NFS: Hey, Dylan! What first drew you to engaged on a venture like Magic Metropolis: An American Fantasy? How acquainted have been you with the enduring Atlanta venue earlier than signing on to the venture?
Dylan Younger: Hey, thanks for having me! Like with most docs, I’m at all times desirous to study one thing new. I like listening to a brand new story or getting extra historical past on one thing that recontextualizes what I already know. Whenever you begin to see one thing accustomed to a brand new perspective, to me, that’s like — chef’s kiss. It is a feeling I’m at all times attempting to deliver to my edits, and that was positively the case with Magic Metropolis.
I believe anybody who has frolicked in Atlanta is not less than conscious of the membership. I knew it by popularity and its significance to southern hip-hop, so I used to be excited to leap in and study extra about it. I ended up studying much more than I ever thought I’d.
NFS: What sort of analysis went into your preparation and work on Magic Metropolis?
DY: Loads of digging into tales surrounding the membership, and quite a lot of brushing up on the completely different eras of Atlanta Rap. We’re speaking in regards to the Gucci Mane vs. Jeezy beef, the rise of lure, crunk, Jermaine Dupri, Outkast, TLC, Lil Jon, Younger Thug… simply so many artists. Music is such an necessary a part of how I seize the essence of an period in any venture, and actually, such an necessary a part of this present particularly. I spent quite a lot of time listening to southern bangers; my stereo was getting a exercise for positive.
NFS: The subtitle “An American Fantasy” lends the docuseries a extremely fascinating subtext. What does that descriptor imply to you?
DY: Yeah, it’s attention-grabbing as a result of on this collection, that descriptor means quite a lot of issues. The entire membership revolves round fantasy, the place it itself has this larger-than-life popularity as a spot the place something can occur. You may run into Nelly and watch somebody make it rain $30K in the identical night time. It’s a spot the place musical artists go to check out their new tracks and generally discover a hit that skyrockets their profession, like Future or the Migos.
The dancers at all times speak about having to promote the fantasy on stage, however I believe in the end, for me, the fantasy comes again to the American Dream. The center of this story is the dream of 1 man who needed to personal his personal enterprise, and that’s Michael Barney, a.okay.a., Mr. Magic.
NFS: Are you able to please inform us extra about your distinctive resolution to include a Soviet-era cartoon into your storytelling on the collection?
DY: Hahaha! Yeah, that happened as the results of some inventive downside fixing and a 20-year-old obsession. Okay, so let me set the stage right here…there’s a person who works at Magic Metropolis referred to as Mr. Wolf, and he’s Mr. Magic’s right-hand man. Mr. Wolf tells the story about how they first met, the place, having simply robbed a financial institution, he geese into Magic Metropolis. He meets Mr. Magic, they usually have a few drinks and hit it off till the cops present up. I don’t need to spoil an excessive amount of, however for sure, we didn’t have any archival of those occasions.
Mr. Wolf is such a peaceful, cool, collected man that when he informed us this story, it was actually stunning, and I felt just like the presentation of it within the edit must be stunning as effectively.
Now, I used to be obsessive about a Tremendous 8 projector I had as a child, and would choose up any reels I may get my arms on. One particularly I had gotten from a yard sale was this outdated Soviet-era cartoon referred to as “Nu Pogodi,” the place the primary character is a wolf who is continually attempting to eat this rabbit character. He drinks, he smokes, he runs from the cops, and I felt it could be an ideal manner to assist inform Mr. Wolf’s story. I used to be capable of finding hi-res scans of a few of the episodes and construct out a full sequence to accompany Mr. Wolf’s narration. I confirmed it to Director Charles Todd, and we each thought it was so humorous and simply labored completely, in order that’s how a Soviet cartoon from 60 some odd years in the past ended up in a present a few membership in Atlanta. And secretly, I’m very tickled I bought to present this movie I like a brand new life.
NFS: Because the editor on the collection’ very first episode, you had the chance to determine the tone from the onset. What did that duty imply to you, and the way did you’re employed with the collection’ different editors to make sure the storytelling remained constant all through?
DY: It’s a large duty, however on this explicit present, I bought extraordinarily fortunate to work with some very proficient people who had a really clear imaginative and prescient of what the collection was going to be from the beginning. Director Charles Todd, Creator Cole Brown, Showrunner Bayan Joonam – all three of them have been so instrumental in establishing the tone of the collection. There have been many late nights, quite a lot of conversations had, and quite a lot of attempting issues out. I gotta say, these guys gave me quite a lot of leeway to experiment, let me attempt some ridiculous concepts, and reigned me in when it was maybe a bit of an excessive amount of. Haha!
