Sara Tamburro has been shaping stories from behind the screen and behind the camera for more than 15 years. A video professional who has worked in the field of creative production, directing and editing, Sara has learned through testing and trialing methods, processes and devices a wide range of locations and conditions.
Based in Italy and working across Europe, Sara is a self-taught director and a versatile producer, working independently and integrated with crews, agencies, and clients. Switching between autonomous work and larger scale teams, Sara adapts constantly.
Sara’s resume includes work on large scale productions with major agencies, to single person shoots, documentaries to working with major global icons like Lego or Tata Motors.
A Workflow Built on Precision and Freedom
For Sara, the secret to fast work is doing slow work up front.
Sara’s editing process didn’t come ready-made. It’s the result of years of refinement, trial, and repetition, even down to the chair she sits on. “I tried like twenty chairs,” she says. “Now I use the Pilates ball. I know that I need to move while I’m editing.”
The same goes for her workspace, testing everything from free tables to oversized ones, eventually landing on a desk that was both long and deep, allowing her to keep her eyes at the right distance from the screen.
Sara’s editing workflow is equally methodical and places an emphasis on investing time upfront to lay the right groundwork.
“Many people just put all the clips in the window and choose details or wide shots from there,” she explains. “I did that, but I always missed something.” Instead, she places all the footage into a single timeline and pre-selects every shot manually.
“It’s like reading a book but skipping the footnotes. Sometimes the footnotes are the most important part.”
This detailed pre-selection phase can take two full days, but it’s worth it. “Later, if the client asks, ‘Do you have the scene where the hand picks up this thing?’ I know exactly what I have.”
The time spent upfront makes everything downstream faster, more flexible, and more repeatable. “In one year, if I revisit that pre-selection, I can deliver another edit from the same footage. I keep this workflow now forever.”
Adaptability in Every Frame
As Sara began taking on more diverse roles that involved wearing many hats (director, camera, editor), she required a more adaptable toolset.
That shift meant building a mobile toolkit to match her studio standards.
“As an editor, a laptop wasn’t enough for me because I need the space. I need the view. I need all the preview of the video,” she says. “I don’t want a little window because it’s too… it’s very difficult to see if I like the content I am creating.”
To solve that challenge, she added an espresso Display to her setup, something she now uses everywhere: trains, cars, planes, hotel rooms, and client sets.
“You just take up your monitor and you set it up wherever you need to,” she says.
The espresso Display: A Tool That Travels
When Sara transitioned to a more mobile setup, she quickly realised that a laptop screen wasn’t enough. “I need to see everything. I need a full view. I can’t edit a commercial in a tiny window.”
That’s when she discovered espresso, on Instagram, of all places. “It was so clean. Just one cable. It felt like something smart.”
She bought her espresso Display 15 and never looked back. Now, it’s with her on every job, perched on train tables, in hotel rooms, on airplane trays, and even in client meetings. “I use it as a timeline monitor, or for previews, or vertical for reels. The flexibility is what makes it so valuable.”
During one shoot for LEGO, she used it on set as a reference monitor. “The client was holding it while I edited,” she says. “They could see everything in real-time. It became a part of the production process.”
Working in sRGB: Designed for Real-World Output
The balance between how much work to complete on-set, vs how much is done back at the studio or office is something that weighs on many professionals. For most, it comes down to powering through what you can, when the creative thinking is fresh.
When it comes to color, it’s a balance between what you have on-site, what the optimal output looks like, the time you have on hand, and (importantly) how the content being created will be consumed by the audience.
Sara’s studio setup includes four monitors, one of which is fully color-calibrated for grading. But when she’s working on the go and for online delivery, she adapts.
“If your content is going online, sRGB is the space that matters. The espresso Display 15 is perfect for that. You don’t need five calibrated monitors, you need just one.”
Primarily, Sara uses the espresso Display for layout and editing, while relying on her other displays for more specific grading. “It’s about how everything works together. In my case, espresso is a supporting player but an essential one.”
Lessons on Creative Workflow on the Go
Sara’s process is full of insights for anyone working on the go. Here are a few that stand out:
- Test everything: “You won’t know what works until you try it. Even the smallest tool, like your chair, can affect how you work.”
- Prepare before you create: Pre-selection methods may take longer earlier in the editing process, but it unlocks speed and confidence later. “A really good pre-production can save time and is a lifesaver later on!”
- Don’t aim for perfection everywhere: “Precision comes with dedication and experience and the desire to grow up day by day.”
- Use a combination of tools that blend well: “I use the espresso Display for some tasks, a Retina preview for others. At the studio, I use a professional BENQ.”
- Build a workflow around your environment: Sara knows she’ll be working on the move, so she chooses gear that’s light, flexible, and doesn’t sacrifice quality.
Upcoming work:
Sara also produced a 52-minute documentary for a Japanese production house, following a photographer who hand-builds his own cameras.
A film that started as a short reportage project grew into something far more personal and far deeper. You can check out the trailer here.
Learning from a master:
As you can see, Sara Tamburro’s work is a masterclass in production, process, tools and creativity. Every piece of her process is deliberate, designed to serve the story. For anyone balancing travel, production, and fast-paced edits, her approach is more than inspiring. It’s a blueprint.
“I love to tell stories. I always say to my clients, ‘your story is my inspiration!’” She says,
And through it all, her espresso Display has remained a staple. “Everyone who sees it wants one,” she says. “It’s just so clean and clever. It fits.”
Sara is also constantly on the move between locations, content shoots, and often among the epic scenery that comes with living in Italy. You can follow Sara’s work on Instagram and her website.
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