Aurora's Blog

Another thing that makes me feel so proud to work where I do…i

There was an incredibly filibuster done by Chris Murphy the other night. I stayed up ’til 2am, and watched until he finished.

I looove politics. I love watching politics happen. I love connecting with people on twitter while it’s happening. I loved doing it with the amazing Wendy Davis filibuster. I loved doing it when they were discussing #SB1 in Hawaii. Politics is my jam.

And it used to be that I’d be watching stuff in the background at work as I was doing something mindless. Or, maybe I’d be doing it at home, if it wasn’t during my working hours…

But at my job now, when the filibuster was over, I knew that I’d be waking up to edit parts of it, to continue the conversation.

We are continuing conversations! We are pushing important issues in the world.

I mean, I’m not implying I’m anywhere neeeeeearly as important as Chris Murphy, or the people in our legislative bodies doing so much work…

But it is possible that someone will watch our show and call her Senator. When, before this, did I ever work on a show that would make someone want to do that?

I am just proud of the work that we do.

And in a final little story (for now) about how much I just love and adore my job… The other night, we had a going away party for our head writer. I looked behind me as I was walking to apartment, and there was Larry!

We live in the same direction, and we were both walking home at the same time. So, there I was, walking the streets of New York City, just hanging out with Larry Wilmore!

(This is my life now. What?)

When he asked how long it’s been now that I’ve been there, I said I’d been there since September and it still felt like a dream. It still did not really feel like it was my real life. I said I didn’t know when it would. And he said he hopes it always feels that way – and it does for him too. That it’s still a dream for him having is own show that he gets to go to everyday.

I thought that was so cool.

We talked about work and both of us going to Los Angeles all the time. And then alas, we made it to my place. He continued on his way, and I went home.

Oh, and the party was amazing too. Goodness, I love the people I work with. I love my job. I am so lucky.

I am well aware that the answer is yes. That, in fact, I mention it all the time. I love my job.

I really, really, really, really, really, really love it.

(Really. Haha.)

So, I thought I’d recap a few wonderful things that have happened since becoming an editor.

Exactly one month after officially becoming an editor in the credits (so, April 14th), Larry watched stuff in my office for the first time.

It was kind of nerve-wracking. And it was also silly because I’ve talked to him numerous times at this point. And my name is on the door. And yet, when he said, “Aurora” – telling me what cuts I should make and such – I thought, “Oh my goodness gracious! Larry knows my name.”

So, that was fun.

It’s also slightly more common now that he, or the executive producer, will come check something out in my bay. It’s cool. I’m a real grown-up editor, y’all!

For instance, the other day, a bunch of stuff came in during re-write. We built a whole montage – in rewrite! (And there were a bunch of other changes as well.) My hands were practically on fire with all the changes.

(Hyperbole, obviously, there… But still. A bunch of changes, is the point.)

And Larry and our EP came in to watch with the producer who was working with me. And they laughed. The producer told them other options they could do. But Larry was like, “No, this is funny. This is good.” And we sent it in. I was so proud of us!

We’re really doing it! Working under pressure, working quickly, and putting out good stuff. I’m so happy to be on this team!

One other nice thing that happened was that on April 20th, we built a Hillary montage. And in rehearsal, after Larry saw it, he laughed and said, “Nice job, team.”

I love when people laugh at what we make. I love how much everyone on the staff is so team-focused and thankful for everything. This is truly a magical place to work, and I am so super lucky to be here.

With March Madness this year, there was a bracket we aired with various dares for Larry, based on which team won.

The dare he ended up doing was hosting the entire show as his alter ego, Soul Daddy.

I got an email as I was leaving work the night before, saying the whole staff was invited to dress up, if we wanted to. The email came kind of late. But it’s New York!

I quickly looked for a costume place that was still open and found one in lower Manhattan, and into an uber I hopped!

I went down and found this ’70s dress (pictured). I also picked up an afro (but it did noooot look good once I put it on).

On the plastic covering of the bag the dress came in, was a picture with these tall white leather boots. I asked if they had anything like that, and they said no.

They didn’t know of any costume stores remotely close by that were still open (and neither did the internet), but they did point me to a sex shop(!) down the street that they thought would have boots… and indeed they did.

My calves are kind of big (in case you didn’t notice) and boots often rarely fit me. (Often rarely? Do those antonyms make sense together? I probably could’ve just said rarely, huh?… Aaaaanyway…)

The point is, I’m not usually great at wearing boots. And these were no different. You can kind of see these are reeeeeally hugging my legs.

But I was into it. I walked around the office all day without falling (even if I did have some fat spilling out of the top – oof!).

And as if it wasn’t enough for me to know my legs were a lil’ too fat by the tightness of my boots… I still had the Free Ben & Jerry’s that they brought by the office (#TotallyFatForLifeApparently #ButSeriouslyILoveThatVeganIceCream).

While we’re talking about food, I’ll also mention here that for lunch, they brought in food from my favorite vegan place! (It was preeetty much a magical day.)

After the show, to celebrate the 200th episode (which it was – that happened to coincide with ’70s days), we had all the cupcakes we could handle! And I had my first sip of champagne ever!

Larry gave this wonderful speech about how much he appreciated all of us and wanted to do this show over and over for as long as he could.

I. love. my. job.

Ah, goodness. It’s so funny to read back and think about how I didn’t fit in at The Nightly Show. (What? I mean, it’s crazy now.)

Basically, what happened was… I’m pretty friendly with my buddy, one of the security guards.

