Effective Feb. 1, editor Brad Wetmore is set to join the Santa Monica operation of Mad River Post, the bicoastal editorial house which also maintains facilities in New York and San Francisco. He comes over from Santa Monica-based editorial shop Jigsaw, where he spent the past four years. At press time, Wetmore was wrapping an Apple Computers spot at Jigsaw, directed by Mark Coppos and Virginia Lee of bicoastal Coppos Films for TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Wetmore is scheduled to cut another Apple assignment once he starts at Mad River.
Wetmore said several factors attracted him to Mad River, including its having facilities in different markets. He noted that editors regularly shuttle back and forth to the various Mad River facilities to take on projects for agencies in New York and San Francisco. "That opens up more opportunities for me, which I think will help take my work to the next level," related Wetmore.
Apple has been a regular client for Wetmore ever since the account returned to TBWA/Chiat/Day a couple of years ago. For example, Apple’s "Music," helmed by Coppos and Lee, was honored in the tabletop category of this year’s Association of Independent Commercial Producers Show at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Wetmore also cut Apple’s "Barry White" spot, which is currently running. His other recent work includes the Dodge spots "Drummer," "Shift" and "Light," directed by Richard Kizu-Blair of Pandemonium, San Francisco, for BBDO Detroit, Southfield, Mich. The editor’s reel also contains a European commercial, "Gnomes," for Hollywood Gum, directed by feature filmmaker Tim Burton (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands) of A Band Apart. 35mm, Los Angeles, for Euro RSCG, Paris.
Prior to Jigsaw, Wetmore spent two and a half years as an editor/partner at Oasis Editorial, Santa Monica. He first established himself at Chiat/Day (now TBWA/Chiat/Day), Los Angeles, starting out in its mailroom in ’85. He moved up the ranks to the A-V department, eventually becoming an editor and then head of postproduction at the agency’s in-house arm, Venice Beach Editorial. Except for a brief four-month stay in ’90 at Red Car, Hollywood (now Santa Monica), Wetmore was a Chiat/Day fixture for eight years. He left in ’93 to serve what turned out to be a six-month stint in helping to launch the West Coast operation of now bicoastal music/sound design house Elias Associates. "I discovered that I needed to be cutting again," recalled Wetmore, who then shifted to the aforementioned Oasis.
Wetmore joins a Mad River/ Santa Monica editors’ roster that includes Lucas Eskin, Jack Douglas, Lisa Cheek and Travis Aitken. Editor Michael Elliot, a company principal, and his producer Mindy Strauss are in the process of relocating from Los Angeles to Mad River’s New York office.
Chris Donovan, executive producer at Mad River/Santa Monica, said that Wetmore’s background brings an added dimension to the company, noting that editors Eskin, Douglas, Cheek and Aitken all came up the ranks of Mad River. "That’s proven to be beneficial," related Donovan. "But now in Brad, we bring in some experience from outside the company—a guy who’s worked on the agency side at TBWA/Chiat/Day, someone who was a partner or senior editor at a couple of houses. I think he can help our editors, and they can help him."
Monette Dubin, who was hired as a producer for Mad River/Santa Monica, in Oct. ’99, will be reunited with Wetmore. The two worked together years ago in Chiat/Day’s A-V department.
