Armed with the outsiders perspective and a desire for expansion, two British editing companies are making inroads into the U.S. spot market via New York footholds.
Final Cut, a five-year-old, London-based commercial editing company, opened the doors of its New York office in May. The New York operationawhich is based for the interim at PostWorks Manhattan facility until permanent quarters are foundais headed by former J. Walter Thompson, New York, head of production Stephanie Apt (SHOOT, 4/7).
Another London-based editing company, The Whitehouse (which also has an office in Amsterdam), formed an alliance with New York editing boutique Post Factory last summer (SHOOT, 8/13/99), and has since been working on an average of one commercial a month in New York.
Greg Caplan, partner/company director at Final Cut, says the company eventually hopes to have full service offices in New York as well as Los Angeles to complement the London operation. Setting up shop in New York was key in establishing a U.S. presence. "New York is the biggest advertising market in the world, and it’s giving us a very good idea of what the U.S. market is, and expects," explains Caplan. "It is different from the U.K., and we’re not so naove to think that everything we do over here is the way it’s done in America, but in a way we’re getting a good feel of how the whole U.S. market operates out of New York."
Final Cut is using Avid suites at PostWorks, and also has staff and assistants based in New York. Caplan says the company hopes to have its own New York quarters within six months.
Final Cut opted for setting up shop on its ownarather than entering into a reciprocal arrangement with an established U.S. edit houseain order to retain more control over the service aspect of its projects, which includes bringing in its own assistants to follow up on work. There was also a sense that not all clients would be comfortable with the reciprocal agreement. "For whatever reason, it has not worked out for [some of our clients]," he says. "We felt the best way to ensure we were going to deliver the creative and professional standards we strive for was to brand it ourselves, and open as Final Cut." The company is hoping to work both with U.S. clients and European directors opting to post or shoot stateside. Final Cut editors recently worked on a few U.S. jobs, but details were not available at press time.
Two of Final Cut’s London-based editors, Kirk Baxter and Duncan Shepherd, have recently relocated to the U.S. Both Baxter and Shepherd worked on U.S. jobs during their time at Final Cut, London. Baxter’s reel includes the Mercedes-Benz spots "Slingshot" and "Gang," both directed by Mehdi Norowzian of bicoastal/international Chelsea Pictures, and Joy Films, London, via Merkley Newman Harty, New York. Shepherd’s credits include "Tipperary," another Mercedes-Benz spot out of Merkley Newman Harty, directed by Big TV!athe directing duo comprised of Andy Delaney and Monty Whitebloomaof Academy Commercials, London. (Big TV! is marketed in the U.S. by Creative Management Partners, bicoastal and Chicago.) Other London-based Final Cut editors, including co-founder Rick Russell, as well as Gary Knight, Struan Clay and David Webb, will be available to work on U.S. jobs on a per-project basis.