And one night, when things were winding down at the office, we ended up watching my Price is Right episode at his podium.

Then, the Co-EP came down and saw us watching it. And she looooved that I was on The Price is Right. (And I love her. :-))

And wouldn’t you know it? The next morning, in the production meeting, when the EP asked if anyone had anything else, she said she had a 5-minute inspirational video. Her assistant pulled it up on TV, and we all watched.

And I felt like the little belle of the ball!

In fact, before writing this post, I watched the video of everyone watching it (haha)!. And I really loved it. It was so cute. People got soooooo excited over something that was basically 3 years – which I thought was so cute and funny.

And for the rest of the day, eeeeeveryone was talking to me about it. So adorable.

I just really, really love work.

And in the future, for me, anytime something looks bleak, or whatever… I want to remember the difference between when I was running around to different Avids, trying to find anywhere I could work where I’d mildly fit in to now – when I’m an editor and getting along with everyone splendidly.

My job is beautiful.

As I was getting toward getting my promotion, my boss was really sweet. (She’s always sweet, is she not?)

On the Wednesday before I became an editor, I kept waking up in the middle of the night almost every hour and [ew], I puked a bunch – a whole bunch.

I don’t know if it was the vegan sandwich I’d eaten that night (from a place we’re all kind of starting to question :-0), or me not handling stress well anymore, or what it was. But I was siiiiick.

And there was a field shoot that day.

It was super hard to get out of bed, but I kept trying. And eventually, I drug myself into work.

It was a dark working week, which meant we were all working, but we didn’t have shows. Depending on your department and what you do, you were either catching up, looking forward, or both.

I was supposed to sync and group a field piece that was coming in and needed to be prepped that day.

And I came in. I was very sick at my desk, and definitely made a run to the bathroom to puke for a while.

My boss – my sweet, lovely, understanding boss – felt so bad for me.

Even still, she said I was basically the most skilled one there when it came to assistant skills, and that as much as she hated to ask me, since I was already there, if I could just prep it, then I could leave.

And I happily did.

And she commented, “If there was ever a doubt in anyone’s mine that you deserve this promotion, I think your attitude today shows it.”

I obviously didn’t plan to get sick, but if I was going to, that was some pretty great timing.

I also know that one little thing here and there doesn’t make or break you. I made little mistakes here and there that didn’t get me fired. Just as I’ve done a few great things that didn’t necessarily get me promoted. I know it’s more about body of work and everything together.

But I will say, one other little tiny story that I really enjoyed was there was a day where we had to edit something in a way that would take off some audience laughter that was married to it. (I mean, it’s not often that we ever take off laughter. But for this specifically, we needed to.) And using the EQ tool, I was able to do it.

(I’m not sure if I mentioned that on this blog before or not…?)

But at the time, my boss was super happy and proud. And I thought, “Heck yeah Music Production & Engineering major coming in handy when I least expected it!”

Picking up from yesterday –

In the midst of this, it started to look as though things were gonna change in the future-ish (with some expanding). The idea was the responsibilities would be re-distributed a bit, perhaps. (You know, it was all pretty fluid-ish.) So my incredible boss had a talk with me about what my future could look like, and what I wanted from it.

Since I was acting as sort of half an assistant editor, half a post-coordinator, there was possibly an opportunity to take on more administrative stuff (more of the post coord/sup track – while still probably doing some AE work). Sure, that would’ve been nice. I do like communicating with the network…

And then there was a possible opportunity to move more into the editing track.

Originally when I came in to this job, I’d set up the idea that I didn’t necessarily want to be an editor. I want to be more of a writer/producer/performer in general, in life. So I worry sometimes about getting so far from there that I get a little stuck. Sometimes, as an editor, you’re in your dark bay, in your own world, deep away from a lot of other production stuff.

And I thought that maybe I would want more of a post sup role, if something like that ever became available… And I told my boss all of that so that she’d know where I wanted to go and could help me get there. (If you never speak out loud what you want/need, it makes it way harder to get it.)

But, as I have learned, editing here is soooooo different from any other show I’ve worked on. It’s like an on-set job. I love every single thing about it. And I learn a ton all the time.

And I will always be ridiculously grateful to my boss for her allowing me to change my mind. (I’m still kind of beside myself with the awesomeness of that.)

She thought I’d want to do more of the admin stuff (since I had laid out that idea to her before), but as I’d been editing more and adoring it, she really opened up a world of possibilities to me.

I adore her for that. (She is the best in the universe!)

(And in real life, I think in this situation, editing actually is closer to the path I need to be on than a post coord/post sup role would’ve been… And that’s not even an actual role now… though it could’ve been and/or could be…)

Anyway, as I was leaning toward becoming an editor, my boss talked at (super) length with me about what that would mean for me – in every way. We talked about my career and future. We talked about what would be expected of me (more – there’d be more on my shoulders if I were editing headlines). We talked about all the pros and any cons.

She was so patient and smart and just fantastic.

And I got basically the weekend to think about it.

I’m sure it seems a little crazy from an outsider’s perspective to not consider editing on a fabulous late night show… But there was a lot to think about – which I’ll talk about tomorrow.

So, how did [*sings in the style of Ja’Net DuBois*] moving on up come about for me?

One Friday (which is the slower day, since we have shows M – Th), the editing staff went to lunch together.

(Fridays aren’t always slow enough that we can have lunch together, but this one was.)

One of the editors had pitched a field piece that was gonna be shooting, and she asked if she could go along to watch.

