Jonatas Da Silva is a filmmaker, and an editor. He is one very talented man. Jonatas worked on a commercial that played inside Times Square. He has worked on Spanish commercials for Nissan, Twitter and Coke. He has edited a documentary series through TXL Films titled The Attributes of a Genius. Which focuses on 24 identified genius traits. If you look up the word versatility in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of Jonatas Da Silva.
indieactivity: For those that aren’t familiar with what an editor does, can you summarize it for us?
Jonatas Da Silva (JS): Simply put, a video editor assembles production shots into a cohesive narrative flow. They combine picture, sound, music, voice over, and sound effects to create a final viewable product, whether it’s a film, documentary, commercial, television series, or music video.
What was it about editing that spurred you to take up the career?
Jonatas Da Silva (JS): It was my love for storytelling that made me pursue a career as an editor. A lot of roles within the film industry are limited on how much creative input they have on the final product. Editors, on the other hand, can explore endless creative methods to tell the story. From the order of the shots to the pacing, from the music chosen to the sound effects, every choice an editor makes creatively impacts the final product.
Instagram – Yours to make
That freedom to shape and craft a story was attractive to me. To see my fingerprint in the final product is what makes me excited about this career. And then when you start seeing your work broadcasted or advertised on social media, it becomes even more exciting. I remember a commercial I edited for the Instagram company. It was a global campaign called Yours To Make and I got to edit several of the social media spots. It featured artists such as the rapper Topaz Jones, and the Native American makeup artist Madrona Redhawk.
The campaign got a lot of press, but what made me excited was seeing the pieces I had edited on my feed on Instagram. Seeing my work going out to millions of users worldwide was surreal.
Much like a filmmaker or actor, I imagine you have to pitch or audition for jobs – and let past work and a demo reel show potential clients what you’re capable of?
Jonatas Da Silva (JS): Yes, that is a huge part of it. Your past work speaks volumes. Agencies and directors are looking at the quality of your edits. One job can lead to another, and my portfolio is proof of that.
My work on the Spanish versions of a Nissan commercial led me to edit a piece for Twitter titled “CNCO – Sobre quién es esté Tweet.” That opened doors for me to edit a Spanish commercial for Coke Zero titled “Coca Cola Sin Azucar – Pinocho.”
Coca Cola Sin Azucar – Pinocho
Most recently, I secured an editing job for the Spanish version of the USPS campaign titled Orchestrated Delivery‘, and that only happened because of these other Spanish commercials in my portfolio. I even edited a French commercial for TD Bank, despite it being a different language, strictly because I proved I could handle an international workflow. Similarly, being part of the edits for Super Bowl commercials such as Frito Lays and Budweiser has opened doors for me to work on NBA commercials this year. So it’s not hard to see how one project leads to another.
How did your work on the Root Insurance advertisement come about?
Jonatas Da Silva (JS): Freelancers like me rely on recommendations and word of mouth to secure jobs. From there, our work ethic, skills, and networking ability do the rest.
My work on the Root Insurance commercial only came about because of the network I built early in my editing career. When I edited the music video This City by Sam Fischer, I got to work with director Matthew Palmer and Producer Christina Jobe from Dalmatian Cow Productions. The music video went on to be extremely popular, in fact, it is still one of Sam Fischer’s most watched music videos on YouTube with over 800k views. That success helped Christina, Matt, and I get hired by Sony Music UK to work on 5 other Sam Fischer music videos, one which was You Broke Me First, which blew up with over 1M views on YouTube. Matt, Christina, and I bonded during the editing process of those 6 Sam Fischer music videos.
Sam Fischer – This City (Official Video)
When Cabin Editing Company started looking for a freelance editor, Christina recommended me, since she was now very familiar with my work. I started freelancing at Cabin and building connections there. I got to work on several high-profile jobs including a Google and Apple commercial. Eventually, one of the projects I ended up working at Cabin was director Wesley Walker’s Root Insurance commercial. So that’s how I ended up meeting Wes and working on the Root Insurance commercial. Since then, Wes and I have continued working together on several other projects including commercials for BMW, Peloton, and Ford Bronco.
Having a commercial you worked on play in Times Square must have been a real ‘pinch me!’ moment. Did you know in advance that the Bubba Wallace x Root Insurance ad was going to roll out on such a huge screen!?
Jonatas Da Silva (JS): Oh, absolutely! It was surreal. During the editing process, director Wesley Walker talked about Times Square being a potential debut for the spot. Our focus was to make sure the powerful story of Bubba Wallace was told in the most impactful way possible. Thankfully, the team at Tool of North America saw the strength of the commercial and secured its release on Times Square.
The most exciting part though, were all the awards the commercial went on to win, including Gold in the 2022 Anthem Awards for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Silver in the 2022 Clio Sports Awards, and a nomination at the 2021 Webby Awards for Advertising, Media & PR Branded Content. Additionally, it was shortlisted at the 2021 AICP Post Awards for Automotive. That was one of my first projects that got major press. It was truly a “pinch me!” moment
Bubba Wallace x Root Insurance
Who calls the shots when it comes to editing – is it the director or do you get as much say?
JS: Editing is a collaboration between the editor, director, agency, and brand. The editor has a lot of input in the creative process, but the ultimate decision comes from the client. An example of this is Sam Fischer’s music video, This City. On that project, I got all the footage from production and assembled the first cut with no input from anyone. This stage is called the Editor’s Cut. Matthew and I then worked on what’s called a Director’s Cut. This was a version of the commercial with all of Matt’s preferences. Most commercials, then move into a phase where the agency makes the final decision.
Since the agency works closely with the brand, the project goes through several versions in this phase until both the agency and the brand are happy with the commercial. This is the phase where the legal department of the brand gives input and clears the commercial In the editing process for This City, Dalmatian Cow Productions acted as the agency and worked closely with Sony Music UK to get me back editing notes. Once the piece was at a good place, the cut was presented to Sam Fischer for approval. Legal cleared it. And a week later it was out in the world. In summary, there are dozens of people who have a say on the final product, it’s never just the editor.
You’ve edited everything from films to music videos, commercials and beyond. Is there a particular medium you prefer working on?
JS: My favorite projects to edit are the ones that have the potential to make a difference in the lives of the viewers, whether it makes them rethink how they live, or teaches them something new. Usually, those tend to be documentaries, but I’ve worked on some commercials and music videos that are just as powerful.
I’ve had the privilege of editing a documentary series through TXL Films titled The Attributes of a Genius which focuses on 24 identified genius traits. Each trait has a person interviewed that uses that trait in their life in an inspiring way. I’ve had the privilege of editing the story of Grandmaster Flash, who represented the genius trait of imagination.
He used his imagination to help invent the genre we know today as Hip Hop. I’ve edited the story of Madison Stewart, the “shark girl,” who displayed the genius trait of persuasion in her shark conservationist work, persuading shark fishermen to become shark tourist guides. Each of these powerful stories inspires and tells a phenomenal story. As an editor, there’s a lot of pride in looking at these finished products and knowing that they can inspire the viewer to pursue greatness. They have purpose and heart.
I also love working on commercials that will have a positive impact on the viewer’s life. The most recent one was a commercial for Age of Learning, which is one of the leading educational programs in the world. I edited a commercial for their ABCMouse app, which is an award-winning early-learning platform for children.
Besides the commercial showing a real-life story of a cute kid, it makes me happy knowing that it will be helpful to parents who are out there actively looking for tools to help their children. Being able to help someone is fulfilling to me. So I’m always happy to work on commercials that will have a positive impact.
Tell us what you think of the interview with Jonatas da Silva. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.
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