Editors often work continuously with a particular art director, producer or creative director at an agency, contributing to several campaigns. SHOOT spoke with a sampling of cutters about developing long-term relationships and how the pairings impact their work, and contribute to the creative process.
Of course, editor/agency relationships often begin when an agency sees a cutter’s reel. "They see your work and feel there’s something there that clicks with what they’re doing," says Paul Martinez, who works out of the Santa Monica office of bicoastal editorial shop Lost Planet, and frequently cuts Toyota campaigns via Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Torrance, Calif., and Budweiser projects through Fusion Idea Lab, Chicago.
When Mike Oberman and Matt Brennock, creative partners at Fusion Idea Lab, first contacted Martinez, they told him they wanted him to push things. "They really want to allow something else to come out of the editorial process than what they had originally conceived," he says.
Among the spots the three have collaborated on is Budweiser’s "Roommate" directed by Gary McKendry through Go Films, New York. (McKendry is now with bicoastal/international Partizan.) The spot—which features a guy who’s delighted when his date tells him he can go out with her roommate as well—aired during last year’s Super Bowl broadcast. "It’s really interesting where we came to on that edit," relates Martinez. "We played with time and jump-cutting, and really experimented with how we could push a dialogue spot in a different direction."
The creatives’ trust in Martinez allowed him to move the spot in different directions. "Matt and Mike always want me to push it," says Martinez. "Most of what we do is comedy dialogue, but they want me to try and figure out ways to take it to a different level—to play with time or to play off reaction—so it’s not just straight ahead. What I love about these guys is that if there’s a different way to edit a spot, they really encourage that kind of thinking."
However, Martinez points out that sometimes a spot needs a straight cut to get its point across, as was the case with "Locker Room," a new Bud Light ad directed by Kevin Thomas of Thomas Thomas, London. "In that case, it was better to play it a little more straight," he comments. "Sometimes that works better."
Kirk Baxter of Final Cut New York has worked on a number of spots for Miami agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky (CP+B), including ads for Ikea, the Mini Cooper, and the American Legacy Foundation’s "Truth" campaign. (CP+B shares lead agency status on the latter account with Arnold Worldwide, Boston.) The editor enjoys a good rapport with producers at the shop, including Rupert Samuel, who along with David Rolfe, is co-director of broadcast production at CP+B. Baxter says that Alex Bogusky, partner/executive creative director at the shop, is the common link in all of the work he does for CP+B. "I have good relations with Alex Bogusky, which helps in the process of doing work because he can streamline it," says Baxter. "Rather than the creative director being this mysterious person you never really have contact with, he’s happy to pick up the phone and call me directly. I’ve worked out a pattern of how to work with him."
Baxter is starting to build a relationship with TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco, where he recently cut spots for adidas ("Lesson," directed by Jake Scott of bicoastal RSA USA) and FOX Sports ("Teaser," "Stadium," "Up Late" and "Parking Lot," directed by Lionel Goldstein of Czar.US, New York). "I worked out of the agency’s office for the FOX Sports stuff, which was great," Baxter says. "I was in the basement of the agency, and all the creatives were down there working with me. [A situation like that makes] you feel very much a part of their creative team."
Baxter previously worked out of the London office of Final Cut, and sees the way he works with agency people in the U.S. as an extension of his collaborations with U.K. directors. "I started in England, where I very much just worked with directors," he says. "Out here, I still have that, but it’s also expanded to working with creatives and producers. I work with them in the same way in which I worked with directors. I like working with the same people again and again, whether it’s producers, creatives or directors. I love to work with familiar people."
Stephane Dumonceau, who edits out of the New York office of Mad River Post (which has shops in Santa Monica, San Francisco, Detroit and Dallas), has cut several spots for ESPN’s "Without Sports" campaign via Wieden+Kennedy (W+K), New York. He edited "Coach," directed by Stacy Wall of bicoastal Epoch Films, which aired during the 2003 Super Bowl broadcast; and "Makeshift," helmed by Mark Romanek of bicoastal Anonymous Content, which is the flagship spot for this year’s iteration of "Without Sports."
Dumonceau notes that his early career training has aided him in forming working relationships with creatives and producers. The editor used to work at Gravy Editorial, the in-house editorial shop of Foote, Cone & Belding, San Francisco, where he cut spots for clients such as FOX Sports, Dockers and Sega. "There, I was working with the same creatives most of the time," he says. "Most of my career, at the time, had been based on my relationship with Brian Bacino, who was one of the main creative directors there. So my experience has actually been rooted in working consistently with the same team of people."
