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.
Is “Glicked” The New “Barbenheimer”? “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” Hit Theater Screens
"Barbenheimer" was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But, more than a year later, that hasn't stopped people from trying to make "Glicked" — or even "Babyratu" — happen.
The counterprogramming of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" in July 2023 hit a nerve culturally and had the receipts to back it up. Unlike so many things that begin as memes, it transcended its online beginnings. Instead of an either-or, the two movies ultimately complemented and boosted one another at the box office.
And ever since, moviegoers, marketers and meme makers have been trying to recreate that moment, searching the movie release schedule for odd mashups and sending candidates off into the social media void. Most attempts have fizzled (sorry, "Saw Patrol" ).
This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation "Wicked" opens Friday against the chest-thumping sword-and-sandals epic "Gladiator II." Two big studio releases (Universal and Paramount), with one-name titles, opposite tones and aesthetics and big blockbuster energy — it was already halfway there before the name game began: "Wickiator," "Wadiator," "Gladwick" and even the eyebrow raising "Gladicked" have all been suggested.
"'Glicked' rolls off the tongue a little bit more," actor Fred Hechinger said at the New York screening of "Gladiator II" this week. "I think we should all band around 'Glicked.' It gets too confusing if you have four or five different names for it."
As with "Barbenheimer," as reductive as it might seem, "Glicked" also has the male/female divide that make the fan art extra silly. One is pink and bright and awash in sparkles, tulle, Broadway bangers and brand tie-ins; The other is all sweat and sand, blood and bulging... Read More