BlueRock Editorial expands: hires editors Jim Helton and J.P. Damboragian

New York-based creative editing company BlueRock is thrilled to announce the additions of accomplished editor Jim Helton and rising star J.P. Damboragian to its award-winning editorial roster.

Jim Helton has always managed to move seamlessly between genres; working in a freelance capacity until now, Jim has built a repertoire that spans major motion features to short form spots. As a frequent collaborator of director Derek Cianfrance, Jim edited his narrative features The Place Beyond the Pines and Blue Valentine, among other projects. Jim’s latest film with Cianfrance, The Light Between Oceans, starring Alicia Vikander, Michael Fassbender, and Rachel Weisz, will hit theaters September 2016.

In the advertising arena, Jim has repeatedly been enlisted to bring together visual stories for top-tier agencies and brands; commercials for Honda, Verizon Fios, Grey Goose, and most recently Lipton and a 9-spot campaign for Goose Island.

Jim’s passion for the art of filmmaking is matched with a refined touch for whichever medium he takes on, allowing him to offer clients a multitude of different looks, ideas and solutions. Jim has dabbled in creating title sequences, and the opening sequence he created for Blue Valentine won both the audience and judges awards for Excellence in Title Design at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival. He also composes music cues, and several of his selections can be heard accompanying scenes of The Place Beyond the Pines.

At BlueRock, Jim looks forward to reuniting with Managing Director Liz Mason, with whom he’s worked previously, saying, “Liz and I have a wonderful sense of mutual respect and loyalty, and I trust her implicitly.”

“Jim’s experience as a filmmaker truly informs how he explores a story in the editing suite,” comments Liz. “It allows him to bring something to the project that consistently elevates it beyond what you expect it to be.”

Fellow BlueRock arrival J.P. Damboragian began his career at Crew Cuts, rising from messenger to assistant under renowned commercial editor Clayton Hemmert, and then making the leap to full-fledged editor on the Crew Cuts roster. After going freelance to broaden his experience, he became a go-to editor for Ogilvy & Mather. The advertising giant entrusted J.P. with a variety of projects, resulting in a great breadth of work that belies his relatively young career.

J.P.’s masterful ability to engage viewers on both a visual and emotional level has led him to tell a diverse range of stories for the commercial world. In the span of five years, J.P. has cut spots for clients like NASCAR, UPS, Dos Equis, Avon, Siemens, British Airways and more. In typical fashion, J.P. has already hit the ground running at his new home with an exciting new project for DDB.

“I couldn't be happier to be on the roster at BlueRock and to get the chance to work on a wider variety of projects at another level,” J.P. said. “BlueRock's capacity for recognizing talent combined with their proven ability to build an editorial brand makes me super excited for the future.”

“It's evident in all J.P.’s work that he has a brilliant approach and touch to storytelling, whether it is scripted or non-scripted work. He brings an aesthetic quality to his edits that is developed far beyond his years,” says Liz Mason.

“BlueRock is incredibly proud to welcome J.P. Damboragian and Jim Helton into the fold. They represent what the future means to us, which is the ability to tell a story in a beautiful and compelling way, no matter the medium or length.”