Explores how cinematography and editing work together to bring visual authenticity andnarrative clarity to life.

In this episode of Sight, Sound & Story, editor Maya Mumma, ACE, and cinematographer Buddy Squires, ASC, discuss their work on Ken Burns’ latest documentary, “The American Revolution.” They explore how they helped shape the historical storytelling, transforming archival material, artwork, and live footage into an emotionally resonant narrative. Maya shares insight into shaping the series in the edit, from structuring long-form storytelling to finding the right pacing and emotional balance. Buddy reflects on his approach to cinematography, including maintaining visual consistency, working with archival material, and collaborating within the Ken Burns filmmaking style. Moderated by Josh Apter, the conversation focuses on process, collaboration, and the practical choices that help make complex history engaging for audiences, while showcasing selected scenes from this incredible documentary.
Moderator: Josh Apter (Founder and Owner of Manhattan Edit Workshop)

Panelists: Editor Maya Mumma, ACE (“O.J.: Made in America,””Restrepo”) and Cinematographer Buddy Squires, ASC (“The Civil War,” “The Central Park Five”)

When: Thursday, February 12th, 2026
Time: 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT
General Admission: FREE!

All attendees who register for this event will receive a link and password before the event starts. This will gain free access for attendees. This will also give free replays for 48 hours.

PANELISTS:

Maya Mumma, ACE, was an editor on the Academy Award-winning documentary “O.J.: Made in America” for which she was honored with a Best Editing award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, an ACE Eddie, and a Primetime Emmy.

Maya began her career in the edit room of the Academy Award-nominated documentary “Restrepo,” which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. She has gone on to edit the Emmy nominated films “Which Way Is the Front Line From Here: The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington “(HBO) and “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley “(HBO), the Peabody Award winning “Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown “(HBO), as well as “A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers “(PBS), and the Netflix original series “Daughters of Destiny.” Recently, Maya edited the Emmy-winning “King in the Wilderness” (HBO), edited and produced the Emmy and Peabody award-winning “True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality” (HBO), the Emmy-nominated 3-part “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union” (HBO), and “Time Bomb Y2K “(HBO). Her work can currently be seen in “The American Revolution,” a 6-part 12-hour series from Ken Burns for PBS.

Buddy Squires, ASC, is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker, Emmy-winning director of photography, and a founding member of Florentine Films. His more than 250 screen credits include two Oscar winners, seven Academy Award nominees, and eleven Emmy Award-winning productions.

Squires’ recent credits as DP include “The American Revolution” (2025 Telluride Film Festival), “Highway 99: A Double Album”: (2025 Telluride Film Festival), “Leonardo da Vinci” (2024 Telluride Film Festival), “Taylor Mac’s 24 decade History of Popular Music” (2023 Tribeca Film Festival), “The US and the Holocaust” (2022, Telluride Film Festival), and “Viva Maestro.”

Buddy Squires directed and photographed “Beyond the Beach,” which premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. Other recent DP credits include “Benjamin Franklin” (2022), “Muhammad Ali” (2021, Telluride Film Festival), “Hemingway” (2021), “Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is “(2020), “Oliver Sacks: His Own Life” (2019, NY Film Festival), “College Behind Bars” (2019, NY Film Festival) “Country Music” (2019), “The Vietnam War” (2017), “Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman” (2017), “Bombshell: The Hedy Lamar Story” (2017), “Betting on Zero” (2016), “Jackie Robinson” (2016), and “The Last Dalai Lama “(2016).

Squire’s other credits include “The Central Park Five” (Cannes Film Festival), Rory Kennedy’s “Ethel,” “The Donner Party”, “American Ballet Theatre,” “Salinger,” “Strangers No More,” “The Civil War,” “Baseball,” “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” “Chimps: So Like Us,” “New York: A Documentary Film,” and “Compassion in Exile.”

Josh Apter has worked in all areas of filmmaking, from location sound recordist on numerous feature films, to videographer for Steven Spielberg’s Shoah Foundation, where he recorded the testimonies of over 150 Holocaust survivors. As a film editor, Josh has worked on over ten feature films, including “The Holy Land” (winner Slamdance FF/Cavu Pictures Distributor), “Kaaterskill Falls,” and “Barbecue is a Noun” (Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Rome International Film Festival and the River Run Film Festival).

From his love of post-production, Josh founded Manhattan Edit Workshop in 2002. MEWShop is an Avid, Assimilate, and Blackmagic Authorized Training Center offering a variety of classes in the art and technique of film editing. With clients ranging from AMC Networks, HBO, NBC, CBS, WNET, and CNN, Manhattan Edit Workshop has become the premier training destination for the highest-level content creators and media professionals.