Sabrina Plisco’s career spans nearly 30 years as an editor in both feature films and television with a title list of over 40 projects. Her feature career took off when she jumped into the pioneering visual effects movie SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW. This experience would serve her well as the editor for the visually dazzling DOCTOR STRANGE. Over the years, she found a niche on a number of projects which combine animation and live-action such as the R-rated comedy STRAYS in theaters August 2023 and more family-friendly projects like CHARLOTTE’S WEB, BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, THE SMURFS movies, and CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG. Sabrina has most recently returned to her love of movie musicals for a holiday nativity story titled Journey to Bethlehem which is releasing in November 2023.

Her experience on the small screen front is extensive as well. The television mini-series UPRISING received an ACE Eddie nomination, and in 2015 Sabrina was nominated for an Emmy on the A&E mini-series HOUDINI. In recent years, she has edited episodes of Steven Spielberg’s the AMAZING STORIES reboot. This year Sabrina has been nominated for an Emmy for the pilot of MS. MARVEL, her second collaboration with Marvel.

Avid: What did you enjoy the most about working on Ms. Marvel?

Sabrina Plisco: In the superhero world, I enjoy origin stories the most. And in this case, I love the fact that a Muslim character was going to be introduced into the MCU. Kamala starts out to be just a normal girl in Jersey just trying to fit in. That in itself makes her appealing and inspiring to young women and girls.

Avid: Why did you choose to submit this episode for a nomination?

Sabrina Plisco: The studio actually chose to submit this episode, but I supported that decision because I love the clever animation sequences that the directors designed to help define the character of Kamala Kahn. It was fun to help build the animation into the real world of Kamala to help us understand her view and love of superheroes.

Avid: How did you find out about the nomination and what was your reaction?

Sabrina Plisco: I was on a zoom meeting for my recent show when I received a “congratulations text” from a friend. I had no idea what they were referring to so I had to ask what they were congratulating me for. To my surprise, it was for the Emmy nod! It really did come out of the blue. Then the texts and emails and flowers poured in!

Avid: What tools of Media Composer helped you craft this episode?

Sabrina Plisco: I am a big user of animatte. In the case of this show, I would tuck in storyboards or early Anim into the live action material to help designate how the animation would need to work into the plates for timing. I’ve done this over the years on the various hybrid projects I’ve worked on. It's been the best way to communicate with animation and vfx vendors as well as the directors and producers about my intent of how to present the shot or scene.

Avid: How has knowing Media Composer helped your career?

Sabrina Plisco: The stability of Media Composer has been a blessing over the years. It really is a program that I can customize to what fits me best on the various projects I’ve been a part of. When I’m under pressure with executive and directors sitting over me, I have to be able to translate what’s in my head thru my fingertips and on to the screen without the tools getting in the way. Working on Avid Media Composer over my long career has allowed me to become comfortable and confident with my skills as an editor.

Avid: Would you recommend editing to someone interested in a career in TV?

Sabrina Plisco: The advice I give to young up and coming editors is that 90% of the work out there these days is for the small screen. There is so much more opportunity for growth in small screen. The schedules are usually faster than a feature project so you can also get more experience within the time frame of a year. And the quality of what’s being made in this day and age is impressive and amazing. So I say that if you’re just starting out, television is a fantastic place to begin your journey