In an a seismic personnel move, The Whitehouse’s A-list editor Matt Walsh, joins Cutters March 1 as a partner/editor. He becomes Cutters Chicago’s tenth editor and the total company’s nineteenth, among all its offices in Santa Monica, Detroit, Tokyo and Chicago.
Walsh had been with The Whitehouse for 11 years, starting as a runner back in 2001 and working his way up to assistant. In 2006, he was promoted to editor and has been blazing a trail ever since.
He says he will be ready to hit the road running with his own keyboard and Avid settings when he starts the newest chapter of his career on Thursday.
The decision to leave The Whitehouse after more than a decade was not made lightly, Walsh says. “But this felt like an appropriate time to reinvigorate my career and Cutters seemed like a good fit. I am nothing but grateful for the opportunities Whitehouse gave me and now I’ll take them to the next level.”
Cutters’ CEO Tim McGuire, who has put his full-service and diversified company on a fast track this past year, with the opening of Cutters Detroit and a partnership in Ringside Creative and Moonlink Satellite services, feels confident Walsh will help the company take “that next giant step towards our overall goals.”
Walsh says he is comfortable with all types of projects, including big comedy and docu-reality/unscripted campaigns.
“I love the most working on over the top comedy and I also like real people stuff,” Walsh notes. “There is nothing more delightful than working with a real reaction to something crazy or surprising.”
High praise for Walsh’s talent came from spot and narrative film director Clay Weiner, also a known pioneer of viral videos.
“Matt is not only an absurdly focused and funny editor, he’s the kind of full service stay-with-the-job-until-you-are-fully-satisfied professional that are few and far between these days,” Weiner says. “Plus, he picked me up from the airport.”
Some of Walsh’s major campaigns include those for Bank of America, McDonald’s, Kellogg’s, Bud Light, State Farm, Capital One, Advil, Sonic, OfficeMax, Greenpeace, Kraft and Wheat Thins.
Says executive producer Craig Duncan, “Matt’s passion and energy are infectious. Clients that work with Matt return again and again.”
Putting in long hours in an editing suite is not work to the editor. “I always really love what I do and it rarely feels like work to me. In fact, I sleep better at night when I am confident that I know the footage like the back of my hand.”
