MASTERWORK: INDUSTRY CONVERSATION WITH MARTY BERNSTEIN

Join us for a virtual conversation with editor Marty Bernstein on Wednesday, June 29 at 6:30 PM CT. A Zoom registration link will be sent by email after registering.

Often a commercial editor has just 30 seconds to tell a story. Marty Bernstein is that kind of storytelling film editor. Marty is known for his ability to look at all the footage, listen to the goal of the message and put together a story that grabs the viewer. He zeros in on just the right moments to convey the emotion and make the story sing. Ad agency executive Janet Webber says, “Marty can see things in the footage that the director didn’t even know was shot.”

Marty started out as an assistant to some of Chicago’s best-known commercial editors: Bob Gratz at Richard Shirley and Peggy DeLay at Sëdelmaier. He moved up to editor and started his own company, Fine Cut Inc. At Fine Cut, he edited TV spots during business hours but also made time for independent feature films. One comedy piece, Elvis Stories, boosted the early careers of Ben Stiller, Andy Dick, Mike Meyers, Dave Pasquesi, Jeremy Piven, Joel Murray, as well as John and Bill Cusack.

Commercial work in Chicago was red hot. Marty closed his business and went to work for editing houses that served high profile clients such as Leo Burnett on the McDonalds campaigns. One of series of commercials Marty cut for McDonalds featured two average Joes trying all season to get Superbowl tickets. In the final commercial, after being laughed at at the box office, a miracle occurs. They are offered tickets by Michael Jordan and Larry Bird. But that’s just the beginning of our Joes’ troubles. They have to crawl through underground tunnels, are nearly run down by the marching band and find themselves tackled when a play overruns their “seats.”

As Marty’s reputation grew, he co-founded Machete Edit. But after years storytelling confined to a minute or less, Marty needed to break out. He sold out to his partners and found a new focus developing documentary projects, reality series and editing narrative dramas.

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