Writer-director Ezra J. Stanley, an alum of SHOOT’s 2010 New Directors Showcase, has teamed with producer Michael Axtell to win the Best Commercial Award at the 2016 HollyShorts Film Festival for Toymail’s “Pancakes.” This marks the second time Stanley has earned the HollyShorts honor; back in 2011 his Levi’s “Post-Mortem” topped the commercial category at the HollyShorts competition.
In “Pancakes,” a genius boy uses his cutting edge stuffed Toymail animal to respectfully tell his father how to make a better breakfast. Toymail is a new plush version tech toy that allows children to text and communicate without using a screen. The recorded voice goes to the stuffed animal and the voice goes to the guardian’s phone. They then can respond back to the app, and the voice is reinterpreted in the character of the toy.
“Pancakes” made its world premiere at HollyShorts.
With the momentum of his recent HollyShorts win, Stanley is in the market for a commercial production house affiliation while he currently continues to maintain his own AboveGrey Pictures.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More