South Park Anal Prob

From Avid Rescue to South Park: My Unexpected Journey with Matt and Trey Parker"

In 1995-1996, shortly after leaving NBC 9 News and joining Update Productions, my reputation as an "Avid guru" led to an unexpected encounter with animation history.

During production of South Park's first episode, "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe," Matt Stone and Trey Parker lost their project on the Avid Editing system. They reached out to Update Productions for technical support.

One of the coolest parts of working with Matt was how down-to-earth and personable he was. He actually took time out to show me some short films he and Trey had been making. I remember one in particular—Trey was pushing a baby carriage while three guys stood against a wall with strings tied to their, well… you can probably guess. It was absurd, hilarious, and totally on-brand. What made it even better was that Matt was still fine-tuning the voices for the South Park characters at the time, so while we were editing, he’d randomly break into different voices. Hearing him experiment like that in real time made the whole experience feel even more special—like we were witnessing something being built from the ground up.

Drawing on my extensive Avid expertise, I recovered their project efficiently. Matt and Trey were impressed enough to invite me to edit on their show for two days, even offering me a permanent position which I declined as I had just started at Update Productions and they didn't yet have a network deal.

Behind the Animation Curtain

One of the most fascinating aspects was visiting Celluloid, where I witnessed the original South Park animation process firsthand. The studio had a camera mounted over a table containing paper cutouts of all the characters. Everything was hand-animated frame by frame, with separate cutouts for eyebrows, eyes, and different mouth movements.

Later, I visited their upgraded operations in Marina del Rey, where they had expanded significantly with a huge animation team. The South Park offices reflected the creators' personalities - each desk uniquely decorated and creative.

The Uncredited Contribution

To this day, I've been unable to get proper credit for my contribution to South Park's beginnings. Despite petitioning IMDb, my work remains unacknowledged in the official records. My old boss at Ed Coryell (currently Sr Broadcast Engineer at KSE MEDIA Ventures), who edited their first five-minute Christmas postcard, can verify all of this, along with Danny Buscarello, who owned Update Productions at the time.

From South Park to Oscar-Winning Productions

This early career experience was just the beginning of my journey in visual storytelling. After Update Productions, I moved on to Warren Miller Films (1997-2000) as both an editor and cinematographer, working on TV pilots like Destination Wild. At just 24, I directed, shot, and edited a Nike campaign titled "Play," which began a long-term collaboration with Nike.

My career has since included working as Michael Jordan's personal cinematographer, winning an Oscar for Best Documentary as camera operator/editor for "The Cove," and serving as Director of Photography for HBO productions including Issa Rae's "Rap Sh!t" and the Lizzo documentary.

Matt told me if I was serious about making movies I needed to be in LA. He also said there would be work for me if I did but I have not been able to get him on the phone or meet with him ever since. This South Park experience taught me valuable industry lessons that has served me throughout my career spanning over two decades in film and television production. Strike while the irons hot!