The Camp Kuleshov trailer competition for emerging creative artists in postproduction–aka Camp K–handed out its awards and honors at three events last week, recognizing outstanding achievement in the categories of Editing, Sound Design and Graphics.
Designed to give emerging talent a chance to heighten their creative and craft problem-solving skills while also gaining access to invaluable mentorship opportunities, Camp K challenges entrants to take existing films and re-imagine trailers for them as something new and different.
After months of hard work on the part of its entrants, followed by a rigorous judging process, Camp K celebrations kicked off with a virtual show held on Tuesday, Nov. 1, honoring winners from the West and Southwest Chapters. It was emceed by Jay Nelson, an editor at Cut + Run in Los Angeles.
In Editing, First Place went to Myles Bolden of Republic in Dallas for his take on the the 2004 fantasy rom com “13 Going on 30” as a sexual obsession story. Second Place went to Hope Abrom of Therapy Studios in Los Angeles for transforming the 1953 Howard Hawks musical comedy “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” into a psychological drama. Third Place went to Dakota Giglio of Cut + Run in L.A. for his melding of the 1976 sci-fi hit “Logan’s Run” with the 2019 musical “Cats” into a cult classic. Honorable Mention in Editing went to Trevor Clifford, also of Cut + Run, for his take on “13 Going on 30” as directed by Wong Kar Wai.
In Sound Design, First Place went to Emmalyn Meyers of Vaudeville Sound Group in Los Angeles for her comic, video game-inspired sound design of an epic car chase in the 1998 crime thriller “Ronin.” Honorable Mentions went to Alex Doty of Swell Music + Sound in San Francisco for her sound design of a scene from Steven Spielberg’s 2015 Cold War historical drama “Bridge of Spies,” and to Parker Watts of Republic for his jazzy approach to the 1959 French crime drama “Pickpocket.”
In Graphics, Honorable Mention went to Elijah Sheffield, also of Republic, for his lively 2-D animated opening to 1995’s “Jumanji.”
In his opening remarks, Nelson noted how the Camp K entrants are reflective of a shift taking place in the industry. “The lines between crafts and disciplines are blurring, and the kinds of work these emerging talents are doing is expanding,” he noted. “Their technical acumen is growing, as is the talent pool. The result is that the work itself is just incredible.”
Camp K East
Winners were presented at the first in-person awards celebration since 2019, held in a new venue, The Factory 380 in New York, on Wednesday, Nov. 3. Big Sky Edit’s Chris Franklin, who leads the Camp K committee and has been a longtime supporter of the competition, was on hand to present the winners’ trophy and prizes.
In Editorial, First Place went to Daniel Techy of Uppercut for his mash up of “13 Going on 30” and 2019’s ill-fated musical “Cats” into a supernatural/science fiction thriller. Second Place went to Allie Thompson of P.S. 260 for her reimaging “13 Going on 30” as a psychological drama. Third Place went to Griffin Rapp of Other NYC for his mashup of the 1976 drama “Lifeguard” with the 1995 fantasy thriller “The Prophecy” as a psychological drama.
In Sound Design, First Place went to Zoltan Monori of Heard City for his creation of a soundscape for a suspenseful scene from “Bridge of Spies.”
There were two Honorable Mentions in Graphics: April Faison of Mr. Wonderful / Northern Lights was honored for her title sequence for the 2004 noirish thriller “Collateral,” and Devon Fabulian of P.S. 260 for his opening sequence for the 2001 Japanese animated feature “Spirited Away.”
Franklin said the importance of being together to celebrate the Camp K winners and to screen the entire rundown of entries can’t be discounted. “If you’re an up-and-coming talent in this industry, you’re always looking for an opportunity to bounce ideas around with other people and see how they react to your work,” said Franklin. “And that’s what makes Camp K so special. When you work in a vacuum, which is what remote work can feel like, all you hear is yourself. But when you put other eyes in front of your work, right away you’ll see it differently. When you get out there and show something that you’ve done, you sense the reaction, you feel the air in the room change, for better or worse. And that’s a really important part of honing your talent.”
Camp K Midwest
Camp K celebrations wrapped up with an in-person awards show and party at Tree House in Chicago on Thursday, Nov. 4, hosted by Cutters Studios Editor Kathryn Hempel, who was one of the creators of Camp K.
First Place in Editing went to Caralyn Moore of Optimus for her recasting of the 1967 Mel Brooks comedy “The Producers” into a neo-noir genre. Second Place went to Brian Naughton of Cutters Studios, who reworked Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 WWII drama “Inglorious Basterds” into a study in sexual obsession. And Third Place went to Charlie Kehoe of Cutters Studios for turning Fellini’s “8 1/2” into a filmmaker fantasy. Honorable Mention went to Isabella Paulitz of Cutters Studios for her version of “13 Going on 30” as a psychological drama.
In Sound Design, First Place went to Brett Rossiter of Another Country for his edge-of-your-seat sound design of a taut scene from the 1953 French thriller “The Wages of Fear.” Second Place went to Harrison Gill of Optimus for his sound design creation of a scene from the French crime drama “Pickpocket.”
“There was a palpably happy energy at our Camp K event as we cheered on our tireless and talented young creative talents while screening their impressive work in editing, sound design and graphics,” said Hempel. “It was beautiful, funny, and sometimes really horrifying — in a good way. I was honored to emcee with my Cutters colleague Craig Duncan, and proud of all the entrants, judges, supporters, and people who worked behind the scenes to make the evening a success. Having started Camp Kuleshov in Chicago over twenty years ago, we have much to smile about and celebrate together in our community. The future looks bright.”
All First Place winners from each chapter, each of whom received a license for Media Composer or Pro Tools, sponsored by Avid, now move on to compete for The Lev, Camp K’s national Grand Prize, awarded to the top winner in each category. Winners will be announced and saluted during AICP Week in June, 2023. The Lev winners will also take home $1,000, provided by Camp K sponsor Musicbed + Filmsupply. An AICP Supporting Partner, Musicbed also made selections from its production music library available to entrants free of charge.
All of the 2022 Camp K winners can be found here. Participation in the Camp K competition was open to junior-level creatives, as well as admin and entry-level employees at AICP member postproduction and production companies, as well as freelancers and support staff sponsored by member companies. Students and interns sponsored by a member company could also enter Camp K, as well as junior-level employees at music, sound and audio post companies that are members of the Association of Music Producers (AMP).
