25 Years of Marshall Street Editors with John Mayes and Tim Thornton-Allan
Back in the ‘90s, when Marshall Street Editors officially opened its doors, Soho was a hothouse of “edit houses, sex shops and rag trades,” co-founder John Mayes tells me. “Now we have lots of posh apartments and designer shops.” While Soho had none of that back in the day, it was undoubtedly fun, and today it’s businesses like this one that keep the iconic neighbourhood’s spirit buzzing.
John first met co-founder Tim Thornton-Allan through Tim’s wife Lizzie, who worked as a TV producer. The former was mainly editing music videos at the time, as well as working in post production, while Tim was working on commercials with The Douglas Brothers.
“I used to cut and travel with them as they were shooting a ton of ads with Tim Delaney,” Tim shares about his experience with the brother duo. “I went all around the world with them. That Marshall Street building was offered to me rent free and it seemed the right time to put down some roots, especially as I was so busy. However, soon it became clear I needed some help.”
Tim’s wife then suggested contacting John, who she described as “absolutely brilliant.” One thing led to another, and after a few Leagas Delaney jobs shared between Tim and John, it made perfect sense to start a company together.
Tim says: “Lizzie kindly added I was far too immature and childish to get a company up and running on my own, so I called up John to see if he was keen. Which he was,” says Tim. “John was amazing at setting everything up – technically, financially and with the staff. It never would’ve happened without him.”
Once the whole thing was set up and ready to go, things went quiet, as they do, but MSE didn’t know they were just one lucky coincidence away from greatness. Tim remembers the day he was getting ice cream in Soho when he bumped into producer Helen Kenny.
“She introduced me to a young up-and-coming director called Fredrik Bond. A few weeks later, she called asking if I would like to cut a film for him and that relationship has continued for 22-odd years.”
Of course, a great company needs a great name, and this one is pretty memorable. At the start, when it was only Tim and John in their office on Marshall Street, they named themselves after the place without much thought.
“We always planned on changing the name when we had the time, so when we moved to our current office on Carlisle Street we thought now’s the perfect time. But all our colleagues and clients said we became so established as Marshall Street Editors, that it didn’t make sense to change it anymore.”
In MSE’s early days, the company worked continuously with Leagas Delaney - and with Tim Delaney, specifically. “Coming from my music video days into commercials was a massive learning curve, and Tim Delaney challenged me like no one else did,” shares John.
Questions like, ‘What’s the core of the idea?’, ‘What’s the creative?’, ‘Is the commercial working?’, were part of this uphill climb and were also the building blocks for what was to come. It was the thorough and close relationship built with Leagas Delaney that led MSE to make the iconic ‘There’s Only One Sale. There’s Only One Harrods’, directed by Charlie Stebbings and produced by BITE’s Dom Seymour. This was also John’s first ever ad for MSE.
“This relationship has stood the test of time over 25 years. In fact, I worked with Charlie last week,” John laughs.
Tim speaks more about their relationship with Fredrik Bond: “With him, we edited some incredible projects. Skoda, Super Noodles, Apple, Carling, Heineken (below), H&M, Smirnoff ‘Love’, just to name a small few. And of course the one everyone remembers, Money Supermarket - ‘Bootylicious’.”
MSE also worked on director duo Neo’s ‘Singing in the Rain’ spot for Volkswagen, which was a huge hit for the brand, DDB and the edit house. “I’ve worked with them ever since,” says Tim. “And then we’ve also worked and travelled the world with Sam Brown, most recently with Virgin Media for ‘Goat Glider’ and Martin Krejci’s spot for Carlsberg ‘The Danish Way’.”
25 years later, the memorable jobs keep piling up. The sheer size of their project with Meta - 14 sets, two camera crews, two sets of creatives leapfrogging from one set to another, and going to New York with 14 sets of edits - made it one of their most complicated jobs. “But that’s what we’re good at,” Tim tells me. “The amount of material we have to sift through was huge, for which we have a team in the office and on the set. You need trained staff who know how to handle these types of jobs, as well as how to cut live, which is something we’ve always done.”
The pressure was also on for the T Mobile project ‘Welcome Home’ directed by Henry-Alex Rubin, which was an enormous production at the newly opened Terminal 5 with 30 cameras, digital stills cameras and miniature hidden cameras. “All the assistants at Marshall Street were sifting through hours of footage in two days to send to The Mill to confirm and get on air that night,” remembers Tim.
“Unlike many edit houses, we have our assistants in the room with us, so they can see the whole process,” he explains. “It helps with continuity, learning how to edit and engage with clients. They are such a big, crucial part of your job.”
Speaking of assistants, John adds that MSE doesn't have - and has never had - a set criteria of what makes somebody ‘perfect’ for the company. But they’ve certainly always tried to employ like-minded people who harbour a strong worth ethic, while weaving fun through all that they do. “We encourage growth from within the company. Many of the MSE staff who have gone through our doors, have grown to either become an editor or another position in the industry. We’ve had runners who are now editors in their own right and assistants who are TV producers in agencies,” says John.
Tim adds that whenever somebody joins MSE as a runner, they never ask for their qualifications – what matters is the person-to-person connection and what kind of fit they are for the rest of the group. And while they might not know if editing is their forte at the runner stage, they quickly find out.
When I ask them how MSE has changed, if at all, John immediately jokes that Tim has given him grey hair, but really, he follows with the biggest change of all – the two of them going from being editors to doing their own work and running an established facility.
“Having said that, I don’t think the culture of MSE has changed much at all,” John continues. “It’s all about atmosphere and vibes. Over the years we’ve made a conscious effort to remain the same.” Family ethics, combined with business-minded ‘to do’ lists, result in high standards and clients that truly feel cared for.
“From the runners through to the producers and editors, our standards must remain high so the client feels welcome and comfortable as soon as they step out of the lift,” adds John.
Tim brings it back to their biggest USP which has been part of the company since its inception – cutting on set. “We all love it. We love being fluid and mobile,” he says.
MSE has always done things differently in some capacity – working with the client from the first phone call to the final delivery, and nearly always being on set. It’s also something John and Tim are keen on instilling in the generation that comes after them - that the process needs to be great, before and after the edit.
John adds, “We attend shoots, sound and post sessions and ensure the job is the best it can possibly be. Given this, I’d say we have a lot of repeat business and clients come back because they like the way we work and they can trust us.”
Now, looking towards the company’s 26th year and beyond, John says he’s most excited about sponsoring the Young Arrows, which falls in line with MSE’s dedication to nurturing young talent and pushing the next generation in the right direction. “This is the first time we’ve sponsored them and there’s some cracking talent out there,” he says.
Tim points out editor Becca Spaven, assistant Hannah Yerbury and new recruit Jade-Marie Mason, who are all en route to making a name for themselves in the editing world and are exciting new faces in the MSE family.
“We’re also working more and more directly with clients,” Tim adds. With projects like Bumble and Meta already in their pocket, MSE are looking ahead to great bumper jobs down the pipeline.
