You probably don’t know it, but you’ve seen a lot of PJ Fabbrini already… or at least a lot of his work.
He’s the editor behind ads for Twitter, Powerade, and Doritos. He started as an intern in our offices and worked his way up to editing some of the top campaigns to date. In the latest of our Get to Know series, he filled us in on what brought him to the wonderful world of editing, what his current work is like, and what he does in his free time.
Where are you from originally?
I was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but moved to Naples, Florida when I was three and grew up there. I spent my whole life basically skateboarding and taking road trips with friends just to skate and see different cities.
How did you start editing?
I knew nothing about post production at all. I moved to LA with a friend, and my girlfriend at the time worked at a mix house. She saw I was creative and good with computers so she convinced me to give post a try. Lost Planet called me back and I started as an intern/runner. I stayed at Lost Planet for a couple years, then went freelance and moved around a few places. Then I ended up freelancing in New York and ended up working at Lost Planet New York for a few jobs…which turned into me going staff again. After a couple of years, Hank and Gary asked me to move to back to LA and here I am.
What are your favorite projects that you’ve worked on and why?
My favorite projects would have to be the Mudcrutch music video, because the footage was beautiful and very simple. Plus, it was directed by Sean Penn and Sam Bayer so it was great to work with those two. The Twitter #ThisHappened video was a lot of fun, very powerful and emotional, and a great collaborative group effort.
What do you like to do outside the edit bay?
Outside of work, most of my time goes towards chilling with my dog, Brooklyn. She grew up in the NY office. I also like going camping whenever I get the chance, cruising on a skateboard, and going to a lot of restaurants.
Can you discuss a bit about the feature you’re working on about the Congo? How did that come to you and what’s it been like to work on that?
I am cutting a feature documentary based on UN peacekeepers in the Congo. It is called Until There is Peace. It’s basically about what the peacekeepers’ life is like there, what they are trying to accomplish as far as fighting rebel groups, and helping the population. I started just cutting a kind promo piece for it, and the director and I worked well together so she asked me to cut the whole thing and I was thrilled to.
Do you feel like there’s a big difference in editing a long form project versus a commercial?
The biggest difference is being able to cut as slow as you want without time constraints and also basically building the story yourself from all of the interviews. But it has been a blast, it’s great.
To see more of PJ’s work, view his reel here.
