I’m on the set of “Bleed for This,” the new boxing movie I am cutting. A large ring is set up in the center of the convention center in Providence, RI. There are a thousand extras scattered around the arena in strategic places so on screen the arena will appear packed to the brim. It’s a little odd in person, but magic through the camera.

The two actors (one a real fighter) circle each other throwing punch after punch. The director huddles behind the monitor, watching the choreographed punches with indelible scrutiny. They must be captured at the perfect angle to seem real.

“Cut, let’s reset and go again.” He bounds into the ring to make a few tweaks. Take after take from different angle after angle; it will be up to me to stitch them all together.

I am unbelievably excited to be working on something new; I’ve spent the past four years working on the same true crime miniseries. Now called “The Jinx,” it is slated to premiere on HBO in February. It’s been a long road to completion, and we are currently putting the finishing touches on all six episodes. What began as something I slaved over in a tiny room is about to go out into the world and have its own life. It will be amazing to see how it fares.

I’ve been living, breathing and talking about this documentary for what seems like eternity, and so it’s equal parts refreshing, exciting and nerve wracking to be starting something new.

Though to be honest, I’m very much looking forward to working out a different editing muscle. The differences between editing a documentary and a narrative feature are huge. It’s practically a different job. There is no script in a documentary, and the editor’s role is something like that of a writer: how to structure the piece becomes this elusive animal you are constantly chasing. There’s a freedom to that, but it’s also insanely difficult.

In a narrative there is a roadmap: the script. The story has long been figured out. It’s clear what is supposed to go where and how the film should unfold. Here the editor’s role is more about turning up the volume on everything. Making what is inherently there better, crafting performances, revealing the information within the scenes.

Both require brutal honesty and undeniable support.

In the background over the past four years the film edit world has shifted. Back in 2011 when I started “The Jinx,” many young editors were using Final Cut Pro. Since then, Apple has rebooted the software into something much less professionally friendly and most editors stopped using it. Unfortunately, since “The Jinx” was so sprawling we were handcuffed to continuing to use Final Cut.

As I began to prepare for “Bleed for This,” I wondered if I should continue to use an outdated software that I am very good at, or throw caution to the winds and learn a new system? Eventually I decided to cut on Avid.

Now, I know how to use the Avid; it’s actually what I learned on, and I’ve even taught it in classes at NYU. But on Final Cut my fingers are basically extensions of my brain. I can move things around at lightning speed. (Ten years of using a program will do that.)

On Avid my hands feel large and clunky. I’m forced to make a translation between what I want to accomplish and seeing it happen on screen. My brain thinks, “Make this shorter!” and my hands take a few seconds to do so, though every day is faster and faster and it has been fun to watch that happening.

And so I sit currently feeling like a stranger in my brand new editing room downtown, with a bunch of new footage to tackle.

There are many things to discover and challenges that lie in the road ahead. But in this moment that timeline is empty. I drag the first clip into the timeline and ready myself for the challenge.

A new beginning… Let’s go exploring!

[As Zac foreshadowed in his October 8 column, this will be his last column for The River Reporter. Starting as “Reel Life” in October of 2004, his column has allowed us to follow the life and times of one of the many young people who spent his or her childhood in the Upper Delaware and then fared out into the world to make a career. We wish him and his new wife health and success on their continued journey.]