In the Video Editing Room of NBC's Heroes TV Set

My best friend, Sue Kesler, is an assistant film editor on the very popular television show HEROES. I went out to Burbank, California to visit her in August 2007, and jumped at the chance to accompany her to her job at the studio. I got a fascinating first hand look at how the show is put together.

Most people have no idea just how difficult it is to do this type of work. Anyone who thinks working in the film industry is an exciting and glamorous job would be in for a rude awakening. Yes, it is very interesting and can allow a person to make the most of their creative abilities, but make no mistake - film editing is tedious and sometimes very frustrating work. Any editor definitely earns every penny they make. The hours are long, and sometimes the working conditions can be less than ideal.

The HEROES editorial department is located at Sunset Gower Studios in Hollywood. Sunset Gower is a fifteen and a half acre studio facility, and was once the home of Columbia Pictures. Built in 1921, it is one of the most famous studios in Hollywood, and is the area's largest independent studio, used for television and film production.

Renovations are in progress to restore this facility to its earlier glamour. The offices for Heroes are in the basement of one of the studio buildings, and the air conditioning system works almost too well! It can get very cold down there, but everyone just dons a sweatshirt and gets on with their work. Each editor and assistant has an office. There is also a fully stocked kitchen for the convenience of everyone in the offices. Though the renovations have not yet reached these offices, they are still nice, if a bit claustrophobic due to being in a windowless basement.

It was a thrill to go out and walk around the lot. The stages all have plaques on the outside depicting the movies and television shows that were filmed there. There is usually a bustle of activity going on as the day's work progresses. You can see sets being built, props being unloaded from huge trucks, and sometimes you are able to peek inside the stages as you pass them by.

Heroes was not filming the week I was there, as the cast was on a world tour promoting the show. But I was able to see the set where it is filmed, and also racks and racks of costumes used on the show. I was simply thrilled to be able to actually experience this aspect of the show.

I was honored to meet the Executive Producer of Heroes, Tim Kring, Co-Producer, Lori Motyer, Associate Producer, Mike Ketelson, Film Editors Donn Aron, Michael S. Murphy, Jon Koslowsky, and Scott Boyd, Post-Production Coordinator Danielle Andrae, Assistant Film Editors Luyen H. (Lu) Vu, and Lois Blumenthal, Assistant Post Coordinator Megan Kukla, and Post Production Assistant, Scott Martin. All of them are the sweetest, most down-to-earth people you would ever want to meet. They take their work very seriously, and do a fantastic job.

I was able to watch the actual editing process of Heroes. Film editors can be considered artists. Wikipedia says that "A film editor works with the layers of images, the story, the music, the rhythm, the pace, shapes the actors' performances, "re-directing" and often re-writing the film during the editing process, honing the infinite possibilities of the juxtaposition of small snippets of film into a creative, coherent, cohesive whole." As you might imagine, this takes some time. One scene can take up several hours of an editor's time. In the case of Heroes, there are foreign language subtitles to add, and many special effects to wrestle with before they meet the editor's satisfaction. Sometimes, an entire film sequence has been edited and is ready to be locked when it is decided that changes need to be made. Recaps of each episode, the small segment shown at the beginning of each week's show, are delicate works of art that demand skill, timing and precision from an editor, as an entire episode must be covered in about a minute's time.

Film is edited digitally for Heroes on a system called Avid. The Avid looks a little like a computer, but there is a vast difference. The editing suite contains not only the Avid, but speakers, a mixing board, and other components, but their discussion is not in the scope of this article. There is a lot more to an Avid system than just a computer tower and monitor, though! There is a keyboard that resembles a regular computer keyboard, but the keys are colorfully labeled with their function. Images are maneuvered between two monitors, and the results can be viewed on a larger monitor which looks like a flat screen television. I was in awe as I watched the video and sound for an upcoming episode being maneuvered. I even got to record my own voice as a placeholder in a scene for an upcoming episode! Editing is an exacting science, and made me fully appreciate the effort that goes into this popular television show.

Heroes is a special show for a lot of reasons. Not only are the cast and storyline special and memorable, but the people behind the scenes are top notch professionals who take pride in a job well done. I look forward to my next visit to Sunset-Gower and the Heroes editing offices.

Season Two of Heroes premieres Monday, September 24th