Our boss, in all of her awesomeness, said yes and that she (herself) could take over headlines while that editor was gone.

That’s when I piped in. “Could I maybe fill in for her that day?” (Leaning in, baby! ;))

My boss was up for that. She put it on the calendar(!), and I was stoked.

That day came, and there was a lot to learn as far as what control room needed, how it needed it, and tricks to make things prettier and faster.

The first day went okay. I only got through 8 rolls(!), and there were 16 for rehearsal. (So, another editor had to take the other half). That was embarrassing to me, but my boss said that it was totally along the lines of what she would’ve expected for a first day. And she seemed happy.

After that day, I started volunteering to edit more things – and she let me.

I did little pieces for the Internet, and a bumper for the show. I even got to edit the end of the show (3 times!).

It’s really amazing how when you put stuff out there in the world and work toward doing stuff, often times you will indeed get to do that stuff. (Not always… Of course.)) But in this situation, it worked out lovely.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from last time –

Anyway, getting back to kind of the editing trajectory (and I guess kind of the puzzle)… Not too long after I first got there, the department was expanding. (Heck, I was kind of part of the expansion.)

And there looked like there perhaps, maybe, just might be room for another editor (a scrappy young lady from the office over, perhaps?).

Some people joke about how working on a show like this is like getting on the Editing Supreme Court – you just stay ’til you die in this fantastic job.

(Not to say that I’ll stay literally ’til I die… Life is very long. But I do loooove this job and plan on staying for a very long time (assuming they will have me).)

Anyway, considering getting one of these jobs is like getting on the “Editing Supreme Court,” it was a little nerve-wracking thinking the only opening ever might come not long after I’d first started, and that the timing might just be too totally wrong for me. And I’d be an assistant editor for, who knows… the rest of time?

Granted, that would still be a respectable, lovely job (that I did enjoy doing).
But you still gotta dream right? [*dreamy musical theater eyes as she thinks about all she wants in this life*]

Ultimately, thankfully, the timing was not bad. Not bad at all.
It was even kind of perfect. Everything worked out perfectly. [*Even more dreamy, but less intense, musical theater eyes as she thinks about how happy she is*]

Have I mentioned… So happy!
So… let’s talk about that!

Picking up from last time –

In this new role, I finally feel like I’m in the exact place I’m supposed to be. It’s like there’s this puzzle of my life. And my job was one of the puzzle pieces. And I’m moving it all around the puzzle, trying to make it fit.

And the more it won’t fit, the more frustrating it is. Because I’m in New York in the Jon Stewart family! I know this is most definitely supposed to fit (right?!). This piece came in the box labeled “Aurora’s life.” It is 100% supposed to be in the puzzle.

And then finally when I started editing headlines, ploof. It dropped right in. I just love doing it. I love doing it so much.

And it’s crazy to think there was a small moment in time where I actually questioned for a quarter of a second – is this the right puzzle piece?

There was a moment right when my whole “I don’t fit in” thing really was kind of coming to a head, when a job on a sitcom(!) opened up in LA – with my name on it.

In that moment, there was a .001% part of me that thought, “You could go work on that sitcom with your friend, and live in LA where you’re comfortable (ish? …even though I really did, and do, want to live in NY… even if it can be tough-ish).”

Anyway, we all know I wouldn’t have done that. You don’t just leave the Jon Stewart family, like a crazy person, after years of fighting to get in!)

But from where I am now, even remembering that .001% of me… it just feels crazy.

I’ve never been happier that I stuck something through.

I feel like I can convince myself of a lot of things if I kind of lawyer-logic myself hard enough (fighting for whatever side I want). And I could’ve probably convinced myself that maybe this wasn’t the right fit for me and I needed to “cut my losses” (which would’ve been crazy, mind you).

We could talk about why not fitting in could equal needing to “cut losses,” and whether I felt I could make a future there if I wasn’t fitting in, and blah blah blah. I could see arguments being made on either side… But I made a future there indeed. I 100% feel like part of the family. And I’m just really, really, super, grossly happy, is the point.

And it’s just interesting to me how things change. I do understand there are sometimes where you do need to cut your losses. But in this situation, it was good to give it time and see what happens.

(And that is perhaps something I need to learn in life – to have slightly more patience…maybe slightly. Though, I still don’t know the magic line of where you know what’s worth sticking through and what’s not… There’s deeefinitely a scenario in which this job didn’t pan out as well. But since it did, of course now it’s all, “That was worth it!” But not every situation is… Ah, time and what’s worth it. I don’t know the secret to knowing that… But staying here is one of the best thing that’s ever happened to me.).

And I’m just ridiculously happy that I get to see it from this point of view – from the other side – now.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from last time –

After those two weeks (once I actually had a place to go home to every night… that was huge for me), things turned around incredibly quickly.

I was on top of, or ahead of things. My boss complimented me for always having stuff done before she asked. She later told me that she had an incredible amount of trust in me, and never worried about the tasks she gave me – knowing they’d be done right and quickly.

She really gave me space to prove my self, and seemed to totally forget those first two weeks – not holding a grudge, or having trust issues or anything.

(This has taught me to perhaps give people a little more belief or benefit of the doubt, as her belief really did everything for me.)

Then, one thing that was a little weird was that even though things started to go great with the most important stuff – being the way I performed my job, and my relationship with my immediate boss – the interpersonal stuff started to get a little wonky…

I’ve been welcomed in with pretty open arms since the day I got there. So, it’s a little silly that I ever felt in any way like I didn’t necessarily totally fit in.

