PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor is one of the hottest and most talked-about series right now. This comes as no surprise as this series delivers amazing performances, a creative storyline, and delicious drama. I recently had a chat with the producer and editor for the series, Gregor O’Bryant, and had the opportunity to learn all the details that went into making Brand New Cherry Flavor.
PopHorror – Hi Greg. How is 2021 treating you so far?
Greg O’Bryant – It’s a weird year to be alive, but all things considered- I’m good, thanks for asking. Everyone in my household is safe and healthy and Brand New Cherry Flavor seems to have found an audience, which is amazing and still a bit mind-blowing to all of us that worked on it.
PopHorror – Yes! Everyone is loving it! What’s your favorite part about being an editor and what does that entail?
Greg O’Bryant – I love editing because I get to be the last person to touch a project before it goes out the door, which is a lot of responsibility and something I take really seriously. In my opinion, editing also affords me the most influence on the final product (other than the writers and directors), and I really like being ‘under the hood’ with the creators tinkering with the story.
As far as what it entails, at a minimum, editors gather all the footage that’s filmed, assemble the best pieces into a coherent narrative, and then under the direction of the director or showrunner, shape that narrative into a finished episode of TV or a movie. In my case, I also help produce the post-production, so I’m involved in the supervision of the music, visual effects, final sound, and final picture. I work very closely with the directors/writers/showrunners/etc and I love that collaboration.
PopHorror – That’s awesome. I love Brand New Cherry Flavor. What was it like to work on this Netflix series and how did you get involved with it?
Greg O’Bryant – First of all, thank you so much. The show was truly a labor of love that we worked on for about 16 months and it’s incredibly gratifying to know that people are connecting with it. I’ve worked with Nick Antosca pretty steadily for the last 5 years or so and when we were finishing The Act for Hulu, he passed me the book and said he wanted to make it his next show. I read the book and was definitely intrigued by the atmosphere and the characters, but what really got me excited was that it seemed kind of…impossible to make. I mean, who would agree to finance anything this unconventional and deranged, and then who would be willing to put it on TV? So I was all-in for that challenge and luckily UCP and Netflix agreed to make it and Nick and Lenore invited me on to edit.
PopHorror – Hell yeah! Do you enjoy working on all these series and seeing them all come together?
Greg O’Bryant – I started my career doing more film than TV and lately, I definitely do more TV. On a film, you have a more luxurious editing schedule, and probably have too much time to experiment and explore the footage. As opposed to TV, where you never have enough time, but it is truly exciting day-to-day to try and pull it off. I like both formats and seeing a project come together is always really satisfying, especially when we barely make it in time. Like on BNCF where we were working on the jaguar demon visual effects up until final delivery.
PopHorror – I know Covid affected much of the editing process for Brand New Cherry Flavor, how did you work through that?
Greg O’Bryant – We had 2 weeks of production left when Covid shut everything down, so the showrunners came back from Vancouver and we started going through what we had in the can. Every episode was missing at least two scenes, but the bigger issue was when we realized that because of how unique the tone of BNCF was, we hadn’t really “cracked the code” for the show yet. Because of Covid’s safety, Netflix insisted that only Nick, Lenore, myself, and my indispensable assistant editor, Steph Perez, finish the work on the show. We worked remotely through spring 2020 using technology I can only describe as a souped-up Zoom video conferencing system and got everything as far along as we could before shutting down completely for the summer. Then in fall 2020, we shot for 2 weeks in Los Angeles and then finished the episodes sequentially pretty quickly after that. It was definitely a challenge to work so fast on a show that has such complicated mythology, but in the end, the work paid off.
PopHorror – Thanks for all your hard work in making Brand New Cherry Flavor amazing. This series has the perfect mix of horror and comedy, how do you think the editing helped achieve that?
Greg O’Bryant – To me, that mix you referenced is what makes the show special. Myself, and the other editors who started the show with us, Curtiss Clayton and Ken Ramos, worked incredibly hard on finding the delicate balance. The trick is, if you make it too funny, it isn’t scary and if you make it too scary, it isn’t funny. As an editor, that’s always something you’re fine-tuning. For me personally, I start building everything with the actor’s performances first. I find if you can ground them in some kind of logic (even if it’s nightmare logic), it gives you a firm foundation to build comedy and tension on. Luckily for us, we had Rosa, Catherine, Eric, and a terrific supporting cast in Jeff Ward, Manny Jacinto, and the gang. Finding that special tone was only possible because of the totally gonzo, fearless performances these actors gave us.
PopHorror – Completely agree! What was your favorite part about working on this series?
Greg O’Bryant – I’ve always found working with Nick to be incredibly rewarding and getting to know Lenore on this one was no different. They’re both incredibly talented and creatively generous. Being a part of crafting such a unique narrative with complicated mythology was a once in a career experience. I also work regularly with IMN sound and Mr. Wolf VFX and both of those companies are full of wonderful, talented people that bring so much to the “world-building” of a project like this. Getting a chance to go back into the trenches with them on this was a blast.
PopHorror – A few of the series you’ve worked on fall under the thriller/horror category. Is this a genre you enjoy? If so, do you have a favorite horror film or one that inspired you?
Greg O’Bryant – I do like it! I think suspense is the ultimate application of editing and I’ve learned so much doing horror that is strangely applicable to other genres. As far as a favorite, I can’t pick one. My two favorite horror movies are the 1974’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the 1984’s Nightmare on Elm Street.
PopHorror – Great choices. What’s next for you?
Greg O’Bryant – I’m currently editing and co-producing a climate change anthology series for creator Scott Z. Burns that will air on Apple TV+ next year.
PopHorror – Thanks again for chatting with me, Greg. I look forward to all your future projects!
