Industry Interview with Documentary Editor Aaron Wickenden

Get ready to be captivated by the work of editor Aaron Wickenden, who always manages to find a haunting and lovely truth in his projects, whether he’s spending time with devil worshipers or the angelic Mr. Rogers. We had the pleasure of speaking with Aaron about his work, what inspires him, and his collaborations with directors.

In our interview, we asked Aaron about his work on “Hail Satan?” and whether director Penny Lane came into the edit bay with a conclusion in mind. Aaron revealed that Penny had actually cut a twenty-minute demo herself, which posed many provocative questions and themes that he and his co-editor would go on to develop in the film.

As an editor of unscripted films, Aaron has learned that maintaining the audience’s curiosity is key to creating a successful film. Luckily, “Hail Satan?” had a straightforward narrative throughline that helped them organize their questions around.

We also discussed Aaron’s work on “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” and how the ending of the film evolved over time. Aaron shared that one of his favorite scenes is the ending, which was actually very different from the original ending they had. The new ending was inspired by an exercise that director Morgan Neville had done with all of his interviews, where he asked people to take a silent minute to reflect on someone who had made a profound difference in their lives.

Finally, we talked about Aaron’s work on “Generation Wealth,” a stunning documentary that explores obsession with wealth and opulence. Despite the grand themes of the film, the edit remains down to earth and intimate. One sequence that really struck us was when Aaron lingers on a push into the eyes of Suzanne, a hedge fund executive.

Overall, Aaron’s work is a testament to his ability to find the heart of a story and bring it to life on screen. We can’t wait to see what he’ll work on next!The editing process for Generation Wealth was like solving a four-dimensional Rubik’s cube. With two and a half decades of work to weave into a single epic narrative, editor Aaron Wickenden and director Lauren Greenfield had their work cut out for them. But with a proof of concept demo and a stellar written treatment, they were able to establish Greenfield as the primary guide through her corpus. The result is a cinematic meditation on how the values of the “American Dream” have mutated over time, offering a unique time capsule that will be talked about for years to come. As an editor of unscripted documentary features, Wickenden is drawn to the emotional journey of living with a subject during the length of cutting a documentary. When a difficult scene suddenly starts to unlock itself and go from a pile of fragments to something that almost feels electric in its coherence and completeness, it’s an overwhelming feeling. Wickenden is always looking to collaborate with directors who have a strong artistic voice and have been drawn to a topic that they are uniquely well-suited to rub up against. In that charged space of friction, he’s looking to help make the sparks fly.

Meet Aaron Wickenden, the mastermind behind some of the most captivating documentaries out there!

Featured image via Hail Satan? (Magnolia Pictures).

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