Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2013

The Tokyo branch of worldwide post-production house Cutters opened doors last November in a stunning four-story building in Ebisu. Its international team of artists already provides creative editorial, sound mastering, color correction and video FX to clients including Softbank, Uniqlo, Asahi Beer and Mercedes, as well as a hub for creative types trying to weave their way through Japanese traditional thinking.

Metropolis caught up with US-born editor/managing director Ryan McGuire, who cuts to the chase:
“Cutters is not trying just to do business here—we’re trying to change the market.” The Japanese ad industry is traditionally driven by massive media companies that charge exorbitant commission—meaning many agencies focus on buying spots rather than building a creative product. While Cutters, explains McGuire, focuses on creativity, giving ads more impact at a time when proliferating stimuli are vying for our attention. “If you continue to produce cookie-cutter commercials,” he says, “you don’t stand a fighting chance.”

But if you waltz in doing things differently, don’t you meet opposition? “We only cater for the top one percent of the market, and that’s all we want,” comments McGuire. “We’re not targeting the average Japanese client—but top creatives who want something different.” What the leaders do, the rest will surely follow.

McGuire’s father set up the first Cutters in 1980, and Tokyo is the fourth location after Chicago, Detroit, and LA—with a NYC unit in the pipeline. About ten people work in the Ebisu house, including four full-time artists, in four exquisitely designed rooms. The casual visitor will be struck by trays of gourmet snacks, beer and shelves stacked with wine—not to mention the roof terrace, and couches you just sink into. Are they bribing us? “The drinks and furniture are the trees,” quips McGuire. “The forest is that Japan has a very serious approach to work. But in this business, work should be fun.” Media professionals are typically some of the hardest worked—even by Tokyo standards. “People in the industry have hectic lives and we know what it’s like,” says McGuire. “When you’re here we want you to be feeling it—we want you to relax. We want to take the creative burden.”

The studio offers a six-month internship training program as a potential path to recruitment. “Any chance of change in the industry is through educating,” McGuire explains. That way people can learn “the Cutters way,” and both sides can see if the relationship is right for them. “It’s better than looking at a CV to see what their SAT scores were.” Cutters welcomes movie folks to “come, have a beer, sit on the rooftop, work, talk.” McGuire describes it as an outpost of the “Resistance.” “In a country that respects the engineer, the creatives are the minority,” he says.

Such solidarity means Cutters doesn’t just do money-spinning jobs—they’ll get their hands dirty with indie stuff too. “We always want to be involved in creative production, to maintain that edge that can sometimes get rounded working on commercials,” he explains. “Plus we want our younger staff to get experience.” People looking for help on a project are invited to come down. “Our door is always open.” Though they don’t have time to take everything on, they’ll always give advice. Interested folks can also like Facebook.com/cutterstokyo to keep informed of regular events.

Finally, back to business, and what does all this creativity mean for a client’s bottom line? “Better creativity makes a commercial more impactful,” says McGuire, “Increasing awareness of the product leads to more sales.”

3-7-14 Ebisu, Shibuya-ku. Tel: 03-4540-8860. Email: timo@cutters.com. www.cutters.com/tokyo