Morgan Taylor Bradley, a new senior editor for ArtClass, has worked with clients such as Nike, Sephora, Twitter and Audi. She is an Emmy-Award winner and was with Beast for 10 years, before joining Cutters in 2019. With her previous clients, Morgan worked on reels or commercial campaigns, such as Nike’s “No Angel,” Sephora’s “Never Stop,” Greyhound’s “Go Far,” Audi’s “Pumpkam,” and Fitbit’s “Get Fit.” 

Morgan is a believer in collaborative storytelling and strives to create real human connection in both the editing room and the film. As Morgan has pushed herself to develop creatively as an editor and a person, she was awarded the “32 under 32 in Advertising in the Bay Area” in 2018 by AD2 San Francisco. She is a strong female voice and visionary in the contemporary cinema world and is influenced by her upbringing in an all woman household. 

PH: Hi Morgan! Can you provide our readers with a bit of information about your background and how you got started in the industry? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: I’ve been an editor for over ten years, working mostly in advertising. I’ve worked in Chicago, San Francisco, and now my home town of Kansas City. I got my start in the industry at a karaoke bar in Chicago, where I was offered my first internship at a post house. I learned to edit on the job and had my first chair at 27.

PH: What does your role as a senior editor for ArtClass look like? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: After spending my career in traditional boutique post houses, ArtClass has been a refreshing change of scenery. The way I approach and edit my projects remains the same, but my days are different. ArtClass is a new company, inventing and reinventing fresh ways to approach projects. I still work with my ad agency and brand clients, but I’m also regularly collaborating with ArtClass directors, creative directors and other artists. 

PH: Can you talk about some of the incredible projects you’ve worked on and the challenges associated with those?

Morgan Taylor Bradley: One of my favorite projects was the Sephora “Never Stop” campaign I cut in San Francisco with an entirely female team, all of them my dear friends. The timing was crazy, as the campaign was meant to drop the week after the 2016 presidential election. Days before the spots were meant to ship, the election results spooked the brand and in an instant the campaign was dead. We were crushed. A few months later in the run up to the Women’s March, Sephora brought the campaign back from the dead. It still has a place on my reel.

PH: Can you share your experiences with clients such as Nike, Sephora, Twitter and Audi?

Morgan Taylor Bradley: While every client and brand are different, my creative process on each project is much the same. It’s exciting to work on sexy brands, and yet some of the work I’ve loved the most has been for regional banks and bus companies. That’s why I approach, move through, and organize my project the same way every time. Creating that structure lets me greet every project with the same creative integrity, no matter the brand.

PH: Is there a set of criteria you run through before selecting which projects to take on? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: As a staff editor on the roster at ArtClass, projects come to me through a few different channels: through my own personal client relationships, through ArtClass’ live action and their roster of directors, and through ArtClass post directly. Relationships are everything in this business and to me personally, so that’s the first criterion. If a friend in the business brings me a job, if at all possible I’ll do it. Next, if it’s creatively interesting or right for my reel. 

PH: What makes for really good storytelling when it comes to editing? Are there any rules of thumb you live by? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: This is hard for me to articulate because it is so intangible. It’s an instinct. A gut feeling. Searching for a moment that you’ll know when you see. I’m a highly structured editor and rely heavily on process, which lets those moments reveal themselves to me.

PH: In your opinion, what is one of the most underrated parts of your job (and why)? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: Running the room. These days we’re rarely in the physical edit suite, so “running the room” might look more like editing live on Zoom or crafting an email, but it’s the most important part of the edit. It’s how you listen to your clients and solve their problems. It’s how you sell your beautiful work. Mastering the art of running the room is what sets editors apart from the pack, and what keeps clients coming back.

PH: Let’s talk about creative development. How do you consistently push the envelope and reinvent yourself in a world full of creatives? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: Leaving traditional post for ArtClass and the nextgen production environment was all about reinventing myself creatively. Previously moving cities worked. The change of scenery, and the challenges and wins around that, fuel my creative growth.

PH: How has your upbringing in an all female household influenced you as a person (and as a professional)? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: I’ve only known strong women that champion each other in everything they do. I don’t shy away from personal and professional challenges, thanks to my mother and grandmother’s support and encouragement.

PH: In your opinion, how can we continue to encourage and support women in production, and more specifically, editing? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: Keep opening the doors and inviting them in. The leaders in post production could really affect change by prioritizing hiring women on their rosters, editors need to do their part by mentoring women, and aspiring female editors need to stick with it. This is an amazing profession, and I hope someday soon this question isn’t necessary.  

PH: What have you learned the most about yourself through being in this industry?

Morgan Taylor Bradley: I am prone to burnout. I learned to edit in an environment and in an era where pushing yourself to burnout was applauded, and no doubt it helped me become an editor at a very young age. It took me a long time to square that with my need to take care of myself. Like many people, the months in lockdown in 2020 opened my eyes to the benefits of some balance in my life, and it truly changed me. Just because I’m fast and can juggle a lot doesn’t mean I should. It’s a lesson I’m forced to relearn over and over again, because burnout is a powerful drug.

PH: What advice would you give to young women and men who want to do what you do? 

Morgan Taylor Bradley: Find your people. Again, relationships are everything, and not just your clients. Find the editors that are so good they’ll push you to do better. Find the producers that will champion you when you need it. This business is tough, especially in the beginning. You’ll need your people.