How did you all get involved with the series?
Our team at Outpost got involved very early in the process, initially coming aboard in 2020 before the series landed at HBO. Being there on the ground floor was incredibly exciting because it gave us the opportunity to help shape not just the edit, but the broader storytelling direction and creative identity of the series from the very beginning.
Were you a football (soccer) fan before working on the show?
I was not a fan. I also wasn’t NOT a fan, I just didn’t pay too much attention to the sport. But that’s true for pretty much all sports. I have cut a lot of sports doc work over the years, and generally, after I cut something on the sport, I get into it. I do think that’s an advantage. For me, I get connected to individuals and human stories, then to the conception. So having that as a starting point is a benefit. Also, cutting game play in a cinematic, creative, narrative, and digestible way, especially for people coming into the sport, is a must. It’s pretty easy to identify when an editor is a super fan of the sport in the way they cut competition.
Why did you want to be involved with the series?
What attracted me to the project was the opportunity to tell a story that extends beyond the game itself. While football is the backdrop, the series explores relationships, pressure, identity and what it takes to compete at the highest level. The emotional and character-driven elements were what made it especially compelling from an editorial perspective.
Please tell us about your editing process.
Editing documentaries is a highly collaborative process. We work closely with directors and producers to identify the strongest themes, characters and emotional arcs, then build the story through structure, pacing and performance. In documentary filmmaking, editing isn’t just assembling scenes—it’s often where the story truly takes shape. A large part of the process is reviewing material, finding unexpected moments, and refining the narrative until everything works together as a cohesive whole.
How did you work with the directors? Were they in the edit with you?
We were fortunate to take on a central creative role thanks to a relationship that had been built over more than a decade working with the filmmakers at Park Stories, including director Rand Getlin and exec producer Janina Palyo. Before we began cutting episodes, we spent a great deal of time discussing the show’s structure, narrative arcs and emotional depth. Once we aligned creatively, our team at Outpost developed initial cuts and then continued collaborating closely with the production team throughout the process, refining and shaping each episode together.
Tell us about how technology helped you cut the film – why did you choose to use Adobe Premiere Pro rather than other editing software?
Outpost’s entire post production workflow is built around Adobe Premiere Pro. We’ve used it for years because it supports everything from ingest through final delivery while integrating seamlessly with the broader Adobe ecosystem. That flexibility is especially valuable on large-scale documentary projects where you’re working with a wide range of footage, archival materials and evolving storylines. Having all of those tools connected helps keep the creative process efficient and collaborative.
Is there a specific tool in Premiere Pro that makes your life easier?
Adobe’s speech-to-text functionality. With such a large volume of interviews and archival material, searchable transcripts made it significantly easier to locate key moments, identify themes and build scenes. On a documentary with hundreds of hours of footage, anything that helps editors navigate material more efficiently can have a major impact.
The show was shot over four years. How did you distil that down? And, how much footage did you have to start with?
We started with roughly 700 hours of footage collected over several years, so one of the biggest editorial challenges was identifying the strongest narrative threads and determining what best served the story. With that much material, the process becomes less about finding moments and more about making thoughtful decisions about what to leave out. We spent a lot of time organizing footage, building thematic connections and refining the structure to ensure every scene contributed to the larger emotional journey. The goal was to preserve the complexity of the story while creating a series that remained focused, engaging and accessible for viewers.
How long did you get to cut the series?
We initially came on board in 2020 and are still cutting!
What was the biggest challenge of working on the series?
One of the biggest challenges was managing and organising the sheer volume of material. As mentioned above, we worked with roughly 700 hours of footage while the story itself continued to evolve. Because new material was constantly arriving and production was ongoing, it was important to build a workflow that could remain flexible throughout the process. At the same time, we had to distill an enormous amount of content into a focused and emotionally compelling narrative that worked across the entire series.
What are the key differences between editing documentary and fiction?
One of the biggest differences is that documentaries are often discovered in the edit. With scripted projects, you’re working from a predetermined narrative structure. In documentary filmmaking, the editor plays a much larger role in shaping that structure, determining how the story unfolds and identifying the themes that emerge from the material. You’re not just assembling scenes—you’re helping create the narrative itself. It requires a balance of storytelling, organization and creative problem-solving.
How excited are you for the FIFA World Cup? And who do you think will win?
Very excited. Having spent so much time getting to know these guys and their families through the footage, I feel pretty connected to them and the team. And I hope that feeling translates to others. As far as winning? I’m just going to enjoy the ride.
US Against the World is available to stream on HBO Max now.
