Cutters, The Mill, The After Party in the news

Justin Grosjean

Justin Grosjean

Cutters Detroit promotes Grosjean

Executive Producer Mary Connolly and Managing Director Kurt Kulas announced last week that Cutters Studios Detroit office has promoted Justin Grosjean to editor.

Grosjean first joined the company four years ago as an intern. However, he was already in the global spotlight for creative production.

In 2012, Justin and his twin brother John launched the very successful GoBroPros YouTube channel that included the highly-original Skyrim parody series. You can watch one of the funny episodes below.

The series quickly attracted world-wide acclaim for its VFX-intensive execution, racking up over 5 million views to date. Also, as a student at Michigan State University (B.A., Media Arts and Technology Film, 2012), two MSU film projects Grosjean edited won 2014 and 2015 Regional Emmy Awards for Best Historical Documentary.

After joining Cutters, Grosjean shortly ascended to the position of full-time assistant editor, where his technical and creative insights made him an invaluable collaborator right away. Louis Lyne, Kevin O’Brien, Kathryn Hempel and others uniformly describe his passion for the craft as “inspiring.”

Among the leading agencies who regularly turn to him for high-profile projects are GTB (for clients Ford, Lincoln, Warriors in Pink), Commonwealth (for Chevrolet), and Driven Communications (for Fender and ELS).

Beyond Detroit, Grosjean has also impacted other Cutters Studios operations. In 2016 he spent time at Cutters Tokyo, supporting staff editors there and co-editing a spot with Aika Miyake for Love Liner which aired nationally in Japan.

He returned to Detroit in time to collect another Michigan Emmy Award for a project he edited for the Detroit Lions, as well as the prestigious D Show Award for Editing Craft for his “25 Years in 25 Seconds” spot for The Detroit Red Wings.

“I’ve always been dedicated to continually honing my craft, and working under Louis, Kevin, Kathryn and others here, has been like enrolling in a masterclass,” Grosjean began. “I’m also grateful for the unique experiences Cutters Studios can offer, like the two months I spent in Japan working alongside the talented team there.”

To view the reels for Grosjean and all the Cutters editors, click here.

 
Mill+ add von Berg to director roster

The directorial arm of The Mill announced the addition of Tristyn von Berg to its roster.

Von Berg hails from South Africa where he began his career working under Keith Rose, of Velocity Films. Over the past decade, he has directed commercials, interactive films and music videos including his award-winning spot for the Organ Donation Foundation; he has also been a long-time admirer of The Mill.

Tristyn von Berg
Tristyn von Berg

Tristyn has been recognized for his work with numerous awards, such as the Clios, the D&ADs, Loeries, and was even nominated as one of the Top Young Directors at Cannes in 2012.

Brian Smego, Executive Producer at The Mill, Chicago says, “We’re very excited to have Tristyn join the Mill+ team here in Chicago. He’s a truly versatile filmmaker. He excels at visual storytelling and creating emotive content. Combining his skillset with our design and animation teams, allows us to expand our creative palette for both film and experience-based projects.”

Von Berg added, “The Mill and Chicago have a shared commitment to unique creative excellence – being able to call both a home leaves only the desire to create amazing work with the best the industry has to offer.”

 
The party begins

Earlier this year, I detailed my journey as a first-time director in a series of articles for The Reel. I am now happy to say my short female-driven film, The After Party is finished!

It really could not have been completed without the generosity of my former home. From Executive Producer, Deborah Zwayer, to Co-Producer James Rhine to Associate Producer and social media goddess, Lorna Sheehan, I thank you. Sound guru, Dave Kresl, brilliant composers John Ovnik and Dan Meyers of Deaf Dog Music, I thank you.

Periscope’s Adam Slutsky, who rolled up his sleeves to do color and the team at Sarofsky Films who did an amazing job with the credits, I thank you.

To all of the people from Chicago who contributed money or words of support, I thank you. To my new boss and lovely woman, Barbara Roche, I thank you.

And of course, my Midwest girls, Chloe and Max, I love you. Thank you all for helping me fulfill a dream I have had since I was five. You can watch the first trailer to The After Party below.

Contact Colin Costello at colin@reelchicago.com or follow him on Twitter @colincostello.com.