Chris Hellman has joined Homestead Editorial, New York, as a VP/partner/editor. For the past 15 years, he had been at the New York operation of bicoastal Crew Cuts.
Homestead’s partners include president/editor Greg Dougherty (who founded the company in ’94), senior VP/editor Charly Bender and executive producer Lance Doty.
Hellman said of his move: "I just felt it was time for a change. I liked Homestead—Lance, Greg and Charly. I thought the company was great, and they offered me a partnership."
But Hellman is also vociferous in his praise of former colleagues. "I was with Crew Cuts a long time, and they’re really like family to me. When I left there, it was on absolutely excellent terms, and they have been completely supportive."
Hellman and Doty knew each other from Doty’s days as partner/senior producer at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, where he was one of Hellman’s clients. Doty suggested that Hellman meet with Homestead’s partners. "They offered me something that I really wanted," Hellman said.
His credits at Crew Cuts include Labatts beer’s "Party" for Lowe Lintas & Partners, New York; ESPN’s "Colorization" via Wieden + Kennedy, New York; Visa’s "Linda Evangelista" out of BBDO, New York; and Jaguar’s "Windows" and Post Cereal’s "Quirky Workers," both for Ogilvy & Mather, New York.
A Chicago native who has been editing since he was a junior high school student, Hellman started working in the industry in ’79. He says his longstanding relationships with colleagues at advertising agencies enable him to make contributions at the conceptual stage. "Sometimes I’ve been hired outright by an agency and partnered with an art director or writer in coming up with campaign ideas," Hellman said. "The people at the agencies want me to be a part of that process from the get-go, because when we get into the editorial process, I know what it’s going to take. I know the pieces that I’m going to need to put it together."
Hellman said his work on the Wrangler campaign for The Martin Agency of Richmond, Va., which included "Quicker Than Others," was created with his input. "They just shot all this footage and had a vague idea of what the script would say. I chose the direction of the music, graphics and titles, and I created the end logo."
Another Hellman-edited spot was ESPN Baseball’s "Spiked" for Wieden + Kennedy, New York, which resembles vintage footage of a baseball player. "I’m pretty proud of how we got that film to be the way it is," Hellman related. "We didn’t shoot something pristine and then try to make it look old. Every effort was made to shoot this with older cameras and the right type of stock, and then reprint the stock. We put scratches on the film. None of that was done in postproduction with graphics or filters; it’s all real. That’s something that we (head of production Peter Cline, director Phil Morrison of bicoastal Epoch Films, and creative directors Stacy Wall and Gary Koepke) all worked on together."
Hellman said he often collaborates with art directors. "Typically, when people come to me, they’re expecting a full package. They want me to do all the graphics, or else put together a clear blueprint for someone else. That’s part of the reason I like the shorter format; it allows you to get your hands on all those parts."
Though he has worked in longer formats and is in the midst of editing a short film called Pirates of Central Park by Ogilvy & Mather’s Rob Farber, Hellman particularly appreciates the variety and high production values that spots offer.
The rest of Homestead’s editorial roster consists of Sam Welch, Gardiner Welch and Skip Duff.
