By Randi Altman

Editor Nena Erb, ACE, has earned an Emmy nomination for her work on the latest season of the HBO comedy/drama Insecure. She came on board in Season 3 and says returning for Season 4 was “like a big reunion with friends. I was excited to play a part in bringing new stories to life with this incredible team.” This season, she edited Episodes 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9.

Nena Erb

Insecure follows two best friends living in Los Angeles — nonprofit youth organization liaison Issa (series creator Issa Rae) and lawyer Molly (Yvonne Orji). Viewers get to follow them along as they struggle through work, their romantic lives and the black female experience.

We reached out to Erb to talk about her process as well as her Emmy-nominated episode.

How would you describe the editing style on the show?
Insecure has signature elements — like a well-placed short-sided shot or shots of South LA — that we’d use to bridge from scene to scene. The use of music is a big signature. We tend to favor shots that are more cinematic, where composition is unconventional, versus something that’s traditional and expected.

Can you talk about your workflow? When and how are you getting footage?
Typically, I’m on from the first day of principal photography. Sometimes a day before for any prep, such as tone meetings and any VFX meetings for episodes that may require it.

Dailies usually come in the next day, and I start the editing process immediately so I can keep up to camera. For me, I like to be aware of what was shot and see if there’s anything missing. Another thing I do is introduce myself to the directors before they start shooting and let them know how to get in touch with me if they have any scenes they’re concerned about so I can make those scenes a priority. Once I have a rough assembly of it, I can send them the work in progress. So far, this process has been incredibly helpful in letting directors see how or if the scene is working. It also lets them know I have their back.

How do you work with the other editors on the show? How are the episodes split?
Usually we do odds and evens. One editor starts with Episode 1, and the other does Episode 2, etc., and stays in that rotation to the end.

What’s the turnaround like?
For Insecure, each episode had around seven days of principal photography, but it might vary depending on the scale of the episode. Our editor’s cuts are due three days after the last day of dailies. Two days to finish cutting, sound design and any temp VFX. The third day is usually spent on music since that’s a huge signature of the series. After that it’s onto the director’s cut, followed by producer’s cut and the studio’s cut.

The episode you were Emmy nominated for was “Lowkey Trying.” Why do you think it got the attention of voters? And how did you work with director Kerry Washington?
This is the penultimate episode of Season 4, and it was directed by Kerry Washington. She was a pleasure to work with in the bay, and the performances she got were incredible. When I watched dailies, I immediately picked up on what she was trying to do with the symbolism of two and what happens when one of them is missing.

For example, the scene where Molly is talking to Dr. Rhonda, her therapist, there were two chairs — Molly was in one, and the other remains empty. The conversation was similar to what you’d think couples therapy is like, so that concept influenced my editorial choices.

Kerry also brought layers to each scene. In another scene, when Issa calls Ahmal while he’s having lunch, it could’ve been your typical phone conversation, but I noticed that Ahmal’s actions mirrored what Issa was saying. Issa’s talking about how getting back to Lawrence while remaining friends with Nathan could be a little messy, and we cut to Ahmal wiping his hands as he’s agreeing that it can be a little messy.

Issa talks about how they’re trying again as Ahmal takes a look at his plate of super-spicy jerk chicken, deciding on whether he wants to go back in and eat another piece. I’m not sure if that’s what Kerry had in mind for that scene, but that’s where the dailies took me.

All of that combined inspired me to echo the theme of twos in the transitions from scene to scene. If you look closely, you’ll see two rows of houses facing one another, two palm trees, murals that have two people in them. There’s one that says “Rise above,” which acts like a Greek chorus regarding Issa and Molly’s situation. Finally, we end the episode on that wide shot of Issa driving away as Molly walks toward one of the two doors on the building.

The symbolism and layers Kerry infused into the entire episode was incredible. It made the episode immensely enjoyable to edit and definitely sparked my creativity. At the end of our screening of my editor’s cut, Kerry said it was like I got into her brain. That’s probably the biggest compliment I’ve ever gotten from a director.

You edited Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, so you are no stranger to comedy. Do you enjoy doing comedy?
I do enjoy cutting comedy, and I also enjoy editing dramatic material. The shows I work on tend to have a blend of comedy and drama because that’s what I’m drawn to.

