how we're going to approach the sports aspect of it.

by knowing our characters and what's going on in their heads and understanding how they're processing in real time what they're going through.

Madelyn Cunningham (38:55)
Right, DCC is so, it's a great watch, but it's a hard one. I don't know if it's because I'm a girl, but like I just, like it's heartbreaking. I mean, I feel I get really emotionally invested in the characters, like in their journeys and these dreams. And, but what I did love was, I mean, season one not only made an impact obviously on the people watching it, but

Stefanie (39:03)
Yes, no, I'm gonna agree with you, yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (39:22)
it actually made an impact in these women's lives. We find out that they are, their compensation is very low and very much based on sort of the old school adage of like, you get exposure and you should be happy to be here. And we found out I think right before, right, exactly.

Stefanie (39:38)
And not only that, but it's also like you want to be here, you know? And

it's true, like a lot of those women want to be there.

Madelyn Cunningham (39:45)
Yes,

but it's like, think the fact that right before I think season two dropped, we find out that their salaries were like massively increased. ⁓ How does it feel to sort of be a part of something that was like, this like made an absolute sort of tangible difference in these women's lives? I think they should be compensated even more. ⁓ you know, that must be a good feeling to feel like, there's we...

Stefanie (39:55)
Hmm.

Yeah. ⁓

Madelyn Cunningham (40:10)
we were able to not only tell a story that was compelling and entertaining, but it also obviously showcased how much work this takes, how passionate these women are, and made a significant change in the organization.

Stefanie (40:19)
you

Yeah, honestly, I think it's something that I'm so proud of to have been a part of. And I feel like lot of people that work in documentary, are people that are very passionate about topics and wanting to create change in their work. That's one of the reasons why documentary was also so appealing to me because ecology, I wanted to change the world and I wanted to make it better through the sciences. But I felt like with documentary is one way that you can change

the world by like informing people and letting them kind of like enact change in that way, right? So it was honestly like, remember when I found out about like the gatha race, I like just getting so emotional and social because I had been with these ladies now for like two years and knowing like everything that like how hard they work and how, you know, the serving they are of better comfort compensation and getting to

document, being part of the process of documenting their fight and how passionate they were about it. it's honestly an honor. Really, I feel like we are so blessed and honored to have been able to document and put a spotlight on how amazing these women are and also just how hard they work. And then season two, just documenting how hard they worked for what they deserved.

and being with them through that process was really, really fulfilling, honestly. But I think, again, it was all them. They did the hard work of having to have these conversations and talk to lawyers and economists and figure out how much are we worth and how much can we ask for. And we were just there to document it.

Madelyn Cunningham (41:53)
Yeah.

Yeah, it's really, really cool. And I hope, and I'm certain it has inspired other women, other groups who are unfairly compensated to do the same thing. And I think it's, you know, ultimately part of the sports experience. It is the athletes, but you can't tell me that if you went and watched a football game with no band, with no cheerleaders, with no mascot, there's this whole, I guess,

Stefanie (42:36)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (42:41)
I don't know, spirit squad even doesn't seem like the right word, but there's this whole element of people who make the game watching experience, who without it, absolutely, and who without it, it wouldn't be the same. And so like starting to challenge how those individuals and their talents are perceived and compensated, I think is really, really cool. How did you, like, how did you and the team sort of decide whose stories to focus on?

Stefanie (42:50)
Yeah, they enhance it.

Madelyn Cunningham (43:07)
like because it's really more of an ensemble, like obviously we have some like main people that we follow, but how do you guys sort of make those decisions on on what arcs you're going to to follow and prioritize?

Stefanie (43:07)
Mm-hmm.

So let's start from like the beginning of the series, right? Like when I come in and post production, by the time I come in, all the training camp has already been shot. The team's already been made. So in some way that decision kind of has been made before I come in by Greg and the rest of the team in the field, where they kind of just like see who they first kind of like find more intriguing or just like compelling or interesting that they want to find out more about and then kind of see where that goes.

