Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/432224
www.postmagazine.com 33 POST DECEMBER 2014 Lucky Post is a full-service post studio combining creative editorial, graphic design, high-end compositing, sound de- sign, mixing, and fi nishing. Clients include Chrysler, Comcast, The Home Depot, Mc- Donald's, MetroPCS, RAM, and Southwest. STRENGTHS: "Lucky Post is my fi rst op- portunity to work in a post house where everything is under one roof. That's a big strength. It streamlines and speeds the process for everyone's shortened sched- ules, and — more importantly — allows a cohesive creative approach, where every- one in all stages is on the same page." WEAKNESSES: "As an editor, the most precious thing for me is time — time to go through the footage and get to know it. I think the creative process is consistently compromised by the move toward rapidity. People new to the industry may not know that time is essential for the editor in their process to get the best edit possible." OPPORTUNITIES: "As the industry chang- es, there's an expansion of creative con- tent in new formats, and yet storytelling is and always will be at its center. It's fun and exciting to see editing take on new media with clients. For example, I'm starting to see some editing for interactive projects. I worked on a concert by Beck, sponsored by Lincoln Motor Company, that was a 360-immersive experience. I worked with director Chris Milk to translate the concert experience that he shot so the online viewer could place himself in the show [and feel] as if they were actually there." THREATS: "Aside from time, the increased use of treatments might be a threat. I saw from editing in music videos that treat- ments were prevalent. Now, every com- mercial has a treatment — in addition to the storyboards. Recently, we've seen an increase for rips, which is essentially the editor's treatment. The spots are coming together before we have the opportunity to collaborate with the agencies on these stories. Unfortunately, this can compro- mise the creative process both with our clients and directors, and I don't want to see those collaborations limited." OUTLOOK FOR 2015: "The industry is strong, and editorial companies seem to be thriving. I think interactivity will push its way through in more projects." RICK LAWLEY Editor/Creative Director Whitehouse Post London, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Amsterdam www.whitehousepost.com Whitehouse Post fosters editorial storytell- ing in a creative and supportive environ- ment, which features production and fi n- ishing partnerships with sister companies Cap Gun Collective and Carbon VFX, as well as design-driven production company Gentleman Scholar. Commercial clients include GE, Nike, Audi, and Google; feature fi lm and documentary credits include Leaving Las Vegas, Seven Psychopaths, and Spring Breakers. STRENGTHS: "Editorial has always been such a fundamental part of fi lmmaking, yet it's been somewhat undervalued over the years. It's like being a drummer in a band — everybody thinks you're important but no one can remember your name. Our strength is that we're pretty obsessed with editing. We acknowledge that there's sort of a digital jack-of-all-trades thing going on with some editors saying they can edit, composite and mix audio. But instead of our editors saying they can do it all, we've developed a family of businesses — a de- sign company, VFX company, production company — that work together in a really tight way. That makes for a cost-eff ective and effi cient option for client, while we all still remain specialists in what we do." WEAKNESSES: "My concern about the profi le of the craft within the advertising industry is that increasingly, [agencies] are developing editorial departments of their own. One or two have made a good job of it, but a lot have found it to be more challenging than they imagined. They're employing freelance editors, some of them fresh out of school, so there's a danger the craft could get diluted a bit. Editors who take the gen- eralist approach, the jack-of-all-trades approach, are another weakness." OPPORTUNITIES: "We've been around for 25 years, so we've adapted our busi- OUTLOOK EDITING O OUTLOOK O OUTLOOK The industry is strong, and editorial companies seem to be thriving. I THINK INTERACTIVITY WILL PUSH ITS WAY THROUGH in more projects." People are really excited about digital advertising and its very solid metrics compared to broadcast. BUT I'M CONCERNED THAT DIGITAL SOMETIMES FORGETS TO TELL STORIES."