Wieden + Kennedy (W + K), Amsterdam, is opening Joint/Amsterdam, an edit facility. This is not the first Joint–the Portland headquarters of W + K has had an in-house editing arm called Joint since 1990; Peter Wiedensmith is the lead editor. Yet while the Portland and Amsterdam locations share a name, their approaches are quite different.
The new Joint is housed offsite from W+K, Amsterdam, and the hope is to attract work from other sources, as well as provide creative editorial for the agency. In addition to staff editors, Joint/Amsterdam will host two cutters from the Whitehouse for six months at a time.
Aside from providing a greater level of creative control, Joint will allow W+K creatives and producers to spend less time on the road. “What we found, through the years, doing postproduction, is that we mostly travel to London for editorial and online needs, and we wanted to bring that a little bit closer to home,” explained Susan Cook, co-director of broadcast at W + K, who is overseeing the launch of Joint. Plans call for a Joint executive producer to be in place by the end of August.
Cook noted that both lifestyle and economic benefits can be realized as a result of Joint helping to cut down on travel for W+K staffers. “The travel was one of the things we wanted to solve,” said Cook. “We would spend really long chunks of time over in London, and people would be away from home and families. The other thing we found, with the pound being what it is, exchange rate wise we were spending more of our budgets on travel, and we wanted to put those resources into the creative side, rather than just the hotel side.”
Also, while there’s edit talent in Amsterdam, Cook explained that W+K wanted additional alternatives. “This [Joint] is going to allow us to choose options that suit our needs best for the work we do.”
Joint will operate somewhat autonomously from the agency, with an eye towards attracting work from other ad shops and production companies. “As word gets out, we’re very open to other people using the facility,” said Cook. “We’re viewing it as a purely separate editorial facility. We’re trying to divorce the administration from the main company as much as possible, so it remains unbiased, so someone could feel comfortable walking into one of the suites and know that Wieden people aren’t going to walk in on them.”
Whitehouse editors Heidi Black and Adam Marshall are the first two cutters to work out of Joint. Black was based in The Whitehouse’s Santa Monica office, while Marshall was in the London office. (The Whitehouse also has shops in New York and Chicago.) Black’s recent credits include Netflix out of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco; Toyota for Saatchi & Saatchi LA, Torrance, Calif., and Pedigree via TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles. Marshall’s credits include projects for Xbox and 3M out of AKQA, London, WD40 via TBWA/London, and Saab out of Lowe Brindfors, Stockholm.
Cook noted that the agency and The Whitehouse have enjoyed a close working relationship, and the edit shop was helpful in advising the agency in getting Joint off the ground. “We started talking to them about this, and asking for advice,” she noted, ” and it just seemed to make sense to collaborate. The model is very flexible in that we’ll have our own staff editor or editors, and then we’ll rotate Whitehouse editors in for six-month periods, so that we get some fresh talent.” The search is underway for a permanent staff editor.
Melissa Thornley, managing director of The Whitehouse, noted that each of the longstanding edit shop’s offices have long enjoyed a good working relationship with W+K. Thornley noted that while each set of Whitehouse editors would be at Joint to work on W + K projects, those cutters would also be able to take on work from other ad shops if schedules permit.
Other Whitehouse editors–as well as cutters from other editorial facilities–will be able to work out of Joint on a project basis. (Thornley reports that Joint will be linked to each of The Whitehouse offices, allowing for virtual edit sessions.) While Joint will be available to W + K producers and creatives, there is no mandate that they cut there. “We’re never going to force anyone to use the facility,” stated Cook. “We’re hoping that it stands on its own merit, and that our producers and creatives will actually want to go there.”
Joint/Amsterdam currently has two Avid Media Composers, an Avid Adrenaline, as well as a Final Cut Pro, Aftereffects and Photoshop workstation. The new entity is already up and running–Marshall is working on a Coca-Cola Germany spot, directed by Nic and Sune at Silbersee Film, Hamburg, and on an ad for videogame maker Electronic Arts, directed by Jake & Jim of Exposure Films London.
