Nearly eight months after dissolving her former Venice, Calif.-based company Us 2 Editorial, editor Elisa Bonora has joined Harley’s House, a Santa Monica-based editorial/design and graphics company that services the commercial, music video, trailer and broadcast promos markets.
Bonora was formerly partnered in Us 2 for six years with executive producer D.J. Dole, until they mutually agreed to close the firm last August. Last fall, Dole launched his own Venice-based shop, Switchblade, a postproduction service that primarily facilitates freelance editors (SHOOT, 11/5/99, p. 7).
Bonora had been cutting projects independently and exploring other options, including opening a West Coast office for New York-based edit house Invisible Dog. Although the deal ultimately didn’t come to pass, she cut a number of projects for Invisible Dog over a four-month period, including "Confessions," a spot for the Travel Channel via M&C Saatchi, New York. It was directed by Nick Cassavetes of Creative Film Management International (CFM), which is a sister company of Invisible Dog.
"To start a company on the West Coast [with Invisible Dog]," said Bonora, "it was [initially] going to be just me. It was going to be a slow start; you [ultimately] need two or three editors. We were in the process of looking for more, but when this thing came around, it was a much better option for me."
Bonora related that her law-yer suggested she meet Harley Rinzler, owner/president of Harley’s House, who was interested in talking to her. At the time, Bonora said, she knew nothing at all about Harley’s House but found herself intrigued by Rinzler and his company.
"I didn’t expect Harley to be so interesting and full of ideas," recounted Bonora. "He’s very excited about a lot of things, and has a lot of plans. It was fascinating … to walk into a place where the energy is happening. … The company had been in economic trouble, but he turned it around last year; now the company is ready to step up its quality [of work]. Suddenly a lot of talent is being attracted to Harley’s House."
Among that talent is director Marcus Nispel of bicoastal RSA USA, who recently worked at Harley’s House with freelance editor Jay Friedkin. "Marcus responded to the same energy [at the company] that I responded to," said Bonora, who was slated to begin cutting a Nispel-directed Bausch & Lomb spot—her first Harley’s House job—this week.
Rinzler said he has spent the past year gearing his company towards a higher profile. To that end, Harley’s House completed a major renovation and physical expansion of its facility last year. The new 9,000-sq.-ft. space houses eight Avid bays, as well as an Illusion, a Softimage DS and Mac graphics suites. "We continue to do a very high volume of work, and now we’re doing a higher volume of higher-end work," said Rinzler. "We are growing very quickly."
Rinzler recalled that five years ago, a veteran spot editor who was a friend of his said he believed Bonora had the best commercial reel he’d ever seen. "I always remembered that," said Rinzler. "I had the occasion to meet Elisa, who was very receptive to the way that I view this business and where it’s heading. I think it’s a ‘right place/right time’ situation. She was ready to find a new home, and Harley’s House is the kind of place where if you come in and meet the people … it seems that they like it and want to hang out there. I think Elisa felt that, too."
Bonora said that Harley’s House marks the first time her involvement with a company (that she didn’t own) has made her feel such a high level of enthusiasm. "This business is so much about ideas and good energy," said Bonora. "As an editor, it’s essential that I be creatively motivated, and Harley’s kind of a visionary guy; it’s just so good. I really don’t care about having a business as much as being around the right people.
"I feel I’m an asset in a place that is growing," continued Bonora. "The company is very young, and Harley really wants to make it an A-list company. Part of the excitement is that it’s up-and-coming, and I need that."
Bonora’s recent credits include "Cozy Place" for Nabisco’s Café Crème cookies via FCB, New York, that spoofs the film The Sixth Sense; it was directed by Eric Heimbold of Hollywood-based pre•duk’shen. At press time, Bonora was in the midst of cutting a trailer for Sony Pictures promoting its upcoming feature film Center Stage.
Before Us 2, Bonora spent two years as an in-house editor at Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA. Prior to that, she worked for a year at Hollywood-based editorial house Red Car (now in Santa Monica).
Bonora joins an editorial roster that is comprised of the mono-monikered Einar, Jim Munro, Reina Heimall and Kort Falkenberg. The commercial editorial division is headed by executive producer Michael Raimondi. Harley’s House also maintains loose affiliations with freelance editors Sloane Klevin and the aforementioned Friedkin. The company is repped by Los Angeles-based Connie Mellors.
