Editor John Dingfield has returned to the roster of Cutters.
Since launching his career with Cutters back in 2000, Dingfield has established himself as a go-to editor for comedic and storytelling campaigns. His reel contains work crafted alongside directors Brian Billow, Bryan Buckley, Lloyd Lee Choi, Craig Gillespie, Paul Goldman, Martin Granger, Erich Joiner and Wayne McClammy, among others, After nine years with Cutters, Dingfield joined Beast in 2009 to anchor the firm’s new Chicago operation. In 2018, he moved on to Whitehouse Post Chicago, before returning home to Cutters. Atop scores of projects for agencies and brands that include seven Super Bowl spots, his most recent endeavors teamed him again with Billow (Ford Mustang Mach-E via Broadway Video), Goldman (Kansas Whiskey and ShipGo.com), and Choi (Walmart).
“John is an incredible comedic storyteller with impeccable timing,” assessed Cutters Studios president/managing director Craig Duncan. “His work on high-profile campaigns with top directors spans Ford, Capital One, State Farm, Raymond James, Fiat, CareerBuilder and Skittles, just to name a few. Having left our fold for a bit, built an incredible body of work and a wonderful group of loyal clients, our prodigal son has returned, bringing his quirky, offbeat sense of humor.”
Dingfield’s frequent collaborator Goldman assessed, “John creates stories that resonate with human insight, stories that move us in ways that last long after the first viewing,” he said. “As a working partner John fully understands how to subtly advocate for the best cut while still leaving everyone feeling engaged with the creative process. Whether it’s a fully storyboarded idea, or crafting vignettes to construct a narrative, John creates stories that leave us wanting more. And wanting more John.”
Director Billow added, “I’ve partnered with John for years on many commercial projects and personal films. When it comes to comedic timing, choosing the best performances, film knowledge, and just being an all-around pleasure to work with, I can sincerely say there is nobody better.”
Dingfield shared, “Starting out my career assisting Cutters partners Kathryn Hempel, Tim McGuire, and Chris Claeys, I found my editing ‘voice,’ and discovered that I loved cutting comedy. Thanks to Chris in particular, one of the first spots on my reel was directed by Christopher Guest, cut from a massive pile of improv footage he allowed me to play with. That has always been the atmosphere at Cutters: open, fun, creative, and collaborative.”
Review: Malcolm Washington Makes His Feature Directing Debut With “The Piano Lesson”
An heirloom piano takes on immense significance for one family in 1936 Pittsburgh in August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson." Generational ties also permeate the film adaptation, in which Malcolm Washington follows in his father Denzel Washington's footsteps in helping to bring the entirety of The Pittsburgh Cycle — a series of 10 plays — to the screen.
Malcolm Washington did not start from scratch in his accomplished feature filmmaking debut. He enlisted much of the cast from the recent Broadway revival with Samuel L. Jackson (Doaker Charles), his brother, John David Washington (Boy Willie), Ray Fisher (Lymon) and Michael Potts (Whining Boy). Berniece, played by Danielle Brooks in the play, is now beautifully portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler. With such rich material and a cast for whom it's second nature, it would be hard, one imagines, to go wrong. Jackson's own history with the play goes back to its original run in 1987 when he was Boy Willie.
It's not the simplest thing to make a play feel cinematic, but Malcolm Washington was up to the task. His film opens up the world of the Charles family beyond the living room. In fact, this adaptation, which Washington co-wrote with "Mudbound" screenwriter Virgil Williams, goes beyond Wilson's text and shows us the past and the origins of the intricately engraved piano that's central to all the fuss. It even opens on a big, action-filled set piece in 1911, during which the piano is stolen from a white family's home. Another fleshes out Doaker's monologue in which he explains to the uninitiated, Fisher's Lymon, and the audience, the tortured history of the thing. While it might have been nice to keep the camera on Jackson, such a great, grounding presence throughout, the good news is that he really makes... Read More