Jean-Francois Bergeron operates his editing career like a game of hopscotch. He’s always bouncing around. ‘I jump from features, tv shows and commercials. But I do lots and lots of commercials.’

Bergeron started in the business a decade ago directing and editing a music video for some friends in the rock band Too Many Cooks. Only 20 at the time, it was the music video’s producer who suggested the young filmmaker ‘was a better editor than director.’

Taking these words to heart, Bergeron began cutting at every chance he got. Then, when he met Quebec spot-cutting godfather Gaetan Huot, he was ‘introduced to the commercial business.’

Operating freelance, the young editor likes bringing his clients to the edit suites at Splice in Montreal. ‘It’s a real nice place – comfortable. And the assistants are really good,’ Bergeron says. The editor relishes the freelance life despite ‘lots of offers to start companies.’ More important for him, he says, is ‘the freedom to go and cut a feature in Europe.’

Editing in both French and English, Bergeron has cut spots for such clients as Bell, President’s Choice and Chrysler. For him, the Quebec spot scene is special. ‘It’s really rare that we adapt commercials from somewhere else. Like Pepsi. It’s probably the only place in the world where Pepsi has a bigger market share than Coke. It’s a local creation,’ he says.

In terms of changes in the business, Bergeron says the way he does his job has changed drastically since the advent of computer-based editing systems. ‘It’s really, really nice. The different approach. But at the same time, you get tired, because it’s going so fast and you can try everything you want. I can do a rough cut to see what the feeling of a commercial is. I like to explore. But that’s when people give me the time to do it. And, in editing, to me, time is the key word. If you have time to take some distance and sleep on it, sometimes you have a fresh eye. I like to surprise the director or the agency with something that they didn’t think of,’ he says.

To Bergeron, the best thing about editing spots is the opportunity to meet directors. In fact, Bergeron was editing with Denys Arcand on the day he spoke to Playback. As for a drawback, the editor believes the commercial business these days is ‘too conservative.’

‘The clients are so afraid of controversy that they are really conservative in their approach. The main goal of the business is to be seen, but they are so careful about it, that they aren’t really being seen. Some of the commercials I liked the most never went on air – because the clients were afraid,’ says Bergeron. ‘I have lots of respect for the creative people in the agencies. There’s some really nice talent. But they are not, to me, often exploited the way they should be.’ *