Gabriel R. de la Mora, Commercial Editor, Crew Cuts.Being Hispanic, does it have any influence on your business?
I think being Hispanic has more than influenced my work – it has helped to build it, shape it and define it.
Here in the United States, being a Hispanic commercial editor has certainly added some new and interesting challenges for me. Coming from Mexico City, clients tend to take more risks creatively than they do here - especially when it comes to Hispanic market TV spots. My job now is to help Hispanic agency ‘creatives’ deal with their clients’ parameters through an alternative way of editing, one that will avoid using the obvious or easy solution.
In the face of adversity, how do you decide to keep going?
In terms of work, it’s my sense of responsibility and an enormous amount of patience that keeps me going.
In life, it’s just thinking about my own life and realizing how great it has been - having a great family and being loved by just so many good people.
What is the biggest challenge you have faced?
For me, the biggest challenge I face is trying never to repeat myself in my work, and always attempting to entertain myself through my work, as equally as I am entertaining those viewing my work.
Commercial editing is a tough job – you need to tell a story, evoke an emotion, sell a product, relate to and engage your consumer…all in the typical time-frame of 30 seconds. 60, if you’re lucky. And, you have to convince viewers not to flip the channel, fast forward, or divert their attention. So for me, I want to make something interesting and unique, every single time.
If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?
Nothing at all. Every good or bad thing that has happened to me has made me who I am today.
What was your childhood ambition?
I wanted to be good at video games.
Tell us about three people that you admire?
-3D Artists or Designers because I wish I could do that.
-Paco de Lucia, because he's so fast with the guitar!
-My mom and my Mother-in-law, because they are always in a good mood no matter what happens.
For meetings: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?
None, I don't like to have meetings while I'm eating because it takes away the pleasure of really enjoying what you're eating.
What sacrifices on your personal life did you have to make in order to become a business success?
When I started in this business I dropped out of school and I spent all of my days glued to a computer just learning whatever software that was made available to me. The biggest sacrifice would be not spending more time with friends and family over that 5 year period in the beginning of my career.
What is your favorite quotation?
Patience is a form of action.
Is it difficult to be unconventional?
Not really because being unconventional draws people towards you; if you are unconventional you become a mystery to them. I don't speak much while I'm working. I let my work do all the talking.
Biggest mistake made?
Once when I was an assistant editor in Mexico City they had finished this movie that took a lot of time to cut and I sent an incorrect Final Negative Cutlist of it to the Lab. None of the cuts matched and it was a real miracle that they didn't cut the negatives! At the end I had to redo the list and everything worked out fine. I thought that I was going to be fired but I wasn't!
Do you consider yourself an Innovator?
That's a big word! I don't think that I'm an innovator because I haven't changed the way I do things and I haven’t created something completely new. I've been following the footsteps of my mentors like Juan Carlos Martin or Daniel Gruener. I view them as true innovators, and trying to be as good as them brings me closer to Innovation. My style is a mix of all of their styles.
About the Company:
Industry independent, Crew Cuts, is a full service postproduction house headquartered in New York City. Home to some of the industry’s most coveted talent, Crew Cuts’ end-to-end post expertise span across all realms of commercial and film editing, visual effects, motion graphics, audio / sound design, and mixing. The facility’s ongoing investment in talent and technology has kept them at the top of their game through years of industry transition and transformation. Their ongoing success includes recent award winning work for brands like: GE, Dairy Queen, Saturday Night Live, L’Oreal, Home Depot, Time Warner Cable and Holiday Inn.
For more information, please visit the website at http://www.crewcuts.com/
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