But there was a little dip in time where I just felt like I didn’t fit in super duper well (which I actually talked about in this other silly story).

(I mean, at the time, I understand why… But now that it’s in the past and I have a totally clear head about it, it seems silly – even if it was understandable at the time…)

And then I kind of think when I put myself in that headspace, I started to feel it more… ’cause attitude determines a huge, huge part of life.

Since I was already feeling that way for various little reasons, I started to notice little things that didn’t really even actually matter – such as, “Why isn’t my name on the name tag after all these weeks?” (Um, ’cause people are busy, and we all already know you’re one of the people in that room. It’s really not that big of a deal…)

But you know when little things start to just add and add and all of a sudden some small thing becomes a big thing in your mind. And you think, “where did this come from?!”

My attitude partially may have had to do with everything in my life changing at once. Since so much was happening, and I hadn’t settled in to anything (a routine, a favorite workout studio, an apartment (not even having a bed for a while), and on and on) it was hard to feel like I had a place in the world. I don’t know. Maybe that sounds too lame or excuse-y… Just throwing out ideas here!

I also think I was maybe a bit much to take – running off caffeine and adrenaline and no sleep for maybe 2 months. I was always a little hyper (even for me – whoa). So, I think I was probably a lot to deal with…

So, it is possible people really were distancing themselves, and that me not fitting in was totally in my head. (Or not. Who knows. It’s not all that important right now.)

No real point in over-analyzing it all too much, ’cause things are the loveliest now…

I’ve just never really had that feeling before – like I didn’t really fit in. And it was a weird little feeling (that I’m glad is gone).

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Since I just got my promotion, I thought what a time to reflect on the last five months there!

My first two weeks here had some ups and downs. I don’t want to paint it like a complete mess. I definitely did really great at some things… but really not great on some others.

I was working a lot – even doing paperwork from my hotel room bed whenever I wasn’t there, giving as many spare moments as I could to this place.

I love my job, and wanted to show that in every way.

As has been covered, I was doing a million things – trying to figure out where I was going to stay each night, and where I was going to stay permanently. I felt I was constantly on emails or texts – pricing hotels, looking for apartments, and all that jazz.

My heart was in this job, but there were moments where my head wasn’t.

There was a ton to keep track of (personal life aside – just starting a new position that hadn’t existed here before me… building a job from scratch (during season wrap, no less)).

And some things slipped through the cracks a little…

An example of something not done super awesomely was when I did an export with the wrong settings [*wide-eyed embarrassed face*]. That was the biggest thing (’cause it was a looong export that took hours to re-do).

I remember thinking I was going to get fired that day.

There was a part of me that honestly thought I was going to have to change my name and go live in the mountains somewhere. I was not going to be able to show my face in New York or LA, after announcing I was finally in the Jon Stewart family, just to fail out. *shivers thinking about it*

After my first two weeks here, my boss and I checked in with each other. She was supremely patient and wonderful. (I adore her.) She had a very calm and helpful talk with me.

It would’ve been potentially easy for someone in her position to write me off and think, “too many little mistakes are happening. I’m over this girl,” and cut me loose.

Instead, she talked to me about life and work and expectations. She let me talk about what the first two weeks had been like for me, and she really listened. She talked about what they’d been like for her, and what she needed moving forward. And we got on exactly the same page.

(I will be forever grateful to her for seeing something in me – enough to hire me, and for seeing something in those first weeks to keep me around – which ultimately worked out great for everybody. (Yay!))

(Side note: Not only was she helpful and patient at work. She also let me borrow her air mattress until I got my bed. She’s the very best!)

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Picking up from last time –

And then I got a call from my friends in from out of town (one from LA and one from Canada), and I hopped in an uber to meet them.

I was supposed to meet them at Big Gay Ice Cream. (That’s where they were, and it was cool for me because that place had been featured on our show, yet I had never been there!)

Well, apparently there’s one by 7th Ave. and one by 7th St. And I most definitely ended up at the wrong one.

They had to get to Penn Station so Ryan (my Canadian friend) could get back to his friends in Jersey.

So, we met at Penn Station, and Ryan bought me a congratulatory Planet Smoothie(!) (aka my favorite thing in the world).

Jason and I ended up trying to find a bar where we could celebrate. I’m not usually a bar person. But we had to figure out something to do, and it seemed cool at the time. We called around bars in my neighborhood. And none would actually play The Nightly Show for us. (Boo.) But a guy at Valhalla was like, “Come here anyway. It’ll be fun.”

And it was! The bartenders made me Shirley Temple shots – and they were on the house for my big day!

Then one of the bartenders kept calling me “big time,” which of course I loved. And then he poked fun a bit, wondering aloud whether I really was an editor or if I was plying them for free drinks, because they weren’t watching to check!

then I got a tweet from him the next day with a screenshot saying my story checks out! I thought it was hilarious.

What a brilliant night.

Silliness, hilarity, and a good time with old friends and brand new friends alike. Yay!

Welp, I’d technically already been an editor for 3 weeks haha. And I was under the impression that my promotion was officially going through the following Monday (after 4 weeks). So on March 14 (Pi Day!), I got a very pleasant surprise!

A supervising producer (who does some of the line producer-type duties) paged me to call her.

So, I did, and she asked if I could come by her office.

This was about 50 minutes before the rolls were due, and there were still some to be done.

