Editor Manny Berlingo has opened Manny’s Roadhouse, New York. Through this, his first shop, Berlingo recently edited the U.S. Postal Service’s "Entrepreneur" via The Bravo Group, New York, and MTV 2’s "Coffee Shop," direct from the client. As a freelancer, Berlingo edited Budweiser’s "Oscar" and Bud Light’s "El Patron," which won the gold jury award at the 2000 WorldFest/ Houston International Film Festival. Both spots were through Hispanic market agency Castor Advertising, New York, and edited at Castor’s own suite.
Berlingo has also cut several documentaries, including the 1999 Nightline piece "Charter Schools" for ABC; Tito Puente: The King of Latin Music (2000, NBC), and ’96’s A Tribute to Machito (PBS), about a Latino bandleader. Additionally, Berlingo was one of the editors on the ’97 documentary Imaging America, which also aired on PBS.
Berlingo began his career in ’78, when the New York native joined the now defunct The Editing House as a messenger. "I had just got out of high school," he recalled. "I took a job as a messenger, and I stuck with it. I liked the atmosphere, the industry, and the creativity of filmmaking." Berlingo was there for eight years, during which time he moved up the ranks to become an assistant editor. After leaving the shop, he freelanced briefly, then joined the since closed Rosebud as an assistant editor in ’87. He took a break from spots in ’89, when he worked as a sound sync editor, editing dailies for films like Goodfellas, Mermaids and Awakenings. But in ’90 he returned to ad editing, going to the now closed Jeff Dell Films as an editor. Five years later, Berlingo moved to the since shuttered Cabana, but after a year there, he started freelancing full time.
For the past several years, Berlingo has edited many spots for the Latino market in addition to his general market work. As he told SHOOT, "In ’96 or ’97, I started working with Castor. They were really busy, and they wound up booking me constantly for the next two years. Then I met [director] Cesar Vera [of New York-based The Boho Studio], who directed some Budweiser spots that I had edited for Castor. He introduced me to people at Bravo, where I did the U.S. Postal service commercial." Berlingo observed that the steady work he’s received from agencies like Castor gave him the impetus to launch Manny’s Roadhouse. "Castor was a big catalyst for me to open my own place. I’m still doing work for them."
Currently Berlingo is editing some corporate work for Diesel Jeans, direct from the client. He commented, "I love to cut dialogue. I really like to tell a story, I really believe in the art of editing, and I don’t necessarily believe in covering it up with a lot of graphics." He added, "I like to think my years of experience in editing are priceless. Recently I got a call from someone who said, ‘I have all this negative. What do I do with it?’" Berlingo is grateful to have that now-arcane knowledge of pre-Avid techniques: "I started in ’78, when people still handled negatives, worked on Movieolas, laid out optical tracks and counted frames in a synchronizer. I was fortunate to have that background. It’s been quite useful."
Berlingo works on a high-resolution Avid, "which I do a lot of finishing from." He noted that his new facility is "a small place, but it allows me to give personal attention. When you come to Manny’s Roadhouse, Manny will be cutting your commercial, Manny will be dealing with you every day—Manny will even be answering the phone," he laughed.
