Effective May 1, editor Kim Bica is set to join Spot Welders, the Venice, Calif.-based editorial house that also maintains a presence in San Francisco. For the past five years, Bica has been on staff at FilmCore San Francisco. (FilmCore has a separate Southern California shop, FilmCore Santa Monica.)
At press time, Bica was wrapping up her FilmCore San Francisco commitments, including cutting what looks to be a two-spot package for ESPN Zone, the sports dining and entertainment venue, via Lowe & Partners, New York, and directed by Lemoine/ Miller of bicoastal/international @radical.media. She is also editing a four-spot campaign for 24-Hour Fitness, via Grey, San Francisco. The ads, directed by Gavin Bowden of bicoastal Holiday, feature Cindy Crawford and Magic Johnson.
A resident of San Francisco for the past 12 years, Bica intends to go "bi-city" in the foreseeable future, securing a home in Los Angeles. She explained her decision to join Spot Welders as "a personal thing," adding, "I love FilmCore. They’re like brothers to me. It was a hard decision [to move on]. But I wanted to get more connected to working in Los Angeles, and I believe change is good. I really embrace change in my life."
Bica said she has admired the body of work put out by Spot Welders, as well as the company’s creative approach to the post process. She also noted Spot Welders executive producer David Glean’s reputation in the spotmaking community, as well as the shop’s West Coast rep, Raquel Munõs Flores, as key factors that influenced her decision to join the company. "Clients rave about David," Bica said, adding, that Munõz Flores "has a non-reppy, soft sell approach, and an eye for hooking up the right creative people. I feel confident that she understands me."
Glean described Bica’s work as "really fresh," adding that the editor is "ready to break out." Adding her to the Spot Welders’ editorial roster, he continued, was "a great opportunity" for the company.
Bica studied film at the University of California in Santa Barbara. Upon graduation, she moved to San Francisco and soon after began working as an editor at the former Editel/San Francisco. Later, she moved over to Red Sky Films, San Francisco, before joining the staff at FilmCore. (Red Sky Films’ postproduction operation was renamed Pomegranit, while Red Sky morphed into the San Francisco-headquartered interactive agency.)
Over the years, Bica has edited spots for Portofino ice cream; Sprint; MTV; Eddie Bauer; and Supercuts. "Unconditional," a PSA she cut for Adopt-A-Pet, won a Gold Lion at the 1998 Cannes International Advertising Festival. Paul Goldman, who was then with the former Lovinger/Cohn & Associates, directed the ad for Suburban Advertising, New York. (Goldman is now with bicoastal Cohn + Company.) Bica has also edited an Emmy-winning network promotion campaign for ESPN, as well as "Bullet Factory," a PSA for the Center for Gun Control that was honored at the AICP Show.
During her tenure at Film- Core, Bica cut and also served as sound designer on spots for Nike, Beyond.com and adidas. The Nike work via Wieden + Kennedy (W+K), Portland, Ore., included "Bowen Road," directed by @radical.media’s Michael Faye, which shows joggers in Shanghai running through the city, accompanied by a concert of urban traffic. As the spot progresses, the sounds become more peaceful, moving from car honks to the heavy breathing of the runners. Bica won a Bronze Clio for sound design for the ad.
Other work that Bica cut and designed sound for includes: adidas’ "Sidelines," directed by Josh Taft of bicoastal/international Satellite; and Beyond.com’s deadpan "Home Office," helmed by Christopher Guest of bicoastal Moxie Pictures. Leagas Delaney, San Francisco, created both commercials. "Sidelines" focuses on a player from a high school basketball team who is benched for the duration of the spot, but whose reactions convey the action taking place on the court. The Beyond.com ad follows a man who works from home, in the buff, with delicate footage obscured à la Cops.
Bica’s more recent adidas work includes "Weightlifter," directed by Errol Morris of @radical.media. She also recently cut the Morris-directed "Junkyard" for investment firm Robinson Stephens via W+K.
Bica has also edited a couple of longform projects, including King of the Bingo Game, based on a short story by Ralph Ellison, which was broadcast as part of a PBS anthology series. More recently, she co-edited a 45-minute dramatization of Ellison’s novel Invisible Man, which was featured on an installment of PBS’ American Masters series.
At Spot Welders, Bica joins editors Scott Chestnut, Robert Duffy, Scott Gray, Haines Hall, Michael Heldman and Eric Zumbrunnen. The company also maintains The Annex, a division specializing in developing up-and-coming spot/music video editors. The Annex features cutters Meagan Bee, Ben Darling and Bipasha Shom.
In addition to Munõz Flores on the West Coast, the sales contingent for Spot Welders and The Annex includes Peter Zeigler of Zeigler Management Group, New York, which handles East Coast sales.
