Commerical director Henry Lu really likes the editors at Saints Editorial, calling them some of Canada’s top-notch talent when it comes to shaping commercials and online video ads.
But one of them, 28-year-old Stephen Sora, has only been a commercial editor for five years. Lu says when you see how Sora’s work holds its own against more experienced editors, “you know this kid has got something.”
Other directors and agencies in Toronto are taking notice, too. His portfolio is growing with both 30-second spots for Pizza Hut, Sport Chek and Expedia and short films for the Canadian Olympic Committee.
The Toronto native studied film at York University until 2007 when, after getting a summer internship as a tape operator at School Editing, Sora discovered a passion for editing. Soon offered a job as an assistant editor under Mark Paiva, he quickly learned the ropes of his new chosen profession and landed a job at Poster Boy as an editor.
Now at Saints Editorial, he’s worked on international brands such as Bud Light, Red Bull, Reebok, BMW, Gatorade and Skittles. His work has won awards at the Canes Lions, One Show, the Bessies, Clios and Marketing Awards.
Describing what makes an editor good is challenging, because the craft is equal parts technical proficiency and gut feel. Lu says most good editors develop an intuition about what works, and Sora—or Stevo to his friends—has developed that already. It is most evident in “Dream,” a short film for Louis Vuitton and Ogilvy Paris. At a minute-and-a-half, the simply shot monologue features Yasiin Bey (a.k.a. Mos Def) reciting one of Muhammad Ali’s monologues inside a boxing ring while artist Niels Shoe Meulman paints brand message graffiti around him.
“It’s an emotive piece,” Lu says. “It draws you in. At face value, it’s a simple proposition: shooting a famous actor and singer on stage delivering Muhammad Ali’s lines. That’s powerful in it’s own way, but to be able to marry with it the music and sound design and bring something interesting to it” is where Sora shines. “Stevo brought it to life in a really nice way.”
