Best Editing Companies in Chicago (2026)

Introduction

Chicago has one of the oldest commercial editing communities in the US, and the 10 companies below cover most of what it offers in 2026: national editorial houses with Chicago rosters, independent post houses that keep the cut and the finish together, and smaller studios that handle features, series and documentaries.

Most of the work still comes from the city's agencies. Publicis's Leo is headquartered here, and Cutters cut its Sam's Club "In the Club" spot with Jason Sudeikis and Alex Morgan in August 2026. Independents such as Highdive, third on Ad Age's 2026 A-List, add a steady flow of national campaigns. The local market has also shifted: The Colonie changed hands in February 2025 and was named Reel Chicago's Post House of 2025, and Whitehouse Post appointed a new chief executive in February 2026.

Every company here has an active Chicago office or studio in 2026. Chicago is a smaller market than New York or Los Angeles, so we have listed the 10 companies we could verify rather than padding the count. The list runs in no fixed order of merit.

The best editing companies in Chicago

1. Whitehouse Post Chicago

Partner-owned · Chicago · whitehousepost.com

Whitehouse Post is an editing and post-production company with offices in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and London, and it has worked for more than 30 years. Its Chicago office is led by executive producer Kristin Angeletti. In February 2026 the company named Catherine Tobiasinsky chief executive and launched Stacks, its own asset management and workflow platform. Carbon and Scholar are sister companies.

Chicago editors include partner Matthew Wood, Dan Zabinski, Deb Schimmel, Sam Puglise-Kipley and Steve Kroodsma, with recent work for Porsche, KitchenAid, Verizon and Famous Footwear. LBB lists campaigns for Michelob ULTRA, Caesars Entertainment and Pizza Hut. Editors move between Whitehouse offices, so confirm who will be cutting in Chicago.

2. Cutters

Independent · Chicago · cuttersstudios.com

Cutters was founded in Chicago in 1980 by Tim McGuire, who retired in 2023, and is now run by managing director and partner Craig Duncan. It sits inside Cutters Studios with Another Country for sound, Flavor for design and VFX, and Dictionary Films for production, and it has offices beyond Chicago including Detroit, Kansas City and Los Angeles. It is an AICP member.

Recent edits include Sam's Club "In the Club" for Leo, cut by managing editor Grant Gustafson, and a Cadillac Certified Service campaign for MRM cut by Devon Bradbury, both released in summer 2026. LBB also lists recent work for Allstate's Mayhem, Farmers Insurance, Moen and Pacifico. Sound and finishing can stay inside the group, which shortens hand-offs.

3. Optimus

Partner-owned · Chicago · optimus.com

Optimus is a Chicago production and post company with a second office in New York. Editing sits alongside colour, VFX, design, audio and finishing, and its production arm, ONE at Optimus, represents commercial directors. Angelo Valencia leads the editorial team as managing editor and partner, and Brian Hrastar is executive producer and managing director.

The editorial roster includes Ariana DeSimone, Caralyn Moore, Emily Hayes and New York-based Colin Loughlin. Its editors have cut for BMW, Capital One, Southwest Airlines and Walmart. Hugo Escobar's edit of the short "Cake" earned three Midwest Film Festival nominations in August 2026.

4. The Colonie

Owner-run · Streeterville · thecolonie.com

The Colonie was co-founded in 2008 by editor Bob Ackerman with colleagues from Avenue Edit. In February 2025 Ackerman and Susan Okimoto, his long-time collaborator, took full ownership. Reel Chicago named it Post House of 2025, and it works from remodelled offices at 610 North Fairbanks Court.

Editors include Ackerman, Joe Clear, Phil Lee, Addy Bieniarz and Giorgia Harvey, whose documentary "No One Asked You" premiered at DOC NYC. The studio has long worked with Leo Burnett, FCB and Burrell, was an early partner of Facebook on social storytelling, and now takes more direct-to-brand work. Design, VFX and colour are in-house.

5. Cosmo Street Chicago

Multi-city editorial company · Fulton Market · cosmostreet.com

Cosmo Street is an editorial company with more than 25 years in commercials, features and digital content. It has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Kansas City, Miami and Chicago, where it works from 200 North Green Street. Yvette Cobarrubias is managing partner and Lauren Connolly Sloma heads production. It is a member of AICP's Midwest chapter.

The editorial roster of more than 20 includes Tom Scherma, Marlo Caine, Chancler Haynes and Justin Trovato, with recent work for ESPN, Ramp, Progressive, T-Mobile and Microsoft. Editors are shared across offices, so ask who will be in the Chicago suite.

6. Hootenanny

Founder-owned · West Loop · hootenanny.tv

Hootenanny is a woman-owned post house founded in 2008 by editor Liz Tate and Flame artist Jim Annerino. It moved from Streeterville to a loft at 328 South Jefferson Street in the West Loop in late 2022, with suites that can be reconfigured for editorial, motion graphics and VFX.

The editors are Nikki Vapensky, Sean Halvorsen, Adam Bruno and Cody Schlabaugh, with Don Avila as executive producer. The studio covers creative editorial, design, finishing and VFX for broadcast, web and corporate work. It suits mid-sized agency and direct-brand projects where a small team handles the whole finish.

7. Picture North

Founder-led · South Loop · picturenorth.com

Picture North is a production and post company founded in 2008 by director and executive producer Martin Rodahl. It runs production offices and full-service editorial suites in Los Angeles and Chicago, where it is based at 1132 South Wabash Avenue. In June 2025 it signed with Shortlist Management for West Coast representation and added editor Simon Pontén.