This was the moment I could tell that I truly loved my job. I wanted soooooo so so badly to sign the papers and have everything be official. And I was almost certain that’s why the producer was calling me. I wanted to run up there and get it done. Selfish Aurora wanted immediate gratification.

But! Editor Aurora wanted to make sure the rolls were perfect and that control room had everything they needed.

And that’s exactly what I did. I asked if I could come up later.

When I care about something so much that it supersedes those immediate desires of “I wanna win and be awesome!” then we know I really, really, really love it and super care.

After all the rolls were successfully in, and everything was done that needed to be before rehearsal, I re-called that producer to ask if it was a good time. And she said she’d just come to me.

Then she came in with my boss. (My boss said she’s not usually huge into celebrating things, but she knew how much I really wanted the fanfare of becoming a big time editor *trumpets blare,* so she came to be a part of it – which I thought was so cute and sweet.)

The supervising producer sat down and laid out everything my boss and I had talked about. I agreed. She congratulated me. My boss stood up and ripped my assistant editor name tag off the door. “We don’t need this anymore!” she said. (I love her and her dramatic name tag ripping flare.)

The paperwork from accounting came a bit later. I also got to add myself in the credits as an editor! (Don’t worry. The line producer checks the credits everyday. It’s not like I have ridiculous unchecked power…)

And there you had it. I was a big time editor…

It was funny, because I thought by the time I was “official” it would be kind of old news and wouldn’t seem as cool. But it was so cool! I was giddy. And people around were still super happy for me, even though it had already been happening for 3 weeks…

Most of the promotions I’ve seen have been announced in the production meeting. That part didn’t happen. So it was like the secret first day all over again… only less secretive. Where the official news kind of permeated around the building (much of which was just me telling people because I was busting with excitement. So, that felt a little weird to be spreading my own fantastic news. But I’ll talk about myself!).

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

It’s funny how quickly some things change.

In my first week, I was always at my desk – afraid to even use the bathroom. I always skipped lunch. But now, I feel in control.

There are still some busy days where I don’t grab lunch until rehearsal starts (a couple of hours after they call it), but overall, I can at least go pee without worrying that the world will crumble if I take my eyes off the screen for a moment.

I’ve gotten faster in every way. I’ve gotten faster with the keys and my shortcuts and all that jazz while I’m using Avid. I’ve gotten faster even making decisions of “Oh, there’s this problem with this clip. What’s the best way to fix it? Ba-bam! Immediate decision.”

In the first week, I ended every day feeling like I’d run a marathon. And already I feel like I’m just working – working hard, but able to totally handle it all.

A couple of really cool things happened too.

For one thing, someone sent me flowers! I have always dreamed of having flowers delivered to my work. And I guess somebody heard me talking about that, and poof! I got floooowers! I felt oh so super special.

Another thing – a super amazing thing – was that a writer on the show wrote an email saying a montage was “wonderfully edited.” It was an email to the producers on the piece as well. And he told us all it was a “usual first-class job.” How amazing is that to get a thank you email just for doing our normal job? I loved it!

Some other things that have been cool are that I often get to go down and watch rehearsal now. Part of my job is to watch the rehearsal to make sure my SOTs are playing correctly and looking good.

Sometimes I do get held up editing something and can’t make it down. But for the most part, thus far, I’ve gotten to go down and watch, which is suuuuuper cool! It’s nice to watch in a room of the most rapturous, happy audience members. I also love getting out and away from the monitor sometimes – to look at things in real life. (Sort of – I mean, I do watch the monitors in the studio a lot still, to see how my SOTs play. But it’s nice to be there in person, nonetheless.)

Also, going back to really feeling like I’m a part of something, I have really been accepted into fold, even at the highest level. For instance, the EP stopped by my bay to ask if we could build a montage. And Larry himself wandered over and talked with me and the senior producer in my office as he was waiting to go down for the show.

(My office is a cool office and people love to hang here!)

I know it’s been said, but I’m just so happy – so very, very happy.

I love the opportunity to learn more all the time!

And it’s fun, because in my first few weeks, it seemed like something new happens everyday.

For instance, acts 1 and 2 are usually edited by the control room. And the editors do act 3. (Now we have an editor who’s responsible for it every night; we don’t trade off anymore. But I’ve edited act 3 three times.)

Anyway, we don’t usually do act 1. But on this week, there were two takes of act 1, and there were different parts that were liked from each. So, while the rest of the show was going on, I was editing the different takes they wanted. (And ultimately, I got to edit the act, since it was going well and almost done by the time the show ended.)

Back when I edited act 3, my boss explained to me that we had to make our edits look as though the director was calling it on the fly (to match the rest of the act). So, you’d cut to things a half a beat late – to imitate a human hearing someone speak, then looking there.

But when it came to act 1, it’s a different mindset. It’s the scripted portion that the director can follow along with. So, that can be more exact.

Before this, I didn’t think about the fact that there were two styles of editing that went into the same show.

Another thing I’ve really learned now editing this type of show is, sometimes, when I’d watch The Daily Show, I’d see a jarring cut, and I’d think, “Whoa. These have to be some of the best editors in the world. How did such a noticeable cut like that get made?” (Note: That was very rare. I love The Daily Show and it looks beautiful way, way more often than not.)

Still, sometimes I’d wonder, “What happened there?” Well, now that I’m there and can see it, I can guess. “Uh, it was 10pm and the show had some kind of random problem, or taped late, or who knows what. And the point is, the show had to go out. So they just had a little jump ’cause they had to.”

