CREW SPOTLIGHT: Shipwreck Hunters Australia editor, Meredith Watson Jeffrey

Western Australian editor Meredith Watson Jeffrey has worked on a slew of Western Australian productions across the documentary and scripted sectors, including Australia’s Health Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley, The Heights, Outback Truckers and Facing Monsters.

Most recently, Meredith served as one of the editors on Disney+ Original documentary series Shipwreck Hunters Australia, which premieres on the platform today. Filmed off the coastlines of WA, the epic series follows a group of highly-skilled divers and underwater filmmakers as they explore Australia’s ‘Treasure Coast to help unearth the mysteries and stories that lie beneath ocean depths.

We chatted with Meredith about her work on the new series, the differences between editing documentary and drama, and her advice for emerging editors.

What originally drew you to editing specifically and how did you get started in the WA industry?
I studied Film & TV at Curtin University where I focused mostly on Cinematography and shot my final year projects. But I also edited them and I loved this time in the edit room where so many creative decisions could be made (without the early morning starts). When I graduated in the early 90’s, quite a lot drama was being made in WA, particularly episodic television which provides a great opportunity to learn from senior creatives. I couldn’t get an interview with a camera department but a very talented editor, Geoff Hall, hired me as an edit assistant. And that was it – I was absolutely hooked on editing and I haven’t looked back! After working as an assistant for a few years I was given the opportunity to edit my own episodes within a series, which gave me a broadcast credit and paved the way for my editing career.

Your latest project, Shipwreck Hunters Australia premieres today. Can you talk us through your work on the episodes you edited – what was your process like?
The first thing I do on any project is watch ALL of the rushes, and while I’m doing this I create a timeline in Avid of great on-screen grabs/moments and great shots. I also make a note in Avid of the WOW shots because after I’ve seen a shot 20, 30, 40 times I often forget my first wow reaction, and I think it’s important to keep track of that. In this case there were a lot of brilliant shots from our amazing Director of Photography, Darren McCagh.

Once the assembles were completed, I worked closely with our brilliant series producer Katherine Barrett. I would review her episode scripts and then start crafting the scenes as close as possible to the script. Once we had a second assembly pass we would collaborate together on more detailed crafting of story and structure. From there Katherine would start writing narration and together we would further refine story, pictures, music and structure through rough and fine cut milestones.

You’ve edited several documentary series over the years. Did Shipwreck Hunters pose any new challenges?
Documentary is often a challenge, and a thrill, because you never know what you’ll end up with in the edit room. On this project most of the challenges were faced by the crew because of the difficult shooting situations – they were often on boats or underwater! I was super impressed with the quality of the images from Darren and the fantastic sound that Jason North, our sound recordist, was able to achieve. And of course the amazing work of our on-screen team under the direction of Brendan Hutchens. I think the main challenge in the edit was keeping the story on track and to time.

You’ve also worked on ABC drama series The Heights. Can you speak to the differences between working on a scripted project versus a documentary project?
The short version: I spent the first 10 years of my career cutting drama and thought that was all I wanted to do… until I cut my first documentary. Both have their particular challenges and joys. The main difference of course is the script, because even though a documentary will often have a shooting script, once shooting starts things always change and sometimes dramatically. So what you do get needs to be worked into the overall narrative or the narrative needs to change. And while a drama usually follows a script very tightly, what works on paper may not work on screen as there are so many factors involved.

Both formats are probably more similar than people think. They are about telling a good story with interesting characters – choosing the best shots, moments, takes and putting them all together to create a narrative that grabs an audience and keeps them invested in the story and its characters.

What has been a career highlight? Do you have a favourite project?
I’ve worked on many great projects over the years but I think the job I’m most proud of is a series I worked on for Ross Hutchens and SBS called The Circuit. This was a drama series shot in Broome about a circuit court judge, working in the white man’s legal system but dealing mostly with Indigenous people, often in remote locations in the Kimberley. The scripts were gripping and heartbreaking, and the performances, from both professional and non-professional actors, were truly amazing.

Lastly, what advice would you give to emerging editors in Western Australia?
Stick at it! It’s a brilliant job and worth the effort. Edit your own projects. Meet people in the industry, especially other editors. Take advantage of Screenwest resources and opportunities – apply for edit attachments. Join the ASE (Australia Screen Editors) Guild and attend their seminars and sundowners to upskill, meet people and drink beer!

All six episodes of Shipwreck Hunters Australia are now available to stream on Disney+.

Contact Screenwest

T: +61 8 6169 2100
E: info@screenwest.com.au

www.screenwest.com.au

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with Screenwest.

---