Winner of Adobe’s “Make the Cut” Contest Brings Love of Editing Craft to
Expanding Dallas Post-Production Boutique
There are award winners, and then there’s Adam Henderson. The Dallas-based editor has not only seen work he’s cut for agencies and clients win advertising awards, but he’s pocketed a major one on his own, one with a $25,000 prize. And now he’s bringing the talent, passion and drive that earned him that bucket of cash to Treehouse Edit.
Henderson’s signing was announced by Treehouse Founder and Editor Peter Tarter and Executive Producer Jeremy Besser. To view his work, go to http://treehouseedit.com/editing.php#10021.
Joining from Post- Op in Dallas, Henderson has been editing since he joined the company in 2009 as an assistant. His reel includes spots in a range of styles for such clients as Motel 6, Hyundai, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, H-E-B, The Home Depot, and Poo-Pourri, the ‘before you go’ toilet spray marketed in cheeky ads and web shorts.
Henderson studied film and TV at the University of North Texas, where he quickly fell in love with the craft of editing. “It really began as a hobby in high school, and it instantly hooked me,” he recalls. “I see it as a creative problem-solving exercise that lets you take something someone has already shot and give it your own spin. I knew early on this is what I wanted to do for a career.”
A big highlight came last year, when he entered Adobe’s “Make the Cut” contest. It called for entrants to take the music video for Imagine Dragon’s pop anthem “Believer” and re-imagine it, using nothing but Adobe Creative Cloud products. The competition received over 9000 entries, and Henderson’s won. Read AdChat DFW interview.
To present the prize, Adobe pulled a fast one: they flew him to their headquarters in San Jose and said he was one of the finalists, but when he arrived they surprised him with the news that he’d won, delivered by the band members themselves in a personal video made before his arrival. He was presented with a giant check and cheered by hundreds of Adobe employees. (Not surprisingly, it’s all captured on video here.) The contest was covered by news outlets like Forbes and NBC, and was promoted heavily by Adobe itself. (To see his winning entry, click here.)
Why Treehouse? While Henderson has nothing but praise for his time at Post Op, he adds it was time to move on. “You can get too comfortable after a while, and I needed to be a little vulnerable in order to grow,” he offers. “Treehouse is a well-respected company that’s making a huge dent in the Dallas post community. Everything about them is positive, from their work to their vibe to their social media presence. It looks like they have a lot of fun working together, and I’m delighted to be have a chance to sit in a different chair and see where it takes me.”
Henderson met Tarter several years ago, and the two stayed in touch. “He’s a young, hip, very cool kid who was teaching me things technically,” Tarter admits. “It was such a pleasure to talk with him. When we finished our recent build-out, we wanted to fill our new edit suite with someone who would complement our already great staff, and Adam was a natural choice. He really gives our bench an added layer of depth.”
Besser says that beyond Henderson’s qualifications – which includes his reel, his work ethic and his client relationships – the fact that he conquered all in “Make the Cut” speaks volumes about his character: “He’s exactly the type of person you want in your company, and that’s why we were so interested in signing him.” Adds Tarter, “that was a hell of a task, and he came in first. He outwitted, outshined and out-edited everyone.”
Henderson’s joining Treehouse is the crowning part of an ongoing expansion that’s seen the studio open new rooms and add additional creative staff in recent months. Most recently, Senior Engineer Eric Jenkins joined in February to lead Treehouse’s new audio post capabilities.
Both Tarter and Besser believe Henderson is set to break out in a huge way. “He’s done great work up to now, but we can’t wait to see what he’s going to do here at Treehouse,” says Tarter. “We think he’s really going to blossom.”
