The next time you see a television commercial for McDonald’s or Life Cereal, you might well be seeing the handiwork of one of your neighbors. Lakewood resident Tom Aberg is a film editor, and considered one of the best around.
“In editing, we get a bird’s eye view of what they saw through the lens in production,” says Aberg of his unique and absorbing career choice. “We also see missing pieces, and we have the ability to stack and twist and turn what we see in order to get from A to B.”
Looking for fresh and innovative ways to get from A to B is what drives Aberg and his team at Easyway Editorial. With offices on McKinney Avenue in Dallas, Easyway has a staff of nine producers, one of whom is currently on location in Spain with a film crew shooting a commercial for … Aunt Jemima? (We’ll have to see this one.) Aberg explained that usually editing is not done on the film set unless, as in this case, time is of the essence or it is a situation that makes it difficult to return to re-shoot.
When you meet the film editor, his mischievous grin will draw you in. A light-hearted man who likes to laugh, he enjoys life. It’s apparent not only in his personal life, but in his work as well. Walk into his office and you will find that humor, creativity and individuality permeate throughout. These are qualities that have served him well creatively.
Easyway was the first independent off-line film editing service in Dallas. Before founding the company in ’84, Aberg spent several years as a commercial and feature film editor in New York. Here he worked on feature films, including the Dino DeLaurentis production of Ragtime. His first job was with Editing Concepts, a prestigious editorial shop where he had the opportunity to help talents such as Joel and Ethan Coen in their first film, Blood Simple.
A graduate of SMU with degrees in radio, TV and film, and business, Aberg said, “I was able to cut my teeth on commercial editing in a place that also fed my love for feature filmmaking. It’s the kind of creatively-charged environment I strive to maintain at Easyway.”
Commercial projects are the bulk of the business at Aberg’s company. The creative team has recently completed national and regional spots for TXU, SuperValue, Behr Paint/Home Depot, the Stars Encore 2000 campaign, Budweiser, McDonald’s, Wolf Brand Chili, Midway Entertainment, the PGA, Whataburger, Life Cereal, Chewy Granola Bars and KXAS Channel 5, to name a few.
In addition, the group has been involved with film work. In 1990, Aberg edited West Anderson and Owen Wilson’s original short film, Bottle Rocket, which debuted at Sundance.
More recently, Easyway has edited several award-winning African wildlife documentaries for Discovery Channel and retail distribution. In fact, he hopes to begin work on another wildlife film documentary soon. And of course, many more commercials, which are the “bread and butter” of his work.
Slow fade from the golden arches.
Tom Aberg lives in Lakewood with his wife, Cissy, and their two young sons, Charley and Eric, who attend Lakehill Preparatory School.