Trust
Dumonceau’s first job for W+K was cutting "Coach." Kim Schoen, the spot’s art director, recommended Dumonceau for the "Without Sports" campaign; the two knew each other from their days at Foote, Cone & Belding. Schoen has since left W+K, but Dumonceau’s relationship with the agency continues.
What contributes to a good relationship? "Trust is the main thing," says Dumonceau. "Brian Cooper [one of the producers for the ‘Without Sports’ campaign] told me that’s why he always hires me. He knows that the project, once I handle it, is taken care of."
In addition to trust, communication is key to a good editor/agency relationship, relates Sherri Margulies of bicoastal Crew Cuts. When an editor and an agency person know each other, they communicate efficiently. "You almost have a shorthand together," she says. "Editorial is a service business, so if an agency has a shorthand with you, it certainly does make their life easier."
Margulies cut Pepsi’s "Crossroads," directed by Joe Pytka of Venice, Calif.-based PYTKA, via BBDO, New York. The spot, which depicts a young Jimi Hendrix choosing electric guitar over accordion—and Pepsi over Coca-Cola—debuted during the ’04 Super Bowl. Margulies often collaborates with BBDO’s Regina Ebel, director of broadcast production, and Don Schneider, executive VP/executive creative director, on the Pepsi account. She continues to collaborate with Michael Patti, now chairman/chief creative officer at Young & Rubicam, New York, and formerly a vice chairman/executive creative director at BBDO.
"When I work on jobs with people that I’ve never met before, I go through a much more methodical process," explains Margulies. "When you work with people that you already have a relationship with, you have certain levels of understanding [and] there’s more freedom to try some things that are outlandish because there’s a trust built in."
"Crossroads" was done on a tight schedule. Margulies thinks it would have been tough to create a quality spot in such a short amount of time if she’d been working with new collaborators. "There’s no time to waste," she says.
Editors Ian MacKenzie and Jun Diaz of MacKenzie Cutler, New York, also have long-standing relationships with agency creative directors. MacKenzie often collaborates with Gerry Graf, executive creative director at TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York. MacKenzie has worked with Graf on spots for Snickers, FedEx and Guinness (when Graf was at BBDO New York), and E-trade (when Graf was at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco). Both Diaz and MacKenzie worked with Graf on FedEx’s "Drama," "Call Center," "Crate," "MBA," "Chinese Office" and "Career Maker," all directed by Frank Todaro through bicoastal/international @radical.media. (Todaro is now with bicoastal Moxie Pictures.) Diaz also works with creatives such as Joyce King Thomas, creative director at McCann-Erickson, on MasterCard. Recent work from that account includes "Cat in the Hat," directed by Jaume of bicoastal/international Partizan.
"I think it has more to do with trust than a shared sensibility," says Diaz of developing good relationships. "Most of the creative directors we work with aren’t formulaic in the way they work. They’re not coming here because they think you can bring a style to [a project]. They’re coming here because they think you can bring the best out of the film."
MacKenzie adds, "When the process gets to the editing room, it’s so much easier when there’s mutual trust. I think with other parts of the process, there also has to be trust. But it seems like people are more willing to take a chance with a director and then, if it doesn’t work out, try and save it in the edit. I think people are less willing to take a chance with an editor."
Does MacKenzie think he has more freedom in a longstanding relationship? "Someone like Gerry [Graf] will buy a cut wholesale sometimes," he says. "He doesn’t noodle around with it. I think that in a longer relationship, sometimes the agency will be less inclined to noodle with things because of the trust involved."
Angus Wall of Rock Paper Scissors, Los Angeles, regularly works with art director Jeff Williams of W+K, Portland, Ore., on Miller High Life spots, including "Recycling," directed by Errol Morris of @radical.media. Wall says that being attentive to creatives is crucial. "It’s like any relationship, you just have to listen," he points out.
Wall used to collaborate with Mark Johnson, who was formerly a creative director at Fallon, Minneapolis. The editor recalls a remark that Johnson made, which gets at the essence of great working relationships: "He said, ‘Sometimes the best jobs are when you have the conversation, and at the end of the conversation, the work is done.’ "
