Cutters Tokyo has added colorists Ben Conkey and Pete Ritchie, and editor Nathan Pickles.
Conkey and Ritchie go back a long way. Ritchie worked under Ben’s father Michael Conkey, founder of the Iloura post houses in Melbourne and Bangkok, Finito Films’ two offices in Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, and Fin Design + Effects in Sydney. Cutters Tokyo’s new colorists also share Australasian roots and global resumes, having worked for two decades alongside A-list directors, clients and agencies worldwide. Both have graded commercials, music videos, shorts and feature films, and bring the artist’s passion and the craftsman’s discipline to the table.
Pickles is an editorial entrepreneur. At 26, he founded his own editing house in London. Soon after, he was contributing to award-winning music videos and iconic campaign spots for clients such as Vodafone, Heineken and MasterCard.
“It’s always a great time to bring on exceptional talent,” said Cutters Tokyo’s managing director/editor Ryan McGuire. “These days, more and more of the commercial filmmaking is handled by the editor and the post house. We are now even better prepared to continue servicing this brave new world of advertising.”
As editorial inquiries from Japan continue to grow, and with China and Southeast Asia expanding, Cutters Tokyo is building its talent and resources to meet the region’s demand for a leading postproduction studio and creative center.
Cutters Tokyo’s executive producer Timo Otsuki said of Conkey, Ritchie and Pickles, “These guys have multicultural backgrounds and reams of experience, and they’re the very best at what they do. The fact that they love Japan cinches the deal.”
SAG-AFTRA Calls For A Strike Against “League of Legends”
"League of Legends" is caught in the middle of a dispute between Hollywood's actors union and an audio company that provides voiceover services for the blockbuster online multiplayer game.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists called a strike against "League of Legends" on Tuesday, arguing that Formosa Interactive attempted to get around the ongoing video game strike by hiring non-union actors to work on an unrelated title.
Formosa tried to "cancel" the unnamed video game, which was covered by the strike, shortly after the start of the work stoppage, SAG-AFTRA said. The union said when Formosa learned it could not cancel the game, the company "secretly transferred the game to a shell company and sent out casting notices for 'non-union' talent only." In response, the union's interactive negotiating committee voted unanimously to file an unfair labor practice charge against the company with the National Labor Relations Board and to call a strike against "League of Legends" as part of that charge.
"League of Legends" is one of Formosa's most well-known projects. The company provides voiceover services for the game, according to SAG-AFTRA.
SAG-AFTRA has accused Formosa of interfering with protections that allow performers to form or join a union and prevent those performers from being discriminated against โ a move the union called "egregious violations of core tenets of labor law."
Formosa did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "League of Legends" developer Riot Games said that the company "has nothing to do" with the union's complaint.
"We want to be clear: Since becoming a union project five years ago, 'League of Legends' has only asked Formosa to engage with union... Read More