All Change At Cutters

“A little while ago, we brought on a great editor in Barnett Kiel, as a test to see how the market would react to our style of post production,” states Cutters’ CEO/President & Founder Tim McGuire. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive, making our next step the obvious choice.” At the close of 2011, Cutters made the next step - in fact, 3 steps.

The first announcement for the New Year is the signing of 2 new editors to the company’s already impressive roster – Adam Parker and Jaime Valdueza.
 

Adam Parker joins Cutters from Chrome Editorial, and brings great comedic experience to the company’s LA roster - but Comedy is not the only style Parker has up his sleeve. It was the experience of working on 3 different Sundance nominated documentaries (including this year’s opening night documentary, “Queen Of Versailles” a Lauren Greenfield film) that gave Parker a love for docu- style, a great fit for Parker’s writing/storytelling background.

“I'm really excited to be at Cutters,” states Parker, “they share the same appreciation for so many things I love about this business and are incredibly smart about making the whole post process a great experience from every perspective. The culture within the company is amazing. Everyone I've met has not just been creatively great, but also very open and collaborative and seems to come from the same place I do - loving what we do.” Parker’s experience includes work for clients like Gatorade, DirecTV, California Milk Board, Adidas, EASports, Jack in the Box, McDonald's, Kellogg's, PlayStation, MINI, Jaguar, GM, Honda, Old Navy, Southwest Airlines, Allstate, Bud Light, Apple, and Ikea.
 

Jaime Valdueza joins the Cutters roster from Lost Planet. Jaime’s experience and reel reflect a very deep knowledge of storytelling and dialogue with a dash of comedy. Jaime originally hails from Spain, is fluent in Spanish, and has been editing both commercials and films in the LA market for the past few years – Jaime most recently completed work on John Leguizamo’s “FUGLY!” in 2011.

“Cutters has achieved impressive national success and now it's ready to tackle other markets and cultures like the Hispanic American Market and the growing markets of Asia,” states Valdueza. He continues, “this understanding and openness

 

to new and culturally diverse clients as well as their strong presence in the emerging Hispanic markets like Chicago and Detroit made my choice even easier.” Jaime’s experience includes work for clients like Mastercard, CA Lottery, MTV, Ford, Toyota, Budweiser, Bud Light, Best Buy, Apple, Midway Games, California Milk Board, Comcast to name a few.

Parker and Valdueza join Executive Producer Nicole Visram, the driving force behind the growth of the Cutters brand on the west coast, rising star Aki Mizutani (editor on the highly acclaimed "The Tsunami and The Cherry Blossom"), and fellow editor Barnett Kiel who came to Cutters from Beast in January 2010.
 

“Cutters has been a very special place for me,” states Kiel. “When I joined them, they spoke of national representation in multiple markets and actually meant it. I have worked across the country from LA through Chicago and Detroit all the way to NY.” Kiel’s work to date has been for brands like Honda, One Main Financial, Kaiser Permanente, Coca-Cola, Cadillac, Reebok, Porsche and The US Navy and Army. Kiel continues, "The Cutters Culture is not just about the excellent work but also about a great humanity. I am thrilled to have Adam & Jaime joining our team. Not only are they top editors, but they are both amazing people as well.”

With a more robust staff in place, the next step was to improve the company’s new LA base to be much more client friendly. Cutters has taken over a gorgeous industrial property at 1657 Euclid St in Santa Monica. “We not only loved the space, but we also loved the surrounding creativity of our neighbors,” states Nicole Visram, EP of Cutters in Los Angeles. “Next door we have Dreamworks, around the corner is @radical.media, and across the way is JJ Abrams’ Bad Robot – a group we have already gotten to know.” The new 5,000 square foot space boasts FCP/Avid HD edit suites, a smoke room, a conference room and will also house the West Coast operations of Cutters’ sister brand, picnic – a transmedia company.
 

In addition to the new editors in LA, Cutters’ Director Of Business Development, Will Kneip, will also be shifting his focus to the west coast. “Will has done an amazing job of building the Cutters brand in Chicago,” states Craig Duncan, Executive Producer of Cutters Inc., “he knows our company and the way we work. I feel very fortunate to have Will and Nicole leading our renewed investment in the LA market.” Kneip, who is a former agency producer, will officially become the sales director for the west coast. “I will definitely miss working closely with our Chicago clients,” states Kneip, “but I am very excited to embrace the new challenges and opportunities this shift will offer.”

 

2012 has already begun with a bang for Cutters’ improved LA operation, the town is already taking notice of the new face. “Before the paint had even dried, we were seeing a flood of inquiries about our talent,” states Nicole Visram from the LA studio, “if these early days are any indication, 2012 is going to be a great year.”