Steve “Nemi” Nemsick is an award winning editor and filmmaker.
Nemi is a tried and true PrEditor/Lead editor known for bringing creativity and clarity to complex documentaries, sports doc series, crime series, commercials, branding videos and more.
Recently, for Algiers America (HULU) Nemi cut most of the games and practice montages. The games could have up to 10 cameras and as many characters. Without a script or story producer Nemi cut the pre game/1st half/half time/2nd half and post game while maximizing the story of the game, considering the story arc for the episode and overall thread of the series, making the game as exciting as possible, living in moments and not montages, making the game followable without hand holding - without interviews - and scored it.
Prior to that, Nemi worked on Coach Prime for Amazon and again was tasked with the games and montages and all that comes with it. Nemi was one of two editors on the team that did final passes on episodes to make them stylistically cohesive (transitions, music, sfx, vibes). The same can be said for Nemi’s editing on the BET’s Klutch Academy. And before that, with LeBron’s Springhill Company for Best Shot on Youtube Originals. Again, mostly cutting the games (up to 10 cameras, 30 mics). This expertise was likely honed in his seven seasons editing Friday Night Tykes. This Texas youth football series became a hit, not because of exploitive producing/editing, but for exposing rotten behavior from coaches and parents simply by not getting in their way.
With CNN’s The Wonder List with Bill Weir, Nemi displayed his skill at weaving vo with imagery in a way that wasn’t trite and brought home the essence, danger and peculiarities of Greenland. This episode was edited remotely. Because of Covid they traveled with only half of a typical crew but afterwards they said the editing made it look like they hadn’t made any concessions. The entire episode can be viewed on the “work” page.
“Steve’s got a great eye, timing and soul! We are all impressed.” - Bill Weir
The Vice News film Essential Lives; The Bronx Battles Covid saw Nemi jump on board the proverbial sinking ship with life jackets for all. From director Michael Kamber, “He came in and rescued a project…he was easy to work with, took advice and suggestions and was a consummate professional, I’ve got nothing but good things to say about him…and really got the story, he told it beautifully.”
For Red Bull’s culture series Way Past Midnight, Nemi was able to structure, score and vibe out episodes about break dance battles and late night vogue battles in Barcelona.
A few great films of late that I helped edit were Divide In Concord, Rubbish In The Desert, & Big Crow The Hero In High Tops.
Throughout it all, Nemi always has passion projects, making or editing videos about - HIV/AIDS, women transitioning from welfare to the workforce, religion and Shakespeare in war-torn Bosnia, NYC's homeless, Tokyo bikers, Mexican rape victims raising families inside a garbage dump, immigrants, plastic in the ocean, garbage in a Spanish desert, a Native American tragedy/inspiration story, a WW2 artist/hero story, a Covid doc for Vice News, many sports stories involving the down trodden for ESPN, Hulu, Amazon Prime, MLB, NBA, a heroin to opioids doc for MSNBC, true crimes for Investigation Discovery, tech, alt. white power groups in UK/USA/AU, corporate videos like Blue Shield, MTV, Red Bull TV, BET, counter culture docs and most recently, a short doc about hair braiding in African salons in NYC with the Bronx Documentary Center.
“I aim to maximize the content I have and to add at least an extra little layer of creativity that might not have been expected. I am a collaborator through and through, with hundreds of projects in the bag and I’m fully capable of handling an entire edit unassisted.”
As a filmmaker, Nemi has filmed on 6 continents.
“I appreciate characters with character.”
Below are two films Nemi made ‘soup to nuts’ and out of pocket.
“When I say I’m an independent filmmaker I mean I literally edit for a living while spending all my other time and money on making films. Why? Because I know story. Been living one since day one.”
Pray For Me The Jason Jessee Film
“You will NEVER see a movie quite like this in your life. So if you love motorcycles, skateboarding, guns, chickens, art, aliens, conspiracy theories, insanity, and odd combinations of headgear…then GO SEE THIS MOVIE!” Iron Horse Magazine
“…and editor Steve Nemsick does an incredible job of revealing all sides of Jason, from Mormon to gun nut to the punk rock chicken farmer who just happens to be one of the greatest skaters of all time…” - Gearhead Magazine
I made this film with producer David Rogerson. We went out of pocket for the whole thing. Pray For Me garnered great reviews, won awards and has had millions of illegal downloads. We told a difficult story in a way that reflects the subject.
Much Ado In Mostar
I made this film with a 10K total budget. It won the Bosnia Film Festival in Tribeca. I was still recovering financially from Pray For Me and wanted nothing to do with docs…and then the phone rang.
Two weeks later I was in Bosnia where I had to learn the names of forty performers, their ethnicities/religions, their Shakespearean characters, the crew, the history of the Bosnian war, how it affected that city in particular and the long and troubled history of the region.
Many Bosnians appreciate the film for it’s unfortunately unique ending…a hopeful one.
