Dan Swietlik teams up with STITCH

 

Renowned commercial and feature editor Dan Swietlik has joined forces with London-based editorial STITCH to open in Los Angeles. The move will see immediate collaboration on projects between the American and British offices.

Alongside Swietlik at STITCH in L.A are editors David Checel, Marc D’Andre, Frank Effron, Tad Fatum and Jeff Grippe. Overseeing the new merger will be Exec Producer Stacey Altman.

The former independent sales rep will focus her energy on expanding the STITCH brand stateside: 'I now get to focus my efforts on nine editors that create the best work out there' she notes. 'I look forward to reaching out to agencies and to the production community with our talented roster.'
 

STITCH was opened in Soho, London by editors Andy McGraw, Leo King and Tim Hardy just one year ago. In that time they have cut campaigns for BMW, Ford, Johnnie Walker, Heineken, Kit Kat, Motorola, Panasonic, Range Rover, Samsung, VW, Vodafone and Weetabix.
 

McGraw and Swietlik note the potential of opening STITCH stateside: 'The new merger is a great fit – both offices strive to do the best creative work with the most talented people' explains McGraw. He went on to say 'We are fortunate to cut for a very high calibre of client in the UK and are looking forward to doing the same in the US. We are extremely passionate about what we do and have found the L.A. team equally so.'

'Our independent success on separate sides of the Atlantic should signify strong work ahead as a team,' adds Swietlik. 'I'm really energized by the potential of our combined talent pool.'

The first project to be completed under the US/UK STITCH banner is the U.S launch of the Smart Car through Merkley + Partners, NY. Directed by Guy Shelmerdine of Smuggler and edited by McGraw, the project illustrates STITCH's ability to work as a cohesive team on large, complex jobs. The campaign is currently in release across the country.
 

The project also underlines Swietlik’s propensity to pair up on progressive doc work; his previous experience with Michael Moore on “Sicko” and Davis Guggenheim on “An Inconvenient Truth” come to mind. His work for RSA Films and director Carl Eric Rinsch on “The Gift” for the Philips’ Parallel Lines campaign also scored the Grand Prix in the newly-hatched Film Craft category at Cannes Lions last year.

King is excited to see what will be in store stateside after a launch well beyond his expectations:

'We’re already bursting at the seams with work,' he notes. It’s a really nice problem to have – and LA will be a fantastic venue for us to continue the flourish.'

Hardy concludes - 'With STITCH in London only a year old expansion into the U.S market feels really bold. It's something we've always had an interest in and right now seems a great time to give it a go.'

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