I feel like I have so much more understanding now that I’m in it (which I guess is usually true about most things in life). Working under the gun, on a show like this, is just so cool. (I’m still pinching myself.)

My goodness, this was beautiful.

For one thing, my favorite part was the way my boss treated me.

I feel like sometimes it’s easy when someone moves up to still kind of treat them like they’re still in their old position… ‘Cause, you know, people get used to things the way they are. And change can be hard.

But from day 1 – even in my trial week – she treated me like I was her new editor… Because, was. And she certainly made me feel that way!

Even if in my head I was kind of the assistant playing pretend, she certainly never treated me that way.

There was one instance where she was talking about the old computer where I used to work. And on my very first day (of my trial!) in an office, she didn’t refer to it as “my computer.” She just said something like “Avid 4” or “the assistant’s computer” – but not “your computer.”

I know that’s a super small thing, but it was a big thing to me.

She did a fantastic job of guiding me helpfully without making me feel she was looking over me or not trusting me.

She even apologized once for “bothering me.” She said, “I’m sorry. I know you’re busy, but…” She just really gave me the time and space to edit – to be an editor. She has treated me in every single way, from absolute day 1, as though I am her editor. And I will be forever grateful for that.

I even thanked her once for letting me do so much work. And she said, “No need to thank me! I’m not doing it as a favor. You are an integral part of my team. You’re doing the editing that I need done. So thank you for being so helpful.”

Ah. It’s all so lovely.

More changes, more learning, more excitement this week.

There was a day where we had two different act twos. So one was just cut completely. It is funny to me that I spend my whole day building and building just to have often the majority of stuff knocked down by the end of the day.

Sometimes intricate things that are tough to build, or take a while, get cut. (I have a commercial montage that turned out so well! I’d love to think it would blow your mind… But I don’t think you’re ever gonna see it.)

Sometimes things I love, that really make me laugh, get cut – which is kind of a bummer, but at least I get to see them.

And if I think it’s hard as an editor to have things cut, it’s amazing to think about what it must be like for the writers… to be creating all these fabulous jokes that never see air. It is really incredible to me, sometimes, the amount of material that’s generated (by any department) that’s never seen.

Ah, nightly scripted television. It’s just magic – lovely magical magic.

I did learn a few more things this week, such as the mortise I put on when we have a vine video or something. Or even how to go about adding b-roll when it’s needed post show (the way to specifically time it out after the show, and making sure the ticker matches what comes next, etc.).

This was the week where it all started to become real-ish. My trial was over. I was definitely an editor now. I had my office. They were even interviewing AEs (and hired one, and she came in on Friday to train).

So, I was an editor… But I still wasn’t one in the credits of the show. (And it still wasn’t reflected in my paycheck either.)

And it’s a bit of a weird feeling the whole, “I gotta be careful and thankful, and hold on to this awesome new job. But I also gotta lean in. Because for real, if this goes on for too long, I’m gonna all of a sudden be editing in season 5 and still being called an assistant editor.”

I mean, I know that’s a little dramatic there. That most likely was not going to happen. But there still was some fear. I mean, I trusted my boss (a ton!), and she’d gone over what was going to change for me title, and money-wise, and what have you. It was just a little in the air as far as the exact day when it would change. So, I was a tiny bit on edge. I just wanted everything to be official, and officially settled.

While technically nothing is ever truly officially settled, because nothing is promised in this life, there was still something to signing the papers and changing the credits and all that to make everything real. And hopefully it will be for as long as it possibly can be.

Picking up from yesterday –

On Tuesday, Feb 23rd, I got to edit some clips of Hillary Clinton (as I’ve gotten to do many days since then), and I just thought,

“Am I the luckiest person in the world? This is my job! Editing clips of this woman I adore and look up to… This is my job! And I am so wildly happy.”

On Wednesday, Feb 24th, I made a montage (re: backdoor access (about an FBI thing)), that made Larry laugh! He laughed at it during rehearsal. Making the host laugh was a fantastic feeling.

On Thursday, I did 19 rolls by myself before rehearsal(!).

On my training day, I’d only been able to get through 8 of 16. (Guh.) And at the end of my first kinda real-ish week, I did 19!

My boss even came in to ask which ones she needed to give away. And we (me and the producer), were all, “None. We got this.” It was such a fantastic feeling!

There even was some extra effect-y type work (such as a highlight on security footage that moved all around). It was a sweet and busy day. I was on top of the world.

(Really. I think light was beaming out of me as I skipped through the halls, amazed how well it was all going.)

And then [dum dum duuuum – scary chords] Then there was “fateful Friday.”

I cried on the floor of my office – like straight up sobbed… on the floor. Because I no longer had the ability to sit in my desk chair with all the crying.

I’m kind of surprised I got any work done, ’cause I started and ended the day crying. (It was kind of okay though, ’cause it ended with the greatest pep talk of all time.)

What happened? Well, that’s not a story for the blog… If you want that, you gotta take me to Denny’s.

But on Wednesday, boom. Everything fell into place.

I officially moved into my editor office (the one next door to the one the temporary one I’d been in) on that Wednesday.

I heard a big noise on the outside of door. And my boss – my amazing, fantastic boss – was ripping off the nametag on the door. “This isn’t you!”

My boss is not playing around. She is making stuff happen, and I love her for that. (And so many other things. My goodness, I could do at least an entire post on how I have the best boss in the universe.)