Both comedy and drama have their own unique challenges. What makes comedy tricky to navigate is that it’s subjective. Something that I may find funny may not be funny to the next person or vice versa. Comedy also lives or dies by pacing. It’s imperative to make sure you have a grasp of the type of comedy that you’re cutting, whether it’s a traditional sitcom or something more along the lines of a Crazy Ex-Girlfriend or Insecure, where it’s a blend. Each of those shows will have their own pacing, and it may vary greatly from one to the other.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend had a mixture of comedy, drama and musical which made it challenging in the best way. It gives you a lot of room to use all the different creative muscles.

Insecure is similar in terms of tone. It can shift from comedy to drama in the blink of an eye. That’s always challenging to make sure the pacing and tone are spot-on or the scene falls flat. These are the projects I’m drawn to because I feel they’re more relatable.

How does it differ from the other projects you’ve edited? Do you wear a different hat depending on the genre?
I feel every project is different, even if they’re in the same genre. Each show has its own rhythm, tone and signature style. They also have different directors and showrunners, so the creatives are different from project to project. My approach is to get to know the taste of the showrunners if it’s a television series. If it’s a feature film, I make sure I have a solid understanding of the direction’s vision. The goal is to get on the same page as quickly as possible so I can help shape the stories they’re trying to tell.

How can editors try not to get pigeonholed into a specific genre?
I think the best way not to be pigeonholed is to figure out how your skills and credits translate into the project you have your sights on. For example, many years ago, I wanted to cross genres from nonfiction to fiction. I was fortunate to have found a scripted series that was a mockumentary version of a nonfiction series I worked on. So that made my skills in one genre applicable to another genre.

Do you have any specific layouts in Media Composer… a special bin setup with selects? Do you use the frame view, do you color-code things, etc.?
My dailies bins are always in frame view so I can immediately see if a particular take is a single, over-the-shoulder, two shot, wide, etc. I don’t color-code clips or anything, but I will color-code my cuts. If it’s a work in progress, I’ll usually pick a color and turn it to green once it’s ready to hand off to my assistant for sound and temp VFX work.

I also color code my locator notes. Red means stop because there’s probably a note at that locator. Yellow is what I use for notes in progress, and green is when a note is done. Of course, we have a whole other rainbow of locators for different parts of the finish process, like VFX turnovers, sound turnovers and picture turnovers.

How do you encourage your assistant editors to grow creatively but also do the demanding job of technical assistant editor?
My approach is pretty straightforward. My assistant and I are a team. If he or she doesn’t get the work done, it means I can’t get my work done. If I can’t get my work done, that’s not good for either of us because we’ll both be fired.

I like to encourage the assistants to get their work done first and to make a little time each day so they can cut something for themselves. If there’s a scene that they connect with, I encourage them to cut it. I’m always cutting it alongside them because until there’s an understanding of what their skill level is, I can’t wait to the last minute to see what they hand over. Cutting alongside them also helps me wrap my head around what was shot and what I have to work with when notes come in.

I have a job to do and deadlines to meet, so I have to continue to edit concurrently. Once they’re done, we’ll work together to see what’s working and what’s not. It’s all a part of the mentoring process. Once they’re at a point where their scenes are ready to be cut into the episode, I’ll drop it in and see if the director is open to working with them. This is important so they get the experience of working with someone in the room and doing notes on the fly. After that, I’ll screen it with producers. If the producers love it, I’ll always give the assistant credit. If they hate it, I take the bullet. Once the producers leave, I’ll work on the scene with the assistant so they understand the notes, why they were given and how to interpret them so they can grow as an editor.

In fact, this season’s Episode 7 was co-edited with with my assistant Lynarion Hubbard. It’s her first editing credit on an HBO series. I’m so proud of her and thrilled that we could make this happen.

Finally, what’s up next for you?
I’ve been so fortunate to have worked on groundbreaking series such as Insecure. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to continue my collaboration with Issa Rae and (Insecure EP) Prentice Penny on the upcoming season and to help other filmmakers shape powerful stories for television and films.

Randi Altman is the founder and editor-in-chief of postPerspective. She has been covering production and post production for more than 20 years.