Postproduction studio Leap Year has added Jake Oleson to its editorial roster. This marks his first official signing as an editor. A longtime friend and collaborator of company founders Andrew Hutcheson and Charles Frank, Oleson has years of experience as a director, editor and musician. Oleson’s career spans branded films, experimental shorts, and immersive audiovisual experiences. His projects for brands like Gatorade, Airbnb, Facebook, and P&G have earned Vimeo Staff Picks and festival recognition at SXSW, Runway ML’s AI Film Festival, and beyond.
“Jake’s the real deal holistic artist that you always dream of working with,” said Hutcheson. “His passion for his craft and his creative discipline are a constant inspiration. In the decade-plus that we’ve known each other, I’ve always been trying to find ways for us to collaborate more closely, so this is a deeply fulfilling moment for me personally. I can’t wait to see what he has in store.”
Oleson began his career as an editor, cutting his own films and early experiments during the rise of the DSLR revolution, a foundation that taught him how to build stories with rhythm and feeling. He continued to cut his teeth in the industry, where advertising became his film school, directing and editing documentaries, and commercial work, often composing original music to shape the tone of each piece from the inside out. His editorial voice is informed not only by his eye as a director but also by his sensibility as a musician.
“When Charles reached out about Leap Year, it just made sense,” said Oleson. “We’ve worked together for years and there’s a shared language between us creatively. So much of the work we’ve made, then and now, has been driven by the same desire to tell grounded, human stories that matter. What Charles, Andrew and Kira [MacKnight, managing director/EP] are building is so aligned with the work I care about. It’s exciting to step into this new chapter with old friends and collaborators who are really building something special.”
In addition to his commercial and editorial work, Oleson has explored new creative formats that merge music, story and cutting-edge technology. His VR film for Apple Vision Pro, “Currents,” commissioned by Vimeo, premiered at SXSW and his recent audiovisual projects, “Given Again” and “Flux” combine original composition with immersive visual storytelling, including collaborations with artists like RL Grime and Zayn Malik. At Leap Year, Oleson has already begun collaborating on high-profile projects, including a recently completed campaign set to premiere later this month.