And I’ll talk about my last (3rd) trial week next time.

This was a little weird because I technically had two different first weeks as an editor.

There was basically the secret first week. (I was pretty much on a trial basis for the first three weeks.) And then there was the real official first week (when I got in the credits and all that jazz).

Technically, the first day I got in the editing chair was February 22. And basically every day just got better.

On Monday, the 22nd, I got up early and went to the gym.

While I was working out, I was going over in my head how many frames of fade go on the date, how much padding to give the control room, what my options are when there’s a shot change in the pad, etc.

I put on my favorite pink dress, got to work a bit early, and got cracking. I was a little afraid to even leave my desk. I just wanted to be there perfecting things all the time.

This was also the day I got a glimpse into what I talked about here yesterday – the whole super being part of the show. People were in and out of my bay all day, and it just opened my eyes to, “oh, this is what being an editor on this type of show is like. There are 4 different people in here right now who need something from me right now.” You gotta think fast and prioritize. And it is so awesome and fun!

It was also very cute, because things weren’t super announced yet or anything, since I was technically in my trial. So I got all these soft quiet tiny congratulations as word sort of semi-spread. It was sort of an adorable fun way for it to happen – all these little spread out mini-celebrations instead of one cheer in a production meeting.

And this is where I’ll pick up next time.

Yesterday, my post ended with how proud I am to work on the show I do.

The Nightly Show says a lot of stuff that I think needs to be said.

We’ve done a couple of pieces on Hillary Clinton and the way the media treats her vs. the male candidates. (I even edited a montage of Chris Matthews yelling, and some male republican candidates yelling, that was helpful in showing hypocrisy about the way her voice was talked about.)

And I am honored that I get to be a part of that (of saying real and important things in a funny way that makes people listen) – and not just any part. Like, a biiig tangible part!

I didn’t even necessarily think I wanted to be an editor when I started on the show. (Big, huge, humongous props to my boss for allowing me to kind of find my way and go from not super being on the editor track to that being what I wanted to do. Have I mentioned she’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met?)

I love producing. And I like to feel like I’m part of the action. And I love to work with people.

To me, (at least in reality TV, which is where I was before), sometimes editing doesn’t super feel like part of the action, because you’re alone in your bay working on the final product – some days you could not even see another human being.

There’s of course still tons of creativity, and you do still have people you work with. But I didn’t know if staring at a screen alone all day was really the way to go for me…

But working as an editor on The Nightly Show is different than any other editing gig I’ve ever seen.

I get to work with practically everyone here! The graphics department comes in to ask for freezes. Producers come in to watch down montages and things that have been asked for. I talk to the control room as I send them rolls.

I even export things for the legal team to watch, so I get to kind of understand more of that side as well.

I’m also literally watching the script be written and re-written by the writers all morning (as I can see it in real time on the computer, as I’m editing the rolls the writers need).

I get to work with practically every department in the building. I get to really see how the show gets made, and how it changes throughout the day. I like such a huge part of the show, and I love it!

I also love that when I watch the taping, I get to see, “Hey, I made that montage!” Obviously, it’s a huge team effort with writers and producers and me. But to see something go from my hands to the television – and to hear the audience laugh… It feels sooooo good.

Every single person in the building matters a ton. And in all my other jobs before this one, I always knew I was part of a show.

But it feels different to me to not just know it, and know how you helped it come to be, but to see tangibly, with immediacy, something that you made put on television. It’s just an incredible feeling.

And I love it. I just adore it.

Oh my goodness! (Ahhhhh!)

After being in the edit chair for 3 weeks (and dying to tell you all about it), everything has officially gone through, and I can now talk here about being an editor! (Eeee!)

I loooooove my job. I love it. I love it so much.

I do the headlines editing at the show, which means that I edit the clips that roll in. You see something about Hillary Clinton, or Fox News, or any of that jazz on our show? Most likely, I was the one who edited that!

And I love it. I love everything about my job.

It’s the perfect mix of everything.

It’s the perfect mix of using the technical side of my brain with the creative side. In the montages, I have to try to get the comic timing right. (Well, I have to get the timing right with everything – not just montages.)

Sometimes I have to cover a shot with a different shot to make things flow better. There are all these little creative decisions.

And then there are all these technical elements – making sure I give the control room the correct amount of padding on both sides of the SOTs (that’s what we call the rolls – standing for Sound On Tape). I need to put the ticker and date in the correct place and have things fade off with the correct amount of time.

So, creativity + technical business = A+.

It’s also the perfect mix of working alone and working together.

In the morning, I sit with the (ever-changing) script and edit the rolls until the afternoon comes and a producer comes in to work with me. Then we all watch rehearsal and see how things play. And then we work on re-write. (Then I do some other while the show is happening and after. (We’ll get there soon.)

So, I get my alone focused time in the morning. I get my hands-on together time in the afternoon. It’s lovely!

Also, I hate to admit in writing that it’s actually sort of nice to have a work life balance – because I do love to live my job. (And goodness, I have in many ways done that haha.) But now as an editor, it’s actually a fairly normal schedule. And there comes a point where work is definitely over because the show airs that night. I feel like I get to go in in the morning, give the show my full heart and attention, and then leave it behind – because it’s going on the air. It’s a fantastic feeling (and indeed a pretty fabulous work/life balance).

I also love how every day brings something a little different.

I’ve had a day where I had to build two rolls. And I day where I had to build 19 – including some with special effects. There’ve been days with no re-write changes, and days where we build montages from scratch during re-write. You’re never exactly sure what you’re gonna get, and I just adore it.