Its editors are Chris Amos, Christine Wolf, Olivia Curry, Patrick O'Leary and Pontén. Clients include adidas, American Express, Athletic Brewing, Delta Air Lines, Lay's and Volvo. It is a good fit when one company should handle the shoot and the cut, including international productions.

8. Periscope Post & Audio

Independent · Cinespace Chicago · periscopepa.com

Periscope Post & Audio is a Chicago post facility inside Cinespace Chicago, the city's main film and television studio complex. Co-owner Michael Nehs led its expansion across a full floor of the complex, and the company has since opened a 22,000 square foot facility in Hollywood.

The Chicago studio offers editorial, dailies, colour, VFX and three audio suites. It is primarily a long-form finishing and sound house with a single editorial suite, so it suits productions that want the offline, dailies and mix close to the stages more than a large roster of commercial editors.

9. Anachrony Post

Founder-led · Uptown · anachronypost.com

Anachrony Post is a long-form editorial studio at 1220 West Wilson Avenue in Uptown. It handles dailies (sync, audio and metadata), picture editing, titles and credits for features, shorts, network television, commercials and corporate films, and it edits remotely for clients across the Midwest.

Its founder and editor counts Carol Schaffner, post supervisor on Showtime's "Work in Progress", among past collaborators, and the studio partners with Quicksilver Color and Journeywork Entertainment for grading, delivery and post-producing. It is a practical choice for an independent feature or series that needs an editor and an assistant pipeline without the overhead of a large house.

10. Daily Planet

Independent · River North · dailyplanetltd.com

Daily Planet is a Chicago production and post company at 343 West Erie Street. It works from concept and shooting through editing, colour correction, audio mixing, motion graphics and VFX, and can join a project at any stage. It is a member of AICP's Midwest chapter.

Editors Sara Evans and Matthew Hane cut work for United Airlines, Samsung, ASICS, Cheez-It, Courvoisier, the Chicago Blackhawks and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. Cultural and healthcare clients such as the Adler Planetarium and Lurie Children's Hospital make it a sensible option for institutional and brand storytelling.

What to look for in a Chicago editing company

Book the editor, then the company. Chicago houses are built around named editors, and the same people often move between Whitehouse, Optimus, Cutters and smaller shops over a career. Look at the reel of the person who will cut your job, and check their recent work matches the tone you need, whether that is dialogue comedy, automotive or documentary.

Ask where the editor sits. National companies such as Whitehouse Post and Cosmo Street share editors across several cities, and Cutters and Optimus also run offices outside Chicago. Remote sessions work well for most jobs, but if the agency team wants to sit in the room for the first cut, confirm the editor is based locally.

Decide how much should stay in one building. Full-service houses such as Optimus, Cutters and The Colonie can take a spot from offline to colour, Flame finishing and mix. A dedicated editorial company or long-form boutique suits projects where grading, VFX and sound are booked separately, and our Chicago colour grading list covers the next stage.

Finally, agree how footage and cuts will move. An edit depends on rushes, proxies, transcripts and selects reaching the editor quickly, and on clear notes coming back on each version. Companies with a tidy media handover and one place for review links lose fewer days to searching through email.

How Fabric helps editing teams

Fabric gives editors and producers one workspace for footage, cuts, scripts and client feedback, with AI search across all of it. A typical commercial or series edit pulls together rushes, proxies, music, scripts, boards and notes from several people, and Fabric keeps them in one shared space per project.

Heavy media sits in Fabric's cloud drive, which streams files on demand so they take no local disk space, and large video files open without a full download. Shared team folders always show the latest version. There is more on this in how to edit video without filling your SSD and in our explainer on proxy workflows.

Finding a line or a shot is often the slow part of an edit. Audio and video transcription turns uploaded interviews and rushes into searchable text with clickable timestamps, and search works by meaning across documents, images and those transcripts, jumping to the right moment. For documentary and long-form teams, where is that B-roll sets out the approach.

For review, any cut or folder can be published as a web page, protected with a password and sent with link analytics that show when each named recipient opened it. Agency producers and clients can leave threaded comments through a shared link without signing up. Timestamped comments and drawing on video are coming soon, so frame-accurate notes still belong in a dedicated review tool for now. Our comparison of cloud storage for video editors covers the wider set-up.

Password protection and link analytics are included on Pro and Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best editing company in Chicago?

It depends on the job. For national agency spots, Whitehouse Post, Cutters and Optimus have the deepest Chicago rosters. For features, series and documentaries, Anachrony Post and Periscope Post & Audio focus on long-form editorial and finishing.

Should I use an editorial house or a full-service post house?

An editorial house suits projects where the cut is the main creative stage and colour, VFX and sound are booked separately. A full-service house keeps conform, finishing and mix in one place, which shortens hand-offs on a typical spot. Our list of the best post-production companies in Chicago covers the full-service side.

Can I work with a Chicago editor remotely?

Yes. Most companies here run remote sessions, and several share editors with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Kansas City. Ask for review links in a consistent format so the agency, client and director see the same version.

Which Chicago companies edit long-form work?

Anachrony Post edits features, shorts and network television, and Periscope Post & Audio runs editorial and dailies inside Cinespace Chicago. The Colonie's Giorgia Harvey edited the documentary "No One Asked You", which premiered at DOC NYC.

What should I send an editor before the first session?

Send the script or boards, the shot list, access to rushes or proxies with consistent naming, any music and voiceover, and the delivery specs. Transcripts of interviews save time on documentary and testimonial work.

Related lists

Editing companies in other cities: New York · Los Angeles · London · Atlanta · Toronto

More in Chicago: Creative agencies · Post-production · Colour grading · VFX · Sound design · Video production

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for video editors · Collaborating on a video project remotely · Best video asset management tools