To say that Steve Gandolfi has made the most of the past six years would be something of an understatement. Since its 1997 opening, Gandolfi’s editing house, Cut & Run, London, has gone from a two-person operation (Gandolfi and assistant/receptionist Joel Miller) to one of the larger and better known shops in the business, with 11 off-line Avid suites and a staff of 32.
During the same time period, Gandolfi has cut award-winning ads for such directors as Daniel Kleinman of Spectre, London; Gerard de Thame of Gerard de Thame Films, London, and bicoastal HSI Productions; and Frank Budgen of Gorgeous Enterprises, London (who is represented stateside by bicoastal Anonymous Content).
Though he’s been editing spots for the U.S. market for the past 10 years, the British cutter’s stateside profile got a considerable boost in May, when he entered into an informal deal with Crew Cuts/West, Santa Monica, to represent him in the States. (Crew Cuts also has offices in San Francisco and New York.) "We don’t have a written agreement," he reports. "Christie Cash [executive producer of Crew Cuts/West] contacted me and told me she would like to represent me via Crew Cuts for U.S.-based projects only. We decided to keep things simple by having Crew Cuts send my reel to their clients when appropriate boards came up."
Gandolfi’s reel is more varied than most. While many editors prefer to work within a certain style, he’s as comfortable cutting simple, storytelling-based ads as he is working on epic spots, laden with special effects. When asked if he has favorite directors to work with, Gandolfi replies, "They all work so differently, it is a bit like asking me what my favorite food is. The answer is that variety is the true spice of life."
That flexibility paid off for Gandolfi at this year’s British Design and Art Direction (D&AD) Awards. His seamless editing for Kleinman on both Xbox’s effects-heavy "Mosquito" and "Champagne" (via Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London), and John Smiths’ more down-to-earth "Babies," "Monsters," "Mum," "Ball Skills," and "Diving" (through TBWA London), helped those spots earn awards in several categories.
Arguably the most breathtaking of the bunch is "Champagne," which also scored a Gold Lion at the ’02 Cannes International Advertising Festival. The ad depicts a baby shot out of his mother’s womb like a champagne cork. As he flies through the air at breakneck speed, we see the baby grow up, then age into an old man, until he finally crash-lands into his own grave. The tagline: "Life is short. Play more."
"Daniel involved me right at the beginning [of pre-production on ‘Champagne’]," says the editor. "Then [we worked together] right through to the pre-visuals provided at [London-based effects house] Framestore CFC. We went through it over and over, again and again. The whole thing took months and months of refinement."
Gandolfi has collaborated frequently with Kleinman on such spots as Chrysler’s "Golden Gate," via FCB, Detroit, produced via the now defunct Ritts/Hayden; and more recently, on Johnnie Walker’s "Fish" for Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
"Babies," which also looks seamless, is pure (albeit ribald) storytelling. Part of a humorous campaign that also garnered a British Television Advertising Award, the spot illustrates the honesty of John Smiths’ drinkers in a surprising way. In the ad, a man informs his dinner companions that his young daughter recently asked him where babies come from. When they ask how he responded, the man details his very frank explanation, using a hot dog as an illustration tool. When he finally takes a bite of the dog, his shocked audience winces. Oblivious, the brutally honest guy takes a sip of Scottish Courage.
Though they are worlds apart, both "Babies" and the Xbox fare share a common bond as they are marked by a Kleinman approach whereby he "works everything out to a phenomenal extent at the start," says Gandolfi, who himself enjoys playing an active role in pre-production.
collaboration
Although many British editors find U.S. spotwork to be a great deal less collaborative than it is in Europe, Gandolfi doesn’t see it that way. "The experience either side of the Atlantic does not really differ at all," he insists. "I still speak with the director on all the spots prior to photography and after, as I would do in the U.K. The fact that the director is not visible at the post is obviated by the presence of the agency. In an edit, I treat the agency with the same respect that I do the director."
Despite the dizzying success of the last half-decade, Gandolfi says his personal career highlight took place much earlier. "It was the first time that I was given a chance to edit a commercial by my then boss and mentor, Ian Weil," he relates, referring to the owner/editor of Ian Weil Editing, London. "I owe him a debt that I will never be able to re-pay for that feeling."
Gandolfi had come to Ian Weil Editing after working in a sound studio and video house. He remained there for several years, learning the craft of editing under Weil before eventually cutting spots of his own and leaving to open Cut & Run.
While his primary focus is commercial work, Gandolfi has cut TV shows in the United Kingdom, including Day to Day and Victoria Wood. He says he sees "no real difference" between cutting TV shows and spots. "Editing different genres is just like talking to different people," he notes. "One just adapts."
Gandolfi hopes to garner more U.S. commercial work as a result of his arrangement with Crew Cuts/ West, and the company may represent other Cut & Run editors "possibly in the future. For now, they are sending my reel," he explains. "However, if a U.S.-based job comes up for any of the other Cut & Run editors, Crew Cuts will accommodate them based on their room availability."
Cut & Run doesn’t formally represent any Crew Cuts editors, but Gandolfi says, "if a Crew Cuts editor needs to cut a project in London, we would support them here. Our relationship may evolve in the future. This is new for both companies, so we are just taking it one step at a time for now."
These days, the London-dwelling editor is busier than ever. "I am finalizing a one-hundred-second spot for BBC TV—yes, the channel with no commercials—in the U.K. for Frank Budgen," he shares. "And in two weeks time, I am starting a VW spot for Dante Ariola out of [bicoastal/ international] Morton Jankel Zander."
He’s also begun work on some new John Smith’s spots for Kleinman: "It’s a follow-up to his award-winning campaign of 2003." And, while he was obviously pleased with the amount of attention the earlier spots received, Gandolfi hints, "Wait till you get a look at the new ones."