I looove my job. I have found my perfect niche here, and I just love it. (Have I mentioned that part yet?)

(Note: This is kind of silly, because ultimately my immediate bosses are changing my life more than the man whom I don’t work with every day. But come along for the ride with me anyway?)

I watched The Daily Show for practically as long as I could remember.

Jon Stewart’s (and Colbert’s) show truly taught me a lot about our political system and current events (even if that’s perhaps a little silly that that’s how I was learning…or that I needed to learn so much – but how much did any of us (generally) know about Super PACs before Colbert? The shows are here for a reason – and they’re doing their job).

Jon Stewart’s shows also brought me oh so much joy (as things tend to do when laughter is being given to you each night).

When I first moved(-ish) to California and was subletting month-to-month, once the show I’d moved there for had ended, I desperately wanted to get back to the east coast.

When I heard Jon was doing the Rally to Restore Sanity, I thought, “that sounds amazing. I need to be there for that. I’m gonna go. Then I’ll bus up to New York, and I’m just gonna stay.”

And I did.

I used that rally as an excuse to take a flight across the country and just stay. I got a job on a cooking show (that I loved). And though I ultimately didn’t stay permanently (that time – I am back though!), I had a great time in New York.

And then – this is the real way in which he kind of changed my life (in less of a tangential kind of way)…

I have wanted for so long to be a part of a scripted show that makes people laugh – and preferably learn things, or be encouraged to see a new perspective or think about things differently… to work on a show that helps make a positive change in the world.

I have cold-submitted my resume more than once to The Daily Show… even applying as an intern (after I’d already joined the editors guild and everything) – which I realize is a little silly. I was just pretty ready to do practically anything to work there in any capacity. I wanted to be a part of it.

And finally (in a story you’ve already heard), I got a job at The Nightly Show.

It’s almost as though every time I get to come and live my little dream of living in New York, Jon Stewart is the one in the distance saying, “Come on over, Aurora. It’s great here.”

Now, I am finally in the Jon Stewart family(!). Making comedy every night. Living in New York City. Being proud that we’ve drawn attention on our show to some of the ridiculousness in this world (with the hopes of effecting some change).

I don’t think I’ve ever loved a job I’ve had more than I love this job in this moment. I am so happy. I am so content. And I love coming to work every single day.

It feels fantastic that my little fantasy has come true!

Eeeeee!

Tonight, my boss let me do the main editing for our show!

(And thank goodness my blog still posts on California time, ’cause there’s still time to tell you all about it!)

On Tuesday, she let me do kind of a dry run where she showed me how she makes choices and gets the show to time and everything. I was in the driver’s seat part of the way, and she was for the other part.

But this time – oh this time, she really let me do it!

I watched the show with her. I took notes in the way that I learned was helpful. I started making marks in Avid almost immediately after the act was over. Then she came back after the postmortem, filling me in on what the execs said to cut.

And then… she left me alone. She totally trusted me and left the bay.

(She is the *perfect* mix of helpful and letting you fly. My boss is the best – not just because this is a public blog, but because she really is. It’s so comforting to know that if she ever overhears any of us having a conversation about her, it’s all good stuff – always. I know, blah blah blah. Lame for strangers to read, probably. Still true!)

She came back in once the edits were done (before we cleaned them up – just to make sure I was indeed to time and that she liked what I’d done). Then I cleaned them up. She gave me some pointers and I fixed anything she wanted. (I also added in all the bleeps of swear words.)

Then she gave me the low-down on how to fill in the ticket bumper and act 4 and credits and all that jazz. Did all that. Put it together. Then we fed our acts to the control room downstairs.

There was a swear word that wasn’t marked on our cheat sheet. We all heard it as it transmitted downstairs. So, I even learned how to fix something and just re-lay that one part.

Then we headed on down to the control room to watch the whole show be transmitted to Comedy Central (since they’d be editing that night).

It was incredible! Work I’d done was seen on television (that night)! You can watch the episode on hulu. I took out whole minutes of conversation. There’s even a part where I took the beginning of one question Larry asked and put it with the end of a totally different question. Did you notice?

I feel like such a super happy grown up (but obviously not too grown up ever). Yay!

I happened to hear at work in my first week, that that weekend, there was a paintball event for Mike Yard’s birthday! (Woot!)

Again, not necessarily the smartest thing for me to do when maybe I should be sleeping or looking for an apartment. But no. I thought it was important to keep trying to bond with people and all of that jazz. So, I trekked out to Long Island early in the morning.

And there were only a handful of people there. I thought it was gonna be this big thing. ‘Twas not.

I was still pretty wildly unprepared (as I still hadn’t been home since my interview, and had been in NY a whole week). So, I went and bought some workout clothes at H&M in Times Square (which was still open when I’d gotten out of work that Friday night… it’s open laaaaate).

I was not great at paintball. I didn’t come super prepared. People lightly (and lovingly) made fun of me for not having a coat or something to protect me. I also was bad at hiding. I just kind of walked in plain sight.

I won one round at the end ’cause all you had to do was be the last person standing – and if someone ran out of paintballs, they were out. So, I just basically hid and let everybody shoot out everybody else. Then I came out of hiding and walked to victory – which everyone laughed about and talked about for a while.

It was a cute day, and I loved it! And Mike Yard is a total sweetheart. Yay new friends at my new job! (And yay trying something I’ve never tried before!)