Super Bowl, Snoop, and Civil War Refugees: Willow Cai’s Professional Perspective

Yinuo “Willow” Cai is not from the United States but that does not negate her ability to feel the drama and spectacle that is the Super Bowl. This massive sporting event has superseded the definition of “sporting competition” to become a truly international public event. Whether you tune in for the strategy, the conflict, or the larger-than-life halftime music production, the Super Bowl is an event which makes the nation pause. Willow has contributed to a number of productions which are a part of the Super Bowl spectacle in her role as finishing editor including the FOX Sports Super Bowl LVII Opening Teaser and the documentary film THE SHOW: California Love which focuses on Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show in Los Angeles. In the truest sense, Willow Cai is a storyteller and a filmmaker. She is a respected professional who is a valued part of the fabric of those within the industry who create as a team. 

Excitement and tension is high for the Super Bowl for everyone involved, that includes the team who creates the opening teaser. Shot during Super Bowl week, Willow didn’t even receive the footage to begin her work on this production until Thursday. Even upon delivery, there were missing pieces and the need for Willow to rebuild a few transitions at the beginning of the teaser. As a finishing editor, it was her job to input all the files and cut it into a timeline, then make sure everything looked as close to the reference as possible. A high-profile project like this on such a curt timeline leaves a very small margin for error. If Willow’s edit didn’t catch a graphic move or a fade and it was then passed onto the client for approval, the back & forth would cost an hour that simply was not available in this schedule. Perfection the first time was a requirement. The final result was a teaser (voiced by Oscar Award–nominated actor Bradley Cooper) that allowed fans and casual viewers alike to invest in the members of both teams who had overcome immense obstacles to reach this championship event.

Ms. Cai’s duties as finishing editor were most enjoyable to her on the documentary film THE SHOW: California Love. While she admits to her unfamiliarity with US football in preference for what most of the rest of the world calls “football”, Willow communicates that the teenage version of her who listened to Snoop Dogg all throughout high school would never have imagined working on a film featuring him. The halftime Super Bowl show which featured Snoop, Dr. Dre, Mary J. Blige, and other icons of the Hip-Hop/Rap world was momentous to many people. It placed a stamp on these artists and the genre that it was a valued part of the American artistic tapestry. Though she’s a native of China, Willow emotionally connected to the performance, a trait she often avoids in most of her editing work. She recalls, “On my first watch, I treated this as an advanced screening and even got some snacks while I watched. After my first watch through and first conform pass, I went back and started double checking my work in smaller sections and took tiny breaks after a few sections at a time. I did about three passes of the whole project to find all the missing elements, rebuild graphics and transitions, and grouping interview footage based on the interviewee. The grouping was the most nerve-wrecking thing, because it’s very easy to just miss one clip. I’m a perfectionist, so I really wanted my first long-form project to leave my hand in perfect shape.

Everyone has a story to tell. Willow believes in this. While many productions which enlist her services feature the famous, Ms. Cai makes certain to find productions about people and causes that deserve a voice. Oui is a forty-minute documentary about refugees of the Cameroonian Civil War which still rages between the Anglophone Ambazonia region and the Francophone Cameroonian government. Once she’d heard about this film, she contacted the producers and requested to become a part of the film as its colorist and finishing editor. Oui is heart-wrenching and informative; the type of film that is important to see in order to understand those who have suffered and continue to do so. Willow Cai declares, “I have always been a champion of ordinary people and their stories. That’s what attracted me to documentaries. I love seeing people making their daily lives meaningful and persevering through difficult situations, and this film was exactly that. Even though the pay was minimal, I still felt accomplished after working on this project because I played an impactful role in helping these people speak out to the world and in raising awareness about the Cameroonian Civil War. Though I had never met Ernest, Mercy, or Eric, watching their faces over and over again and using my skills to amplify their voices brought me close to them.”

Writer: Sharon Howe