Instagram story viewer> @esthersok> Tagged

esthersok

@esthersok

3.5K

followers

1699

following

Editor on HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry 🎈
Repped by @utaproductionarts

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Editing horror isn’t just about the perfect jump scare. It’s about making the audience invest in your characters, so when the scare comes, they care 😱

These three interviews are the perfect watch if you want to get under the skin of how horror is built in the edit.

Julia Bloch - ‘His House’ 🏠

New York based editor Julia Bloch A film that hauntingly captures the struggle of a refugee couple trying to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.

Esther Sokolow - ‘IT: Welcome to Derry’ 🤡

LA-based editor Esther Sokolow unpacks the intricacies of working on one of horrors most infamous villains. IT: Welcome to Derry is a horror prequel series that explores the dark history and origin of the entity Pennywise in Derry, Maine.

Angela Catanzaro, ACE - ‘Prey’

LA-based editor Angela Catanzaro talks about her work on Prey, the fifth film in the Predator series. It follows Naru, a young Comanche woman desperate to prove herself as a hunter to her tribe, who comes face to face with a predator that hunts humans for sport.

Head to our YouTube of the link in our bio to watch!

28

1

We had a fun time speaking at Editfest with jexantus, @terelgibson, @iehagy, and @esthersok. If you get a chance to go, it's the most editing energy you'll find under one roof. Pics by @alikaartful

187

7

16k

117

Spoon!!!!

I’ve been avoiding posting this update because... honestly?

How do you make a video out of waiting?

When Spoon first got here, he couldn’t even walk out his own front door. He was hiding from his leash. When he’d get outside the world outside felt so dangerous that he’d panic and fling himself so hard against his harness he was beginning to cut himself.

So when he came to stay for a while, we started with just breathing.

We sat on curbs.
We watched cars go by.
We watched neighbors walk their dogs.
We celebrated victories so small most people would’ve walked right past them.

Then we did it again the next day.
And the next.
And then the day after that.

A lesson I learned over a decade ago training Moro was this:

Regulate yourself before you ever ask another nervous system to regulate with you.

So we took our time.
We observed.
We breathed.

And gradually... then suddenly... his brain started to slow down.

He started looking instead of reacting.
He started thinking instead of surviving.
He started eating instead of fixating.

Today, he’s having an easier time regulating himself on leash in the big wide world.

Not because we hurried.
But because we didn’t.

In this world of instant gratification, we have lost the art of taking our time. Spoon is here to remind all of us that it’s not only important - but imperative.

Spoon still has a long road ahead of him, but he has a whole pack behind him committed to making sure he gets all the time he needs. Because fear doesn’t own a calendar, and building trust doesn’t care about your deadlines.

For my very first official board-and-train, I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher.

Thank you, Esther and Scott, for trusting me with your beautiful boy and for being so committed to his journey.

I can’t wait to see where this next chapter takes him. 🥄💛

18

1

How do you make audiences jump and keep them guessing? It: Welcome to Derry editor Esther Sokolow breaks down the pacing, perspective shifts, and hidden clues behind the show’s biggest scares. 🎈👀

441

15

FOR YOUR EMMY CONSIDERATION - Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series 🎈

For editor Esther Sokolow, horror begins with empathy.

“I think of myself as an executor of empathy. I’m looking for where to connect the heartstrings to the characters.”

Throughout IT: Welcome to Derry, editing becomes a delicate balance between hope and dread, inviting audiences to invest in its characters before pulling the rug out from under them.

“I care about the intelligence of the audience. Part of rewarding them in horror is about subverting those expectations.”

That philosophy reaches its peak in the series’ most devastating moments, where pacing, silence, rhythm, and anticipation work together to create terror that feels both shocking and inevitable.

“It’s about the joy of discovering the best version within the footage to unlock.”

From intricate storyboard planning to finding new rhythms inside the material, IT: Welcome to Derry uses editing not simply to orchestrate fear, but to deepen emotion, tension, and audience connection.

#Emmys #ForYourConsideration #ITWelcomeToDerry #Pennywise

1k

4

YOU DIDN’T NOTICE. 🎈

Film Editor Esther Sokolow joins Skid and Gianni Damaia to break down four scenes from the pilot episode of “IT: Welcome to Derry,” revealing how editing shapes suspense, perspective, and fear.

Link in bio.

#BelowTheLinePodcast #ITWelcomeToDerry #FilmEditing #HBO #PostProduction

@esthersok
@giannidamaia

23

0

I recently spoke to editor @esthersok about her work on @it_official: Welcome to Derry.

Check out the full #interview on @awardsradar

--
#editor #itwelcometoderry #esthersokolow #andymuschietti #jovanadepo #taylourpaige #jamesremar #billskarsgard #horror #explorepage #fyc

3

5

Somehow made it through one of the busiest seasons of my career alongside one of my most rewarding years teaching at USC. Endless gratitude to the incredible guest speakers who gave their time and wisdom so generously, my supportive team, fellow professors, amazing TAs, and of course my talented students, who continue to inspire me. Wrapping up my 12th year at @usccinema with a very full heart 🎬❤️💛✌️

227

15

The best weddings don’t just look beautiful, they feel good to be at. The kind where not only is the couple laughing but so are the guests. They’re lingering in conversations, dancing and being fully present.

That doesn’t just happen by accident, it’s intentional. It’s designed to be an experience and one that flows well and everyone feels it. Creating weddings rooted in hospitality and design is my jam and people feel this from start to finish. It also helps that these two were genuinely joyful and radiant humans. 🥰

Photos: @itlaphoto
Venue: @millwick_dtla
Flowers: @shindigchic
Catering: @larootscatering
HMU: @blissbridalbeauty

15

3

Words can’t describe how full my heart is as I look back on the experience of making this film. I’m so grateful to the American Cinema Editors for recognizing my work on “A Winter’s Song” at the ACE Eddie Awards last week.

This movie was a labor of love — a group of Armenian creatives coming together to represent our heritage with pride. Having that work recognized by my peers has reaffirmed for me (and hopefully my kids) the value of authentic representation and taking pride in one’s identity.

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners — getting to know you was the best part of this experience. I am forever honored and grateful to be a part of this community of artists who share my passion for telling stories!

@armenianfilmsociety
@acefilmeditors
@avid.mediacomposer
@avidtechnology
@impact24pr
@impact24pr_awards
@ansecoh
@matt_feury
@mkla1234
@watchwonderproject
@awinterssongmovie
@zarehamirian
@michaelaloyan
@mrs_andash
@dimpledamat
@armenlovesmary
@armanaloyanmusic
@aida_mangassarian

589

112

✨Fun at the 2026 ACE Eddie Awards with some of my favorite people.

@amyhaynesfit
@edward_editss
@esthersok
@imscottmurphy
@matt_feury
@avid.mediacomposer

234

3