And say, for example, for season two, already knew that, we knew that pay was gonna be part of the conversation. So that was like a theme that we already kind of like figure we were gonna have to follow throughout the rest of the season. So then you have someone like Jada that's so like adamant about creating change and wanting to, you know, make a difference. And then the rest of the group leaders like, God, I'm blanking, Armani and Megan.

And Shande, you you kind of just like know that these are people that are gonna be very important to the story from just like knowing that they kind of are like already digging into these themes, right? But once you start building like the rest of the scenes, it really comes down to like say when we're like talking about kicks, then we know that Ariel is somebody that like would be good to have the spot we would like to spotlight and through this process because she is someone that like really helps us understand.

how difficult it is and what are the challenges of the kicks better than somebody that's already really good at kicks. So it kind of like in a way, we started with like our main characters that as the season develops, we know we started like having like interviews and OTF with and that kind of helps us learn more about them and who they are and how we wanna like think about them and their story arts. But every now and then, there's like little side characters that then we can also like.

Madelyn Cunningham (44:47)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (45:07)
based on what we're showing in the scene, in the rest of the season.

Madelyn Cunningham (45:10)
Right, to

sort of fortify a certain element like the kicks or why X is so important and why it's so difficult. Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Do you get, I mean, personally, I mean, know you have such a personal investment, but do you, know, seeing some of these girls heartbroken when they don't make the team, like it is really tough. Do you get personally attached? Yeah.

Stefanie (45:14)
Mm-hmm. Exactly.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Oh my God, absolutely.

Especially in the edit, the audience is getting attached watching the finished product, right? This is the edited show that we've condensed of so many days of shooting into hour-long episodes. Imagine just how much more invested you become when you're watching all the behind the scenes. You see them in their very intimate settings, and the crew with the group is very small.

Madelyn Cunningham (45:47)
Mm-hmm.

hundreds of hours, yeah.

Stefanie (46:01)
So that allows for them to be able to like really earn the trust of the teams and their trust of the different subjects in a way that, you know, if they're in their apartment, it's not like a whole crew in their apartment. It's just like the cameraman, right? It's just the DP. So it's just, you get to really see like these people like, they, you know, they kind of end up forgetting that they're even like.

there's a camera around them and that they're being filmed and you just kind of really see like the rawness of like their everyday lives. they really open up to you and they become so vulnerable and you almost like, when I approach these character stories, I feel like I need to think almost kind of like a therapist and you really learn about these people and like how, you know, you.

Madelyn Cunningham (46:32)
Mm-hmm.

Mm.

Stefanie (46:50)
I don't know, you just kind of become, you'd become very attached in that way, just because it's so raw.

Madelyn Cunningham (46:53)
Yeah.

Yeah, was there someone that you felt like had sort of the best arc this season? Like a journey that you're really attached to or really proud of?

Stefanie (47:06)
Yeah, I would say two people. with Jada, I was obsessed with Jada. She was so badass and I loved her attitude. I loved that she was like, ran it to champion for their rights, but she also wanted to be like a very responsible and good person, like a great group leader and a good example for like the rest of the team. I thought that she was just like such a fantastic leader.

and really caring. I feel like that's so important to being a good leader that you don't always see in just like in all aspects of life, people that care. And she genuinely cared about her teammates and was also just like so, she was so considerate of everyone's circumstances and there was just like something about watching somebody like that on screen that felt very like calming and

Madelyn Cunningham (47:56)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah.

Stefanie (48:00)
almost like at home, like she just made you so comfortable. So I love just following her arc and like just kind of learning more about her and like learning why she's like that, right? Like it's her experience with her father and learning how to like, she had this complicated relationship with him because he was out of her life, but she also had to learn to forgive him. And I think it really helped shape the way that she like viewed the world. And then the other character that I felt like I was very,

Madelyn Cunningham (48:20)
Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (48:27)
invested in was Shandi,

when you then see what ends up happening with her through the rest of the season, it breaks your heart. I feel like you have a deeper understanding of what it's like to be in that position, right?

