Rob Campbell has joined New York-based editing boutique arc.light editorial as an editor. Campbell was most recently a cutting assistant at MacKenzie Cutler, New York, where he had worked since February 1997.
His spot credits through MacKenzie Cutler include Sprite’s "Wusses" via Lowe Lintas & Partners, New York, and the United States Tennis Association’s "Anthem" via Fallon New York.
Arc.light was founded in May ’98 by editor Dana Bol—who originally rented a room out of New York-based Post Perfect. In January the company moved to its own facility in Manhattan’s East Village. Arc.light’s executive producer, Jason Mayo, said that the company had always intended to hire a second editor, but initially wanted to concentrate on building Bol’s reel and getting the shop to a point where it was more established. Since the beginning of the year, arc. light has hired assistant editor Ali Grossman, vaulter/assistant editor Lucas Roth and office coordinator Leigh Marino. The company is also looking at hiring an assistant for Campbell in the coming months.
Mayo said that he and Bol called in around 60 reels, looking at a mixture of freelance editors, young editors, and more-experienced editors who already had established client followings. "We ran the gamut—talking to a huge number of people about the possibilities," he reported.
"We wanted to be very selective," he continued. "It’s a small place. When we peak, we’ll have about seven people and we will stay that way for a while. When you are this small, anybody that you bring in really changes the whole dynamic of the place. So we wanted to find someone who we were really comfortable with and who would be ready to be a part of a place like arc.light."
Bol added that her firm was seeking someone who had the skills to complement her reel. "Rob has a great comedy sense; he has a great, funny reel; he’s incredible with dialogue—while I tend to gear more towards graphic-orientated spots … so when we saw Rob’s reel and we met with him, we thought he would be perfect," she concluded.
Bol is currently working on a Peanut Butter Twix spot called "Schmeer" via Grey Advertising, New York. Recent work includes Major League Soccer’s "Its Your Game" via One World Communications, Westport, Conn., and U.S. Navy’s "David Robinson Challenge" via BBDO New York.
Campbell—who for the past five months was cutting assistant for MacKenzie Cutler owner/ editor Ian MacKenzie, and was David Koza’s assistant before that—said he was looking to make the next step. "MacKenzie Cutler was my first job in commercial postproduction, and it is important to leave where you started. This job is a major stepping-stone. And I was also keen to arrive at a place as an editor, allowing clients to get used to me in a different role," he related.
Prior to joining MacKenzie Cutler, Campbell worked in publishing as a writer/editor for four and a half years. Commenting on the career switch, he said his last journalism job was as an editor for a Web site on extreme sports called The Adventure Center. When it folded after about a year, he became disillusioned with the whole publishing game. So when Ian MacKenzie (who is his brother-in-law) offered him a job, he was keen to try a different career—and he hasn’t written since. Campbell studied English and Communications at the University of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
