Editor Michael Hackett, who spent the past three years on staff with Crush Editorial, Santa Monica, has joined FilmCore, the edit house with operations in Santa Monica, San Francisco and New York.
Hackett brings experience in spots, music videos and episodic TV to his new roost. Among his most recent work is a visual effects-driven spot Chevy spot directed by Olivier Gondry of bicoastal/international Partizan for Campbell-Ewald, Detroit. This represents the latest collaboration for Hackett with Gondry. The pair has teamed three times. Earlier this year, Hackett cut the Gondry-helmed “Throw It In A Tundra” for Toyota via Saatchi & Saatchi L.A., Torrance, Calif. That spot shows two men loading items into the back end of a vehicle as their environment undergoes rapid changes in weather.
And in late 2005, Hackett performed a re-edit of the classic Go-Gos’ music video, “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The original video footage was blended with new footage of women wearing Nordstrom fashions. The piece was used to launch the retailers Nordstrom Silverscreen interactive media channel in November. The branded entertainment channel, which offers broadband video content that combines fashion, music, technology and pop culture, was created by Fallon, Minneapolis.
In addition to a remix of the Go-Gos’ song by Fatboy Slim, director Gondry created a remix of the song’s video. In the updated version, the Go-Gos are seen riding in a convertible and frolicking in a fountain; at the same time an updated crew of models mimics their moves, wearing fashions available at Nordstrom (users can click on the clothing to purchase it).
Hackett’s other credits include spots for such clients as PacifiCare, Calvin Klein and Toyota’s Rav-4 sports utility vehicle. For the latter Hackett edited “Versatility” which premiered during this year’s Super Bowl telecast. Directed by Gavin Bowden of Plum Productions, Santa Monica, “Versatility” shows the SUV’s interior features and exterior environment undergo a series of instantaneous changes.
“The spot included running footage, car mounts, interior green screens and exterior background plates, in addition to a ton of compositing and CG work,” related Hackett. “I worked very closely with the director and the visual effects house [Asylum, Santa Monica] on the project.”
Saatchi associate creative director Mark Taylor, who worked with Hackett on “Versatility” and several other jobs, said of the editor, “He is someone who will fight to the end. He just won’t let me down at any point. With the way clients will sometimes change their minds, you need an editor who will continue to do his best work even on the fourth revision. You want them to see the job through one-hundred percent all the way.”
Hackett began his career in production with t minus 30 films, Venice, Calif. He later transitioned into postproduction via that company’s editorial division. Hackett worked as an assistant editor on the TV series Babylon 5, where he was introduced to visual effects work. He then joined Avenue Edit, Santa Monica, where he graduated from assistant to editor. He has also freelanced through several Southern California edit houses, including Brass Knuckles and Oasis.
Martin Scorsese On “The Saints,” Faith In Filmmaking and His Next Movie
When Martin Scorsese was a child growing up in New York's Little Italy, he would gaze up at the figures he saw around St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. "Who are these people? What is a saint?" Scorsese recalls. "The minute I walk out the door of the cathedral and I don't see any saints. I saw people trying to behave well within a world that was very primal and oppressed by organized crime. As a child, you wonder about the saints: Are they human?" For decades, Scorsese has pondered a project dedicated to the saints. Now, he's finally realized it in "Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints," an eight-part docudrama series debuting Sunday on Fox Nation, the streaming service from Fox News Media. The one-hour episodes, written by Kent Jones and directed by Elizabeth Chomko, each chronicle a saint: Joan of Arc, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist, Thomas Becket, Mary Magdalene, Moses the Black, Sebastian and Maximillian Kolbe. Joan of Arc kicks off the series on Sunday, with three weekly installments to follow; the last four will stream closer to Easter next year. In naturalistic reenactments followed by brief Scorsese-led discussions with experts, "The Saints" emphasizes that, yes, the saints were very human. They were flawed, imperfect people, which, to Scorsese, only heightens their great sacrifices and gestures of compassion. The Polish priest Kolbe, for example, helped spread antisemitism before, during WWII, sheltering Jews and, ultimately, volunteering to die in the place of a man who had been condemned at Auschwitz. Scorsese, who turns 82 on Sunday, recently met for an interview not long after returning from a trip to his grandfather's hometown in Sicily. He was made an honorary citizen and the experience was still lingering in his mind. Remarks have... Read More