Editorial, finishing and VFX studio Uppercut has added editor Carlos Crooks to its NY ensemble and promoted in-house assistant editor Sarah Igraine Welty to rostered editor.
Crooks brings his early training in film production and the studio system to his work as an editor, casting his cinematic eye across branded content, commercials, music videos, documentary features, and social justice films. He has worked with advertising clients like Puma, Lexus, Brooks, Kia and Xbox, and has cut music videos for artists Alana Maria and Dave B. One of his most recognized projects is the short film It Doesn’t Matter, a visual poem created in collaboration with Black Lives Matter and in response to the murder of George Floyd and other atrocities committed against Black people in America. The film has won 10-plus awards and screened nationwide at film festivals.
Born and raised in Northern California, Crooks was introduced to filmmaking by his grandmother, who enlisted his help making narrative films on VHS from footage they shot in their backyard. After a youth spent making breakdancing videos and skateboarding movies, he graduated from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. He then freelanced as an editor at many leading postproduction houses for several years.
Meanwhile Welty, who’s been promoted to editor, has cut campaigns for clients like SavageXFenty, Oscar de la Renta, VS PINK, Fragment by Hiroshi Fujiwara, Thom Browne, and Calvin Klein.
Born and raised in the Hudson Valley–where she was classically trained in piano, violin, cello, and voice–Welty was first introduced to editing while interning at a production house in New York. There she instinctively drew a connection between the editing process and music and started experimenting with audio programs, making soundscapes in Final Cut, before fully transitioning into editing with picture. For Welty, editing is a form of “visual music” – the marriage of sound and motion where a rhythm drives all movement to remain in harmony.
“Carlos and Sarah both have a strong instinct for storytelling,” said Uppercut owner and editor Micah Scarpelli.
