The Peacock series Long Bright River is a suspense thriller that tells the story of Mickey (Amanda Seyfried), a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood that's been plagued by an opioid crisis. When a series of murders begins in the neighborhood, Mickey realizes that her personal history might be related to the case.
In addition to Amanda Seyfried, the show also stars Nicholas Pinnock, Ashleigh Cummings, Callum Vinson and John Doman. All eight episodes of Long Bright River began streaming on March 13th. Nikki Toscano is the series' showrunner, writer and executive producer. Toscano also directed Episode 106.
Matthew Barber, ACE (pictured), edited the series, adding to credits that include work on Paramount+’s The Offer, Hulu’s
Dopesick, Disney+’s
The Right Stuff and Amazon Prime’s
Hunters. Here, he shares details on his involvement in the series, his workflow and some of the show's challenges.
Matt, how did you get involved in cutting Long Bright River?
"I’m a long time collaborator with Nikki Toscano, the showrunner and co-creator. I met Nikki in 2016, working on the pilot of Behind Enemy Lines. She and I had an instant connection that led us to not only becoming regular collaborators, but also dear friends. Nikki is one of the kindest and smartest showrunners I know, and I cherish every series we get to work on together. I’ve since worked with her on most of her projects since: Hunters, The Offer, American Gigolo."
What is your editing setup for this show?
"I primarily work on Avid Media Composer V.2024, powered by an iMac, a second monitor, producer’s monitor, studio speakers on a hydraulic sit/stand desk. The last few projects I’ve primarily used Jump to connect to a remote Avid."
What are some of the unique challenges you faced on this show?
"One of the most difficult challenges was capturing the inner world of the main character. Being based upon a novel, Long Bright River relied heavily on Mickey’s inner monologue to elucidate her world. Nikki and Liz chose not to use voiceover and leaned into the other characters in the writing to help carry the weight. The editing had to carry part of the load as well, helping the audience feel what Mikey was feeling. Since the primary vehicle of the story is the murder mystery in the present, the flashbacks had to be carefully edited to keep the tension of that story. The flashbacks had to not only keep the audience engaged, but also needed to capture the emotional state of Mickey in the present. Finding the right balance of mystery and clarity was a challenge that took many iterations.
"The pilot was beautifully directed by Hagar Ben-Asher, who brought a delicate sensitivity to the women in the story. This was my first time working with Hagar, and it was a delight to further help her visual poetry with my editing style. Since I’ve worked on a number of documentaries, I leaned on that aesthetic to help bring a more naturalistic approach.
"I cut a majority of the pilot at my home studio in Portland, OR. I flew to New York to work with Hagar on her cut. I also flew to LA to work with Nikki on her cut of the pilot. At one point, I was editing on her kitchen table!"
Is there a scene or sequence that you would point to as interesting or challenging?
"One of the most interesting scenes for me to edit in the pilot was when we finally learn that the woman in the overdose flashback was Mickey’s sister. That flashback originally came later in the episode, but the placement didn’t feel quite right for me. I didn’t feel the heartbreak that the moment demanded. At the time, I was going through a very difficult personal struggle, suffering a loss of my own, and channeling the pain of that situation. (I was) inspired by a piece of score that Hagar had sent me. I channeled a beautiful intercut of two flashback moments. I wasn’t sure if it would work, being a flashback within a flashback. I was worried that it would be confusing. But, I was in tears once I put it all together and watched it down. Whatever came through at that moment touched everyone that watched it. Nikki still tears up every time she sees that sequence. I’m super emotional just recalling this."