Deidre Panziera has been nominated for a 2022 Emmy Award in the category of “Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program” for her work on Episode 4, “Naked,” of the reality series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls. This Amazon show documents singer Lizzo’s search for backup dancers, called Big Grrrls, for her world tour. Viewers get to watch as talented and strong women compete for the 10 coveted available spots.
Deidre Panziera
Panziera — who is a a post producer and editor at Bunim-Murray Productions — was lead editor on the Big Grrrls team, which includes Jeanie Phillips, Brian Murphy and Hannah Carpenter.
And Panziera is no stranger to editing reality programming. Her list of credits includes cutting Miz & Mrs., Surviving R. Kelly Part II: The Reckoning, Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project and Keeping Up With the Kardashians, among others.
When did you start working on Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls?
Pretty early, at the beginning of August 2021. Production wanted to make sure that post had as much input as possible while the series was being shot.
What was the footage captured on?
The footage was captured on mostly Sony FX9s, Sony A7Ss, ARRI Alexa and Robocams.
What direction/feedback did you get from the showrunners?
The note process on this series was unique in my experience because we had exclusively female executives, who were predominantly women of color. This episode dealt with very sensitive subjects and required a lot of vulnerability and trust from the women whose stories we were telling. Having executives and showrunners who understood and had dealt with those subjects in their own lives allowed for very open and honest conversations and notes regarding the episode.
Why did you submit Episode 4? What was it about it that you felt was worthy of a closer look?
We are really proud of this episode because editorially it showcases both the slow, intimate, story-driven moments that are the heart of this series as well as the much flashier, fast-paced dance competition aspects.
Can you give us an example from that episode of something that was particularly challenging?
The photo shoot in this episode was particularly challenging while also being the scene I’m ultimately most proud of. The scene was very emotional and difficult for several of the women, so in the edit we had to walk a fine line. While it was important to tell their stories and show the strength it took them to step outside their comfort zone, we also had to be true to their personal boundaries.
How did you accomplish that? What was your process?
Building this scene required working closely with our story team to really dig into the footage and single out what stories we wanted to highlight and where to draw the line on images that were shown. Each shot was carefully selected with the girls’ personal stories in mind. We also leaned on our music team and Lizzo’s poignant lyrics to provide the perfect background for the beautiful images within the shoot.
Finally, what tools did you use for your work on the series?
We were still working remotely for the entire series, so we remoted into QSR systems and edited using Avid Media Composer.
