The PrePros Cut to the Chase of Editing at Next Meetup

According to the folks at ThePrePros, good footage is one thing, but the cut is everything. That’s the theme of their next meetup, headlined “Cut to the chase: How editing can make or break a story,” scheduled for May 12 at BBH in New York, where the art of the edit will be the topic of a high-level panel discussion and info sharing session. The event is being partially sponsored by The Howler.

A new initiative founded by a core group of agency creative and production professionals, The PrePros is designed to allow them to share what they know about getting ad and brand content made. In the process, they tap into a community of production and post production stars to help provide real world examples and insight, aimed at a next-gen audience of creatives and producers like themselves. 

The PrePros team includes Rachel Frederick, Co-Founder / ECD / AD; Patrick Burke, Co-Founder / CD / Writer; Danica Rosen, Sr. Producer; Maria Elena Lopez-Frank, Executive Producer & Experiential Strategist; Tori Mortenson, CD / AD; and Dicky Abedon, Consultant / Partner at Uncle Lefty.

The event’s lineup includes Alex Booker, Head of Creative at BBH USA, along with Tasha Cronin, Head of Production, who’ll serve as hosts for the gathering. Joining them to deconstruct the art of editing will be:

• Alex Pirrone, award-winning documentary and narrative editor at Arcade Edit; 
• Ian MacKenzie of MACKCUT, the editor behind some of advertising’s most iconic comedic work; 
• Dylan Edwards , the Cabin Edit editor known for blending fast-paced techniques with dramatic narrative tension; 
• Kimberly Kietz, Executive Producer at BBH USA;
• Radha Ganti and Robert Lopuski, the directing duo known as King She, represented in the US by Somesuch and named, in 2025, as one of Campaign’s Top 10 Directors as well as one of Adweek’s Creative 100 Most influential Cultural Creators. 

Together they’ll explain the basics of editorial, how one edits to a specific type of genre, and how editors and agency creatives and producers can collaborate to get the best in an edit. Topics to be discussed will include how editorial decisions define tone, timing, story, and performance, and how collaboration between agency and editor can elevate the work.

“The fact that talent at this level is showing up for night one says everything about what The PrePros is building: a community where the people who’ve earned their seats at the table are genuinely invested in pulling others up,” says ThePrePros Co-Founder Rachel Frederick. “The work is at its best when the people working on it are equipped with the tools they need to navigate production more fluidly.”

"Listen people, tech and clients will come and go, but working together will stand the test of time," adds Co-Founder Patrick Burke. “So either come back on your shield defending it or get ready for a life of mediocre work."

The May 12 event is the second meetup in The PrePros ongoing series; their first event took place in late March at the New York offices of Mischief. It’s being made possible due to the generous sponsorship provided by BBH USA, Bacardi, Arcade Edit, Cabin Editing Company, Somesuch, MACKCUT, ARC Creative, Sonic Union, Uncle Lefty, Monte Isom Photo and Simian / The Howler / Reel.io. Admission is free, but attendance is limited. For ticket information, go here. For more information on The PrePros, follow them on IG at @The_PrePros or at www.ThePrePros.pro. 

The Howler reached out to Rachel and Patrick to get a deeper dive on ThePrePros and what their plans are going forward. Here’s what they had to say. 

What prompted you to launch The PrePros in the first place? Is your main audience agency people or production & post folks, or both? 

Rachel: Patrick and I were both noticing that younger creatives simply weren’t getting the opportunity to learn production like we once did. Before COVID, different agency structures, bigger budgets and slightly longer timelines meant that mentorship and on-site production experience were more accessible. Nowadays, it’s harder for that education to happen. That, and people just aren’t getting together in the ad community as much as they once were. So, we decided to do something about it. Danica, Maria Elena, Tori and Dickey all came on to help out and formed our small but very mighty team.

Our main audience is agency up-and-coming creatives (Jr. – ACD) and producers (Jr. – Assoc.). But beyond that, we just really like bringing creative people from different agencies and production houses together to celebrate great creative and craft.

Has there been any discussions about linking up to do an event with AICP or a creative organization such as the One Club? Or is The PrePros going to be its own entity? 

Patrick: There haven’t been any formal discussions yet, but we’d absolutely be excited about the possibility of linking up with AICP or a creative organization like the One Club. Both are such established pillars in the advertising community, and it’d be wicked cool to find a way to partner with one another.

What do you hope people will take away from attending a PrePro event? What can they expect to learn from your panelists?

Patrick: If even one person can leave with even just a morsel of production knowledge they didn’t have before the event, we’ve done our job. Being a creative in advertising is more similar to a trade than not and adding to your repertoire of solutions to problems is the name of the game, especially early on.

How do you go about choosing the topic for your panels, and the panel participants? Is there a current list of hot button issues you hope to address at future events? If so, can you give us a tease? 

Rachel: Patrick and I mapped out the general arc of a creative production for our first couple of topics. It’s a little out of order. We had to move our second topic, “Inside the Mind of a Director,” to later in the year due to needing a larger space, and we’ll keep adding to the topics as we go.

In choosing the panelists, we usually find an agency partner to host/support a specific topic and then work with them on who the best panelists are. We bring our suggestions, they bring theirs, and we go from there. After the BBH event, which focuses on editorial, we’re aiming to cover music (how to brief, how it enhances the creative); how a director approaches taking an initial idea and building upon that; and potentially VFX. TBD on what next year will bring.

Were you surprised at the turnout for the first event? What did this enthusiastic response tell you about the current state of the industry right now for agency creatives and producers? 

Patrick: Yes, we were honestly a bit surprised, but in the best way possible. We knew there was interest because we’d bounced the idea off so many people, but seeing the actual numbers roll in, and then everyone’s faces that night at Mischief, really solidified the fact this is something people want and need.

Any talk about exporting The PrePros to other cities? If so, are there any concrete plans in place? 

Rachel: Don’t hold us to this because we’re still planning out this year, but we might be visiting Chicago later this year. And then from there, absolutely, we’ll be going to a few places around the country as long as our schedules can accommodate. The PrePros is all volunteer based, so it just depends on how much we can take on while also working our day jobs.