Editor Sylvette Artinian and executive producer Jeb Schary have joined Mad River Post, Dallas (MRP/Dallas). Schary, an ad agency veteran who’s been a producer at The Richards Group, Dallas, since 1995, moves over to the editorial house side of the business for the first time.
Meanwhile Artinian becomes the marquee editor at MRP/Dallas, which represents her exclusively in the Southwest and Southeast. Covering that territory for MRP/Dallas is Fran Montoya of Montoya Reps, Dallas. Throughout the rest of the country, independent from MRP/Dallas, Montoya will serve as the point person for those interested in working with Artinian.
Artinian was formerly handled by The Blue Rock Editing Company, New York, and continues to maintain Three Point Landing, her own shop in Northridge, Calif. Plans call for Artinian to be based in Dallas. She and Schary succeed, respectively, editor Brad Wetmore and executive producer Rhonda Moore who recently exited MRP/Dallas to join Reel FX, Dallas.
Since the departure of Moore and Wetmore, MRP/Dallas president James Appleton has been working to shape the shop’s next generation of talent and management. In addition to securing Artinian as an established cutter, MRP/Dallas has promoted Wetmore’s assistant, Quan Tran, to junior editor. Additionally Appleton said he intends to look for a third and possibly a fourth editor for the company.
Key to Appleton’s blueprint is Schary, who’s well connected in the Texas ad market. In the past, observed Appleton, MRP/Dallas has imported exec producers from the Southern California market. This time the decision was to court the likes of Schary, who’s well known throughout Texas agency ranks. Prior to his tenure at The Richards Group, Schary was head of the broadcast department at DDB Dallas, and prior to that producing for GSD&M, Austin, Texas.
Schary’s agency pedigree extends well beyond Texas. In ’69, he started out as an assistant producer at Ogilvy & Mather, New York, moving up the ranks to become a writer/producer there. He then moved to the Midwest, serving as co-director of broadcast production at Campbell-Ewald, Detroit, a producer at Foote, Cone & Belding, Chicago, and a senior producer at the former D’Arcy, St. Louis. After a brief hiatus to try his hand at directing, Schary returned to D’Arcy for four more years before moving to Texas, landing at GSD&M.
“The challenge to take on something different” is what Schary said drew him to MRP/Dallas after spending nearly all his career in the agency arena. He added that since MRP/Dallas is a smaller entrepreneurial business, there’s an opportunity for him to help develop the edit shop.
Integral to that development is Artinian, who’s best known for cutting storytelling spots on behalf of such clients as Acura via Rubin Postaer and Associates, Santa Monica, and Buick out of McCann-Erickson, Detroit. She has also edited music videos for assorted artists, including singer Sheryl Crow.
Artinian’s joining MRP/Dallas represents a homecoming of sorts. She began her career at Mad River, Santa Monica, as an assistant to company principal, editor Michael Elliott. During her stay there from ’90-’91, she progressed to become a full-fledged editor.
“It has always been my goal to introduce new, A-level talent to Dallas–the intention being to increase healthy competition in an effort to usher in a new top-tiered talent pool instead of churning the existing one,” said Appleton. Our signing of Sylvette adds an entirely new dimension to cutting spots in Texas.”
Krystn Wagenberg–president of the overall Mad River, which also has shops in New York, Detroit, Santa Monica and San Francisco–noted that Schary can access Mad River editors from all over the country for work out of Texas agencies. She said that Schary is well positioned to help strengthen MRP/Dallas and to open up opportunities in that market for the national roster of Mad River cutters.
