Newly launched editing company, The Well, New York, has hired Bea King as executive producer. King comes over from Grey Advertising, New York, where she served as VP/producer.
The Well—which will celebrate its official opening on Oct. 5—is based on a business plan put together by Robert Friedrich, former CFO at First Edition, New York. Friedrich, who joined First Edition in ’87, spent two years putting a team together to start an editing boutique. At The Well, he now finds himself joined by partners/editors Eric Horowitz and Joe McKay, formerly of New York-based Progressive Image Group (P.I.G.); Gary Hernandez, previously with the New York office of bicoastal Crew Cuts (which also maintains offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco); and former First Edition editor/partner Randy Ilowite. Additionally, Patrick Lavin, formerly of Quiet Man, New York, has joined The Well as a graphic designer.
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The editorsrented space at various facilities while The Well’s headquarters, located in Manhattan’s Flatiron District, was under construction. McKay recently cut Optimum On-line’s cinema and television spots’ "Lullaby," "Security Dogs," "Jump," and "Surfing," directed by Erich Joiner of bicoastal production house Tool of North America, via Young & Rubicam, New YorkHernandez recently edited Jose Ole’s "The Jose Ole Man," directed by Jesse Dylan of bicoastal Straw Dogs via Campbell Mithun, Minneapolis. And Horowitz cut Sprint’s "Road Kit," directed by Tom Routson of Tool of North America via McCann-Erickson, New York.
Friedrich said of the Well’s newest addition King: "We felt bringing someone on board with some agency background would help us in many ways, especially in developing relationships with the agencies. It always helps when someone speaks their language and Bea has the experience to do just that."
While at Grey, King produced on campaigns for clients such as Pantene, Cover Girl, GlobalStar, Jockey International and Procter & Gamble. Grey was King’s first professional roost. She joined the agency as a production secretary in ’89 after graduating from Queens College, Flushing, N.Y., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications, majoring in film.
She originally became aware of The Well, after working on a commercial with McKay. "We were talking over lunch one day and he mentioned opening a company," she explains. "Somehow conversation glided over to whether I would be interested in working with them. It wasn’t a very serious talk at first and the conversation evolved, eventually turning into a serious discussion about working for them as their executive producer. I ended up meeting with some of the other partners and after a number of meetings, it came to fruition."
Skill set
King said that she wanted to remain in advertising but wanted to spread her wings a little, to learn some other skills. She noted that by virtue of being new, The Well "gives me the opportunity to have a huge input in its growth."
Friedrich described assembling the core of talent to form The Well as being "an exhausting process but the end result has been the creation of a truly creative and talented editorial company … With four uncompressed Meridian Media Composers and Avid’s Unity system, we are able to offer our clients a great deal of talent with full flexibility."
Horowitz joined P.I.G. in ’94 as a senior editor. He and McKay have worked together for the past nine years, first at Big Picture Editorial (which has since been renamed Cabana) and then at P.I.G. with McKay joining 10 months after Horowitz. Prior to Big Picture, Horowitz worked at New York-based Bender Editorial (since renamed mad.house), where he started as an apprentice and was promoted to assistant and then junior editor before coming aboard Big Picture as an editor. Credits for Horowitz through P.I.G. included "Cat" for Sprint via McCann-Erickson, New York, "Jackie Chan" and "Phil Jackson" for TD Waterhouse via Emmerling Post Advertising, New York, and a Cascade campaign for Saatchi & Saatchi, New York.
McKay broke in as an apprentice and then an assistant editor at First Edition. In ’86, he joined New York-based Billy Williams Enterprises (since renamed Moondog) where he started to cut and then came aboard Big Picture, moving to P.I.G. in ’96, working first as an editor and then senior editor. Credits at P.I.G. included spots for Budweiser via DDB Chicago, Chrysler via FCB, Detroit, and MCI for Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer/Euro RSCG, New York.
Hernandez was an editor at Crew Cuts from ’94, and prior to that he was at the now defunct Editors Film Services from ’83 where he worked his way up from an assistant to an editor. Spot credits through Crew Cuts included campaigns for Visa and Mars/M&M’s through BBDO New York, and Ford Focus’ "Dreamscape" via Uniworld Group, New York.
Ilowite was a founder/partner in First Edition starting in ’73 and turned to freelancing after selling his share of the business. Credits included "London" and "Australia" for Samuel Adams Beer via The McCarthy Group, Princeton, N.J., that he edited through earth2mars, New York, and "Soccer" and "Apple" for Unisys via Bozell New York.
