Boomtown has signed Michael Schwartz as senior editor. Schwartz was most recently an editor at New York-based Editing Concepts.
"Boomtown is an amazing opportunity for me because it’s this great little company that was built to give you the resources you need to cut as an offline creative editor," said Schwartz, who was wooed by the company’s small size and family-like atmosphere. Boomtown president Steve Kraftsow called Schwartz in for discussion after being impressed by his reel.
Schwartz, known for his edgy, docu-drama cutting style, got his start in ’91 when he joined now defunct Dennis Hayes & Associates (DH&A). He began, like many other DH&A editors, as a company messenger and, after two years, was promoted to editor. In mid-’94 he went to Atlanta to launch a satellite office that coincided with the arrival of the upcoming Olympics in ’96. But after a year and half, DH&A closed the Atlanta quarters and Schwartz returned to the New York office until its closing in mid-’97 (SHOOT, 6/20/97, p. 7) when Dennis Hayes retired.
While at DH&A, Schwartz cut the memorable Federal Express spot "Applause," directed by James Gartner of then bicoastal Gartner/Grasso (now Gartner) via BBDO New York. The spot was honored in the editing category in ’94 at the AICP Show at MoMA. Schwartz’s other editing credits include "A Day in the Life" for AT&T via Young & Rubicam, New York, and a campaign for Long John Silver’s via New York-based Jordan McGrath Case & Taylor (now jordanmcgrathcase&partners).
After the DH&A closing, Schwartz joined Editing Concepts in late ’97 where he cut such spots as Sprite’s "Granola Cola" via Lowe & Partners/ SMS, New York; "Hasek" for MasterCard through McCann-Erickson, New York; and Crest’s "First Grade" via DMB&B, New York. "I had a great experience at Editing Concepts but the opportunity to be part of a small company again was where I wanted to be. I sort of grew up in it," said Schwartz.
Schwartz joins Boomtown editors Kraftsow, Huck Botko and Julian Soast. Boomtown is represented in the Northeast by Stuart Sternbach of Pangea, and nationally by in-house rep Laurel Schwartz (no relation to Michael Schwartz).