Madelyn Cunningham (48:39)
Right.

Stefanie (48:40)
So yeah, I was very invested in like her, like telling her story responsibly and like.

Also with everything that she had been through being adopted and then the abuse from like her ex partner, you kind of just really like learn how to like think about her through her lens and her perspective and like put yourself in her shoes that you become invested in that way too, you know.

Madelyn Cunningham (49:01)
Well, and again, you are part of, like you see it obviously on your side, but you are also responsible for shaping how we perceive and see these humans and how we are able to, in the same way you did, relate and understand and, you know, feel like we are reflected through these characters or through their struggles. And that's such a cool thing to be able to do. I know it's a huge responsibility, but I know it's one that you take really seriously and just

Stefanie (49:23)
Mm-hmm.

Absolutely.

Madelyn Cunningham (49:30)
you know, knowing that your career has brought you here to like some of the, what is considered the most premium content on TV is so cool. ⁓ Okay, one more question before we wrap it up. I want to know, I know you don't watch a lot of docu and I know that like, you know, since we know how the sausage is made, but I do want to know like, what's something you've watched recently, TV, movie, scripted, unscripted that you were just like, chef's kiss as an editor, like through your lens, what is something that you've watched recently that you were like?

Stefanie (49:40)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (49:58)
Ugh, just so good.

Stefanie (49:59)
So I am a huge horror fan. I love horror. whenever I see something that's like getting like good reviews and like it seems to be like, it's just gonna be elevating the genre. I need to check it out. So I just, and I don't want to give any spoilers. Have you watched weapons?

Madelyn Cunningham (50:02)
⁓ yes!

Mm-hmm.

I knew you were gonna say weapons.

I haven't seen it, but I know the plot like, and just heard sort of the story jumping the various POVs was just a really interesting take on the genre. And I've heard nothing but good things about it. So.

Stefanie (50:21)
Hmm.

Yes, so that was my, yeah, I absolutely love, love that movie. was also such a fun watch. So one of the reasons why I don't watch a lot of documentaries is like when I'm finished watching, when I finish working, I need to be like totally immersed into something very different and distracted. And I feel like the easiest way for me to do that is with horror. Like I can't really do it so much with like other genres, like dramas or comedy a little bit, but horror just like really like.

Madelyn Cunningham (50:46)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Stefanie (51:00)
makes me like distracts me on like a different level. So exactly. Yeah. And that was like such it was just like such a fun watch. And it really is like peeling an onion like the way that they reveal things little by little. It's so satisfying. So highly recommend. Yeah.

Madelyn Cunningham (51:02)
Yeah, allows you to lose yourself and not think too hard. Yeah.

Yeah, that is exactly what I heard. Very good. Well, thank you,

Stephanie. Thank you so much for joining. It was amazing to get your perspective on the industry. Again, one of those unsung heroes in this, reality, in Unscripted that is responsible for the content we enjoy, the characters we love. So thank you so much for coming on. It was incredible to talk to you and really looking forward to what's up next for you.

Stefanie (51:29)
Thank you, yeah.

Yeah.

Thank you so much. It was great talking to you too.

Madelyn Cunningham (51:43)
Thanks.

Madelyn (51:48)
Thank you guys so much for listening to my chat with Stephanie. Editors are unsung heroes, not only in the inscripted industry, but in a lot of industries. They never get the shout out they deserve. Really cool to talk to her about her process. And I always love to hear about a big career pivot. You know, I love to hear, you went to school for this and you ended up here. I think so many people can relate to that story, including me. And if it's speaking to you, if you're on a path and you need a pivot, go for it.

Happy Friday, guys. We will be back next week with more exciting guests. Don't forget to follow us on Instagram at Unscripted Files Pod. Feel free to send me a message. Feel free to send me an email, and I'll catch you guys next week. Don't forget, like, subscribe, rate, review, all the things. Thanks so much. Bye.