L.A.-based editorial house Therapy Studios (
www.youneedtherapy.tv) editor Kristin McCasey and director Matt Ogens craft a heartfelt story of survival in a 4-minute video airing during the telethon for cancer awareness and research initiative, Stand Up To Cancer (
www.standup2cancer.org) for Tenth Planet Productions. The telethon began in 2008 and has since raised over $180 million through celebrity and media support. The telethon will feature celebrity heavy-hitters Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Justin Timberlake, Sofia Vagara, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson and event executive producer Gwyneth Paltrow, to name a few. The event aired commercial-free on September 7th from Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium on ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, HBO and more than a dozen other cable channels.
McCasey was recently nominated for a 2012 Hollywood Post Alliance Award for 'Outstanding Commercial Editing' for her work on Werther’s 'Magic' out of Sterling Rice Group, Boulder, CO.
The video features cancer survivor and retired Baltimore policeman David Gobin. The docu-style short follows Gobin’s emotional journey through his battle with lung cancer. He also recounts his decades-long career as a K9 officer, eventually retiring after 28 years on the job. Carefree retirement took a turn for the worse when he was diagnosed with lung cancer and given a life expectancy of one year. Gobin dove headlong into his battle with the disease, undergoing two operations, two clinical trials of chemotherapy and two rounds of radiation that kept him alive, but did not move him toward recovery. With not even a glimmer of hope in sight, he participated in a Phase I trial of an experimental cancer drug called PD-1. After two cycles of the drug, a CAT scan showed “significant shrinkage” of his cancer. The video closes on an incredulously thankful Gobin stating, “I might be a part of the cure. Gosh, is that amazing… I just hope.”
To most effectively create an emotional journey for viewers, Ogens and McCasey worked closely together to craft a story that focused on Gobin’s point of view. McCasey notes, “Matt wants to see the unexpected approach when it comes to editing his projects. It was a great experience to work with a director who allowed me to explore a bit and was also extremely collaborative. After working on so many spots, it was nice to have more than :60 to let the story play out and evolve into something grander.”
Credits:
Client: Stand Up to Cancer
Title: “David Gobin” 4:00
Production Company: Tenth Planet Productions
Director: Matt Ogens
Producer: Joshua Evan Greenberg
Editorial: Therapy Studios, LA
Editor: Kristin McCasey
Assistant Editor: Thomas Tedesco
Editorial EP: Joe DiSanto
Finish, Color & Mix: Chainsaw Post
Music Composer: Greg Kuehn