“I respect their process,” he said coolly during his interview.

Every editor and producer has a method of shifting through the massive amount of footage generated by the field team. That is the crux of the Reality TV “problem.” When producers and editors talk about their “process” what they are talking about are the strategies and tactics they use to find moments in the raw footage.

Producers create “cutdowns” of the best moments. They become masters of the show’s interviews. They think of creative ways to utilize interview bites and “frankenbite” quips together that enhance comedy or drama. Producers know to keep in mind the legal restrictions and the promotional obligations of the source material within their episode.

Editors build “sequences” and “assemble” episodes. They request reaction “selex” from the Assistant Editors, who excitedly join the fray. Editors are responsible for the overall project organization, navigating the groups of raw footage, and having a deep knowledge of the b-roll and music libraries. Great editors anticipate the show’s needs and make footage requests to production management.

Ultimately the goal of everyone’s “process” is to get as many eyeballs on as much of the footage as possible. New ideas are generated when everyone on the team talks to each other about the things they’ve seen. It’s Reality TV’s version of Pixar’s unplanned collaborations. I call them happy juxtapositions. Either way, I respect their process.