This post was written by Michelle Gallina and originally appeared on the Adobe blog on January 9, 2025.Directed by Ito herself and edited by Ema Ryan Yamazaki, the film follows Ito through her very personal journey and campaign to hold her assailant accountable. She not only becomes the face of Japan’s #MeToo movement but also launches a landmark case in Japan, exposing the country’s desperately outdated judicial and societal systems.Facing the unique challenge of making a film where the director is also the main subject, Yamazaki relied on Premiere Pro and Frame.io to help tell Ito’s story, which unfolds like a thriller and combines secret investigative recordings, vérité shooting, and emotional first-person video. With such a variety of footage to navigate, Yamazaki says Premiere Pro’s customization options were essential: “Spend the time to customize the keyboard to make it work for you. Every second saved with a keyboard shortcut will add up over the course of a project.”We caught up with Yamazaki to get a behind-the-scenes look at the four-year process of crafting Black Box Diaries.How and where did you first learn to edit?While attending NYU film school, I quickly realized I needed to learn a skill other than directing. I was drawn to editing, perhaps because I grew up as a dancer and was attracted to the idea of shaping stories using pacing and rhythm. I took a documentary class taught by Sam Pollard, who is a legendary documentary filmmaker and editor. I was inspired by him to pursue...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday