Born in Cairo but living in Los Angeles, Mohamed El Manasterly was a DJ before transitioning to editing. His says his knowledge of music serves as a guiding force in his edits, style, and ability to create seamless transitions within his work.
Mohamed El Manasterly
El Manasterly was one of the editors on the docuseries Welcome to Wrexham, which he describes as “a captivating fish out of water story, following Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds as they take on the ownership of Wrexham soccer club.” Beyond its sports backdrop, the series delves into themes of friendship, perseverance, cross-cultural exploration, ambition and the unbreakable bond of comradeship.
The series — which will air Season 2 in September — received six Emmy nominations this year, including one for El Manasterly and his fellow editors. Let’s found out more….
How many editors are on the series and how is it broken up?
Our editing team consisted of four editors: myself, Charles Little II, ACE, Curtis McConnell and Michael Brown. Welcome to Wrexham thrived on a pure collaborative approach, with each of us contributing to every episode. The post team’s planning strategy was truly ingenious. For instance, I might build an episode, only for another editor to finish it, and vice versa. This workflow was instrumental in giving each episode multiple and distinct viewpoints, resulting in a fast evolution of the show’s development.
How early did you get involved on the show, and how early do you get your segments to edit? What’s the average per episode?
I joined the editing process a few months after it began, immediately immersing myself in scene cutting. Our editing team didn’t have a fixed scene quota. Instead, we tackled available scenes, maintaining a continuous and productive pace. At times, I took the lead on a specific episode, while also contributing to scene construction for other episodes or addressing notes. We navigated between episodes, driven by the structure created by our showrunner, John Henion.
With a show that has so much heart and focus on the community, even beyond the team, how did you approach telling a story that would speak to general viewers, not just sports fans?
Having moved to the US from Egypt nine years ago, during my initial four years here, much of the work I undertook revolved around films shot in the Middle East. Producers sought me out for my ability to bridge the cultural gap between the East and West. My approach involved identifying universally shared human traits — such as family, love, hate, struggle, ambition, success and failure — that transcend specific cultures or locations.
In the case of Welcome to Wrexham, although football provides the backdrop, the series derives its essence from the people, their aspirations and their passions. This aspect is what truly resonates and finds relatability across audiences, regardless of their backgrounds.
What direction are you typically given for the edit?
When it comes to editing unscripted content, good planning can only go so far; the true essence and texture of the show are ultimately shaped during the editing process, which unfolds in different stages. We were lucky to have executive producers who had a clear vision for the show’s aesthetic. Additionally, FX, the network behind the series, provided the freedom to explore and experiment.
The workflow was as follows: Showrunner John Henion collaborated with our story producers to outline the structure on paper. Once a rough draft emerged, editors, like myself, joined in to contribute our perspective. Scenes were prepared and then the cutting process began. Each scene’s purpose, tone, mood and role in advancing the overall narrative was always well-defined.
When the first cuts were ready, we would share them with Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, whose feedback proved instrumental in elevating the show. Drawing from their scripted background, they gave the series a fresh sensibility, introducing nuances that redefined the boundaries of unscripted content.
Was there a particular segment/episode that was challenging? If so, why?
Each episode had its own challenge, but one of the most occurring was the football matches, given the repetitive nature of them. The main challenge revolved around maintaining freshness in our approach to each match and avoiding repetition. The solution emerged in the form of crafting a distinct theme for every episode.
Themes such as legacy, family and history acted as the interpretative lens through which we examined the material. Each episode focused on two or three characters, with the narrative of each match being conveyed from their perspectives. Whether focusing on players, coaches or even fans, the angle was shaped by the character’s perspective. We deliberately started each game in various ways — occasionally by capturing players’ preparations at their homes, sometimes diving into a match midstream when Wrexham was behind, and so on. This approach made every game feel fresh and new.
What system did you use to cut and why? Is there a tool within that system that you use a lot? How did you manage your time?
I use Avid Media Composer because of its robustness and stability. It’s a preferred choice for many major productions due to its reliability and sharing capabilities. Moreover, the software remains highly stable even when handling extensive amounts of footage and managing long-term projects. It supports collaboration among multiple editors on the same project, enabling seamless sharing of bins and enhancing overall workflow efficiency.
While working on Welcome To Wrexham, I operated remotely, which gave me the flexibility to organize my day as I like. I usually wake up at 5am, spend some time meditating and praying, and then start my first work session from 5:30am to 8:30 am. During this time, I can get a lot done without any distractions. After that, I go to the gym from 8:30am to 9:30am, and by 10am, I’m ready for our team morning call. At that point, I’m feeling fresh and have already accomplished quite a bit of work. After the call, I have another editing session from 11am to 1pm. By that time, I’m usually feeling tired, so I take a short 30-minute nap, followed by a 15-minute walk. This helps me recharge for my last editing session of the day.
What was the episode you chose to submit, and what is it about this episode that you think made it worthy of Emmy’s attention?
We selected the season finale episode titled “Do or Die” because we believe it showcases the best editing work. Throughout the season, we’ve been weaving parallel stories involving Rob and Ryan, the fans and the players. In this final episode, we bring all these story arcs to a conclusion during the crucial and defining match of the season. The primary objective of the entire season has been Wrexham’s promotion from the National League, making this match the culmination of the show’s buildup.
This episode took place in a high-stakes, intense game and we interwove moments to conclude the characters’ stories. However, it wasn’t just about wrapping up their stories; it was also about quickly reminding the audience of their individual journeys and providing a satisfying conclusion. This posed significant challenges, as we had to meticulously strike a balance between time spent in the match and moments taken to conclude character arcs. It took numerous iterations to achieve this delicate balance effectively.
