Screened at this year’s Sundance, the documentary TikTok, Boom. dissects the incredibly popular social media platform TikTok. The film examines the algorithmic, sociopolitical, economic and cultural impact of the app — the good and the bad. The doc also features interviews with a handful of young people who have found success on TikTok.
TikTok, Boom. was directed by Shalini Kantayya and shot by DP Steve Acevedo, who used a Blackmagic Ursa Mini and a Sony equipped with Rokinon Cine DS Primes and Canon L Series lenses. Editor Seth Anderson, who cut TikTok, Boom., has worked on a variety of docs, features, TV series and shorts.
Let’s find out about his process on this feature documentary.
How early did you get involved on this film?
I was brought on shortly after shooting began.
What direction were you given for the edit? How often was Shalini Kantayya taking a look at your cut?
We cut remotely, so we each had our own systems, and we used Evercast when working together. I watched her previous films to see what edit style she would want to aim for, and Shalini gave me free range on my first pass of scenes.
Initially, I assembled all the verité scenes as stand-alone stories, as if we had no interviews to flesh them out. After creating arcs for each of the main characters, we added the characters’ individual interview bites. Then we cut the character arcs down and started intercutting them. After a version of the film was built that way, we started building the experts’ commentary (reporters, tech experts, etc.).
While shooting she was pretty hands-off, but after primary photography ended, we worked together most days.
Was there a particular scene or scenes that were most challenging?
The biggest challenge was trying to balance making a film that would entertain and inform the users of TikTok — mainly 20-somethings and younger, who already know the inner workings and drama surrounding TikTok — while also giving an introduction and overview of TikTok to non-users. Those are the people who know next to nothing about the app beyond mentions in news articles and jokes by comedians.
Can you talk about working on this during the pandemic? How did that affect the workflow?
The pandemic definitely affected our workflow. The production company and media were in LA, and the director and I were in New York, so we had to manage the time difference with requests. Since many things that would quickly be worked out in person had to be done by email, some things took longer than usual.
You used Adobe Premiere running on a Mac. Is there a tool within that system that you used the most?
This was my first long-form job on Premiere, so I’m in a position of needing workflow tips rather than giving them.
How did you manage your time?
They started shooting in June, and I came on at the start of July, so we had a massive push to get a decent cut of the film ready to submit to Sundance. Then we had to keep pushing, with the hope we’d get in. Once we were in, we had to hustle to lock, do sound, VFX and color. We probably squeezed a year’s schedule into six months. I wouldn’t recommend it (laughs).
Did you have an assistant editor on this? If so, how did you work with them. Do you give them scenes to edit?
Yes, we had an assistant editor in LA, Tim Cunningham. This is one area where remote doesn’t help. I always want the relationship with the AE to be more collaborative, but that’s harder with different time zones and no actual face time.
I did give Tim a few scenes to assemble, and the post producers always had him doing things. As you can guess, we had a massive amount of archival material.
How do you manage producers’ expectations with reality/what can really be done?
You do your best. In most cases, producers want things done as quickly as possible, while directors want to think and mull over the work.
How do you manage your time? Do you manage expectations or try everything they ask of you?
If possible, I do all the producers’ notes, at least the ones the director signs off on. The director’s opinion and vision are paramount in making an independent feature, so I will say I do what is possible to do, but avoid the head
How do you take criticism?
I’ve been doing this for a while, so I’ve gotten good at accepting criticism. I think you should always be open to other people’s ideas. You never know where a genius idea will come from.
Finally, any tips for those just starting out?
Be open to learning new programs and techniques. Find out what you need to know for the section of the industry you want to work in.
With editing, you should focus on Avid, Premiere, FCP and other aspects of Creative Cloud. Learn those programs as well as you can. Just because you learned on one program doesn’t mean that program will be the one a potential jobs needs. Example: Most students nowadays learn to edit on Premiere, but Avid Media Composer is still the primary tool used on most jobs.
All Photos: Courtesy of Sundance Institute