An adorable singing shark becomes the darling of a seaside community until bad guys plot to capture it and put it on display in “Shark Song,” the feel-good story that takes place in a little town called Amity. And the sweet, affectionate trailer for this fictional film, created by assistant editor Caleb Hepler of The Whitehouse, Chicago, won the top prize at AICE Chicago’s Camp Kuleshov trailer editing competition. The winners were announced at a party and awards show held at the Volcano Room of the Bottom Lounge on West Lake Street last week.
The assignment for the competition, now in its 10th year in the AICE Chicago chapter, was to select either one or any combination of the films Jaws, Lost in Translation and What About Bob and cut a 90-second trailer for an original new film, be it a mashup or of a new genre. Hepler’s take on Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws swayed the jury. For his efforts, the assistant editor won an Avid Media Composer 5. In addition, he will be flown to Los Angeles to attend the 2012 AICE Awards Show.
First Runner Up honors went to Michael Lippert, an assistant editor at Cutters, who mashed up all three films for “Learning to Stand.” In this frightening drama, Bill Murray plays a creature who takes human form while on land but becomes a shark whenever he’s in the water. Lippert won a Pro Tools 9 audio system.
Second Runner Up honors went to assistant editor Aaron Porzel of Optimus, whose campy “Were-Shark” combines Jaws and What About Bob to tell the story of a shark that’s terrorizing a summer camp, conveyed in the style of a schlocky, black & white 1950s-era horror film. Porzel’s prize was pair of M-Audio Studiophile Q40 headphones.
All prizes for the Chicago Camp Kuleshov winners were provided by Avid.
Honorable Mentions went to two assistants at Optimus: Max Holste for “Siggy Marvin and the Summer of the Shark” and Lucy Radtke for “This Is Water.”
The Chicago Camp Kuleshov competition also has a division called Tent City, which is open to anyone employed at an AICE member company who’s not an assistant editor. The Grand Prize in this category went to Tiffany Dotson, an intern at Hootenanny, for “Faded Intent,” her re-casting of Lost in Translation as a psychological thriller in which Bill Murray plays an assassin and Scarlett Johansson his intended target. Dotson won a $50 Amazon gift card for her efforts.
Honorable Mentions in the Tent City category went to Optimus’ Marco Rosas for “The Ungiven Chance” and Max Mooney for “Bob Van Winkle,” and to Angelica Carlson of The Colonie for “Escape to Tokyo.”
The judges for the Camp Kuleshov Chicago competition included Brian Gannon of the Whitehouse, Sean Berringer of Beast, Laura Madalinski of Red Car, Keith Kristinat of Utopic, Randy Palmer of Optimus, Adam Purcell of The Colonie, Matthew Hane of Daily Planet, Chris Hafner of Cutters and Jerem Sloan of Hootenanny.
To view all the winners of the 2011 Chicago Camp Kuleshov competition, check out its page on the AICE web site here.
Edelman Global CCO Judy John Named AICP Next Awards Judging Chair
Judy John, global chief creative officer at global communications firm Edelman, has been named as the 2025 AICP Next Awards judging chair. In this role, John has assembled a roster of jury presidents who will, in turn, select judges for all AICP Next Awards categories.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be named AICP Next Awards judging chair,” said John. “I’ve served as a Next jury president, and I know the caliber of work that’s entered and the level of talent judging that work. The Next Awards are special, as they recognize achievements through the lens of boundary-breaking innovations in marketing. Like great art, this work creates awe in the viewer, and reflects the times and culture in which it was created. The fact that the honored work is preserved in The Museum of Modern Art’s Department of Film’s archives for future generations adds a whole other level of significance.”
“Judy’s career in many ways reflects the DNA of the Next Awards, in that she is a globally-recognized expert in creating work using a wide range of techniques, media platforms and content formats,” said Matt Miller, president and CEO of AICP. “Her complete fluency in the current marketing communications landscape makes her an ideal judging chairperson. We’re delighted that she is serving in this role.”
The AICP Next Awards is much more than an awards competition; it’s also a platform for examining work through thought leadership and analysis. The entry deadline for the AICP Next Awards, along with the AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial and the AICP Post Awards, is Wed., February 26. Details can be found here.
Two new categories are joining the Next Awards this year, for... Read More