AICE has announced the editors and postproduction artists who will serve on the 2017 AICE Awards Curatorial Committee. The roster this year includes talent from member companies across the U.S. and in Canada, including from its newly re-launched Atlanta Chapter, which formed earlier this year.
The Curatorial Committee ensures that all AICE Awards finalists selected by the judges are appropriate for and meet the criteria of each category. It also selects the Best in Show winner from among the respective category winners. The category finalists and winners are determined from the results of online and live-panel judging sessions currently being conducted in AICE chapters across the country. Once the results are tabulated, the Curatorial Committee reviews the results to confirm that the winners are both eligible and worthy of an AICE Award.
Editors on the list include the three members of the AICE Awards Committee: Chris Franklin of Big Sky in New York, Craig Lewandowski of Utopic in Chicago and Bob Spector of Beast in San Francisco. Also serving on the committee are Editors Liz Tate of Hootenanny in Chicago, Alison Gordon of Relish in Toronto, Kim Bica of Arcade Edit in Los Angeles and Conor O’Neill of Exile, also in Los Angeles.
The competition’s craft categories are represented by Colorists Ayumi Ashley of MFD in San Francisco and Billy Gabor of Company 3 in Atlanta; Audio Mixers Keith Reynaud of Heard City in New York and Brian Yessian of Yessian in Detroit; and VFX Artists Brian Higgins of Flavor in Chicago and Anne Trotman of The Mill in New York.
Many of those on the committee have served as judges for the AICE Awards in the past, but this is their first time taking part in the Curatorial Committee deliberations. The value of a juried competition dedicated to post production, judged by industry professionals, is not lost on them.
“It’s really important, because mainly what we do in post production is create magic,” said The Mill’s Trotman, who’s a Senior Flame Artist. “Often people don’t see what we do, as the work can be seamless. Yet those of us in the industry know how hard we all work to achieve this, and how motivated everyone is to do work that they’re genuinely proud of.”
“I think it validates us as a craft,” said MFD’s Ashley, who’s also a partner at MFD. She points out that this year the competition has expanded its color grading categories, adding, “that’s particularly good for colorists. Having a respected organization like AICE honor us creates a culture of value around our work.”
Beyond helping ensure the most deserving work is recognized across the breadth of the competition and selecting its prized Best in Show winner, committee members say they’re excited about other parts of the process as well.
“I’m looking forward to the community aspect of this,” noted Ashley. “As both an artist and a business owner, it’s important to be part of a network that brings us together as an industry. It will be good to be able to do that on a national level and in an open forum such as this.”
“You get great insights into what your colleagues think, and how they perceive the work,” adds Relish’s managing editor Gordon. “I find it fascinating. And it’s difficult to do, to focus on the specific craft or editing in each category and determine just what it is that makes it stand above.”
The 2017 AICE Awards, the association’s 16th annual competition, comprises 24 categories, 16 for editorial and eight for post production crafts including audio mixing, color grading, design, original music, sound design and visual effects. Winners will be announced at the AICE Awards Show on Thursday, May 11, at Capitale in New York.
As An Exec Producer and Actor, Sterling K. Brown Finds “Paradise”
As an executive producer and star of the new Hulu series "Paradise," Sterling K. Brown put the hours of TV he watches to good use and cast actors he admires.
"I got a chance to hire people that I am a fan of," said Brown in a recent interview. "I remember meeting Julianne Nicholson at the Emmys the year that she won for 'Mare of Easttown.' I was so geeked out that I got a chance to be in the same room with her ... Now I get to be on a show with her."
Brown is known for his role as Randall in the series "This Is Us," which ended in 2022. He was nominated for an Oscar for his supporting role in "American Fiction." In "Paradise," Brown is a Secret Service agent to James Marsden's president of the United States. A shocking murder is revealed shortly into the first episode which unspools a deeper mystery beyond just whodunit.
"When James became available, I was like, 'please.' I had just finished watching 'Jury Duty' and this dude is so funny." "Paradise," said Brown, is an opportunity for Marsden "to show something that a lot of people haven't had a chance to see him do."
Marsden says Brown is one of Hollywood's good guys.
"He's one of the most graceful, generous, good human beings that I've been fortunate to meet in this business. He's so humble and cares so much about not only his work, but the people around him. He wants everybody to be great. When I think of people I need to be more like, it's this man."
"Paradise" has themes of climate change, privilege and the pecking order of who in society gets saved during an emergency. There's a relevance to the series which Brown says is coincidental because Dan Fogelman — creator and writer of "This is Us" — conceived "Paradise" 10 years ago. It makes sense to him though why it... Read More