When the opposite two editors began, Genéa Gaudet and I have been workplace neighbors, so it was very straightforward to pop over and have a dialog at any time when. She is completely unbelievable; we chatted a bunch in regards to the individuals on the heart of the tales, and I spent quite a lot of time sitting on the sofa in her room along with her canine Joey, simply engaged on a few of the greater puzzle items of the collection. She’s so good at discovering that coronary heart and bringing it ahead that it was really easy to work collectively.
Matt Michener, who lower the ultimate episode, was working in New York on the time, however we had labored on a earlier iteration of this present collectively, so he was already very accustomed to the fabric, and I had full confidence he was going to knock it out of the park, and he did.
NFS: Magic Metropolis is commonly outrageous and humorous, but in addition fairly heartfelt. How did you navigate these varied tones within the edit?
DY: The identical manner I strategy any venture, which is by listening. I discover that every scene is exclusive, and by listening to the interviewees (what they are saying, how they are saying it, what they’re feeling, what they share, what they don’t share), the tone of a scene will reveal itself.
In Magic Metropolis, most of the tales are enjoyable, thrilling, over-the-top, and bombastic, however on the coronary heart of the present are very human tales. Loads of consideration was given to the right way to lay these emotions out in a manner that wouldn’t have too drastic of shifts. We needed to maintain transferring by means of time from previous to current, however the construction of getting interstitials gave me some wiggle room to throw in breaks when wanted. They turned an effective way to share data, give emotional breaks, and preserve issues enjoyable and light-weight when essential.
We deliver you in with the wild attract of the membership and every thing it has to supply, and when you’re comfy and invested, that heartfelt dial begins getting cranked up.
NFS: You even have a formidable background in sports activities storytelling with credit on Greatness Code and NFL Draft Tales. What are the similarities and variations between these tasks and a present like Magic Metropolis?
DY: Nicely, I noticed quite a lot of acquainted faces. There are interviews with Shaq, Dominic Wilkins, Lou Williams… It truthfully felt like a sports activities doc at some factors! No, I don’t assume they’re too completely different on the finish of the day. What’s at all times essentially the most attention-grabbing to me is the individuals on the heart of a venture. We’re all empathetic creatures that may relate to and discover ourselves mirrored within the tales and struggles of others. Each story is private, and whether or not it’s about successful a gold medal on the Olympics or dancing at a nightclub to help your loved ones, it’s the those that matter essentially the most, and that’s at all times my strategy for any venture.
NFS: How does your inventive strategy differ when telling the tales of so many well-known and public figures?
DY: Not an excessive amount of, truthfully. Certain, there are some issues by way of public picture and model identification or no matter, however on the finish of the day, we’re all human, and I discover that if you may get previous that facade of public presentation and actually join with somebody, that’s by no means a nasty look. Nelly is a superb instance of this within the third episode. He actually opens up about one thing very private, and it gave me quite a lot of respect for the person. We approached that scene in the identical manner we might’ve if it have been anybody else.
Dylan Younger Credit score: Impact24
NFS: Are there every other genres or codecs through which you wish to work? Or documentarians with whom you’d like to collaborate?
DY: I’m a doc man for all times; I like this style, and it’s a lot enjoyable to me that my job is principally placing puzzles collectively day-after-day. Just lately, I’ve actually been into tasks that bend what you’d usually count on from a doc. After watching Pavements, I’d like to work with Alex Ross Perry. Massive fan of how he blended staged components performed for veritas however nonetheless used them to advance the story. That’s the type of genre-bending that’s been actually inspiring to me not too long ago. Although truthfully, anytime I get to work on a venture that’s a model new subject to me, I’m fairly jazzed about it.
NFS: Thanks, Dylan! Is there the rest you wish to share about Magic Metropolis or every other upcoming tasks?
DY: This was a really enjoyable venture that I’m grateful to have labored on. A topic like that is very attention-grabbing as a result of, as you may think, a spot like Magic Metropolis is steeped in legends, myths, exaggerations… In a broader sense, I consider every thing is true. Like, when you consider in ghosts, their existence is one thing that’s true to you. No matter somebody feels or believes in a second goes to be true, and I’m at all times listening for that in interviews. With the ability to strategy the myths of Magic Metropolis and sort out a few of its tales from a number of views was very enjoyable, and I had a blast reducing on this collection.
