After eight years at FilmCore San Francisco, followed by eight months of freelancing, editor Rick Lobo is starting a new chapter in his career. Last month, he and executive producer Tatiana Derovanessian started Revue, a Santa Monica post shop.
Lobo brings much editing experience to his new venture. During his time as a freelance cutter, he edited two high profile campaigns: one for The Gap and one for Gibson instruments. The latter, a client-direct seven-spot package, was helmed by Mark Goffman and co-produced by Written With Ink, Venice, Calif., and Angelsmith, Hollywood. The Gap campaign, also client direct, was a three-spot package promoting various items in The Gap collection. For instance, "Two White Shirts—directed by feature filmmakers the Coen Brothers, who helm spots out of bicoastal Villains—showed Dennis Hopper and Christina Ricci playing chess poolside, clad in white button-downs from The Gap. "Down On Khaki Street," directed by Roman Coppola of The Directors Bureau, Hollywood, featured young people enjoying a bike ride in Gap khakis, while "Denim Invasion," helmed by Cameron Crowe, and produced through bicoastal The Industry, shows a couple in Gap jeans being chased by a horde of fans anxious to check out the denim.
Lobo cut the aforementioned spots out of Mint Editorial, Santa Monica. In the middle of his successful freelance endeavors, Lobo was being courted with offers from editorial houses. "It seems like all of a sudden four or five companies were all coming to me offering me different deals," relates Lobo. "It was a very crazy time because I was going with one company possibly due to the fact that they’re a little bigger and more established. Then there was a smaller but established company … then there was this opportunity [Revue] that came my way and it just seemed right. Then when I met Tatiana, the chemistry we had right away seemed so correct. I just knew it was a good partnership."
Lobo, who graduated from California State University at Chico, with a major in finance and a minor in philosophy, theater arts and film, first tried his hand in the financial world, but his heart wasn’t in it. So he pounded the pavement, took a pay cut, and scored a receptionist job at an editing facility called Fleet Street in San Francisco. Through connections he made there, he got a job as a runner at FilmCore, and worked nights and weekends on the Avid. "The first time I was introduced to editing," Lobo says, "I just fell in love with it. I knew that’s what I wanted to do."
While at FilmCore, which in addition to its San Francisco locale also has an operation in Santa Monica, Lobo got to cut some of his favorite work to date. He reflects fondly on "Critical Decision," for Sun Microsystems out of Lowe, San Francisco. The spot, helmed by Phil Joanou of Villains, looks like a movie trailer, which Lobo says presented a unique and fun set of challenges. "I did a lot of research before cutting that, watching trailers and seeing how they flow to make sure we had that in place the right way," recalls Lobo. "Also, Phil is so talented … it was a challenge making sure he was happy with me as an editor. It turned out to be a really good thing."
John Zissimous, a creative director at J. Walter Thompson, San Francisco, who first worked with Lobo on a five-spot package for Pacific Gas & Electric—which was directed by Tenney Fairchild, who is now with M-80 Films—says he loves to work with the editor partly because they have the same sense of humor. "There are no moments when we stare at each other because we’re not connecting on where the spot is going," notes Zissimous. "In an edit session that’s incredibly important, otherwise frustration ramps up quickly, and the cuts suffer."
Zissimous also cites Lobo’s great energy and approach: "We’ve given Rick multi-spot campaigns and fifteen-minute corporate videos that would make a nun slit her wrists and he’s approached them with the same great attitude," he notes. "He works harder and is able to sit there longer than almost anyone I’ve ever cut with. We cut a spot once that an unnamed client made us change one-hundred-thirty-seven times. I don’t know any editor that would last that long."
Lobo notes that while creatives might want to hear his opinion, he still has to listen. "The longer you’re in the industry, the more respect you get and the more creative input you have," he explains. "I think when people edit with me, they know they’re going to get someone who has an idea. But if it’s not an idea that works throughout the whole room, then I’m willing to try whatever it takes to make the cut work. I’m more than willing to accept all kinds of ideas. I love that part of the process."
These days Lobo is bringing all his experience to bear in getting Revue up and running. "It’s a whole different level of business and editing," he says. He wants to keep the shop boutique-sized, he says, because the vision that he and Derovanessian share is for a post house that is "small and intimate, and keeps the clients very well in tune with what’s happening throughout the whole process of the cut. We want to make sure they’re getting as much attention as possible, that’s very critical."
Although Lobo has cut feature films in the past (Save Me in ’98 and Gypsy Boys in ’99), for now Revue is focusing on commercials and music videos. However, Lobo doesn’t rule out anything for the future. "I love editing," he says. "I love all formats and I’d love to do anything I can get my hands on, to be honest with you."
