Our Turn: Chicago Hosts 2007 AICE Awards Show
Screen Magazine - 5/21/2007 - By Dixon Galvez-Searle
 The Chicago production and advertising communities came out in full force for the Association of Independent Creative Editors (AICE) annual awards show on May 17. Held in Chicago for the first time since 2004, the ceremony filled the majestic Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, and showcased the very best of creative editorial across nine AICE chapters.
In addition to supporting the post community, attendees got a chance to see the finalists projected on a giant screen, dwarfed only by the sheer size of the domed ceiling. If only commercial editors could see all their work in such an environment, mused Bob Carr of Red Car Chicago after introducing the nominees for National Campaign.
Chicago post house Cutters came away as the big winner locally, notably editor Carlos Lowenstein who earned two awards (“Dialogue” and “Best of Chicago”) for his two-minute “Taxi” spot for Hallmark. Lowenstein said the project was intense, but rewarding. He asked the audience to imagine all of the work that goes into a 30-second commercial, and then multiply that by four.
Overall, four spots from the region were nominated for national awards – three from Chicago, one from Detroit and none from AICE chapters in Dallas and Minneapolis. To provide a more accurate picture of work across all of its member cities, the AICE included several “Best of” awards, a practice started at last year’s show.
In the Best of Dallas category, editor Quan Tran managed to make history of sorts when he won for work completed at a now defunct post house. “Yellow Ribbons” for Bell Helicpoter was cut at Willow Street Editorial, beating out two spots from Fast Cuts.
In the Best of Detroit category, Craig Duncan of Griot Editorial made no friends when he wore a Detroit Pistons sweatshirt to the podium to introduce the nominees. You have to respect a fan, though, as well as the winner, Richard Smith from Mad River Post Detroit. His spot, “Hold Up,” for Spike TV bested two other finalists from Griot and Mad River, respectively.
Kudos also go to the Chicago AICE board and its president Tom Duff of Optimus for producing a show that easily outdrew New York and Los Angeles, the two other cities that host the show on a rotating basis. The AICE Show is scheduled to return to Chicago in 2010.
Here is a complete list of winners from this year’s show:
COMEDY
“CARRY ON” (:30)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Crew Cuts
EDITOR: Jake Jacobsen
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Ethan Mitchell
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Nancy Shames
PRODUCER: Michelle Bellaff
LIVE-ACTION PRODUCTION COMPANY: Harvest Films
LIVE-ACTION DIRECTOR: Baker Smith
TABLETOP PRODUCTION COMPANY: MacGuffin Films
TABLETOP DIRECTOR: Michael Somoroff
CLIENT: Dairy Queen
AGENCY: Grey Worldwide
//crewcuts.com
DIALOGUE
“TAXI” (:120)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Cutters
EDITOR: Carlos Lowenstein
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christine Gilliland
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Cindy Duffy
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Gartner (New York)
DIRECTOR: James Gartner
CLIENT: Hallmark
AGENCY: Leo Burnett USA (Chicago)
//www.cutters.com
LOCAL SPOT
“MARCH OF THE PENGUINS” (:100)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Homestead Editorial
EDITOR: Charly Bender
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Kevin Palmer
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Lance Doty
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Form
DIRECTOR: Kevin Donovan
CLIENT: Full Frame Film Festival
AGENCY: McKinney & Silver
//www.homesteadedit.com
MONTAGE
“XKR LAUNCH” (:90)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Outside Editorial
EDITOR: Neil Gust
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Matt Jacob
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Sila Soyer
POST PRODUCER: Patricia Higgins
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Tangerine Films (UK)
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Palma Pictures (Mallorca, Spain)
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Commercial Vehicles (Milan, Italy)
PRODUCTION COMPANY: The Box Films (Milan, Italy)
DIRECTOR: Michel Comte (lifestyle footage)
DIRECTOR: Gary Holder (car footage)
CLIENT: Ford Motor Company
AGENCY: Euro RSCG (New York)
//www.outsideedit.com
MUSIC/SOUND
“TEAM VIRAL” (:90)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Cut + Run
EDITOR: Tim Hardy
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Chris McKay
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Angela Hart
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Rogue
DIRECTOR: Nick Jones
CLIENT: 118 118
AGENCY: Meme
//www.cutandrun.tv
NATIONAL CAMPAIGN
“BABY”; “EGG”; “RUBIK” (:30; :30; :30)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Final Cut LA, Inc.
EDITOR: Rick Russell
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Peter O'Donovan
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Saima Awan
PRODUCTION COMPANY: MJZ, Inc.
DIRECTOR: Rupert Sanders
CLIENT: Sony (Playstation 3)
AGENCY: TBWA/Chiat/Day
//www.finalcut-edit.com
PUBLIC SERVICE
“HOSPITAL BEDS” (:60)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Cosmo Street (New York)
EDITOR: Lawrence Young
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Maura Woodward
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Smuggler
DIRECTOR: Chris Smith
CLIENT: American Legacy Foundation
AGENCY: Arnold Worldwide
AGENCY: Crispin Porter & Bogusky
//www.cosmostreet.com
SPEC SPOT (TIE)
“FOUR MINUTE MILE” (:60)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Panic & Bob Editing
EDITOR: Michelle Czukar
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Marco Pazzano
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Sticks + Stones Studios
DIRECTOR: Jerry Brown
CLIENT: Adidas
//www.panicandbob.com
SPEC SPOT (TIE)
“TIME MACHINE” (:30)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Cake
EDITOR: Rick Lobo
ASSISTANT EDITOR: David Becerra
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Tatiana Derovanessian
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Rosey
DIRECTOR: Rosey
CLIENT: Hershey’s (Payday)
AGENCY: Wieden & Kennedy (New York)
//www.cakeshop.tv
STORYTELLING
“NEWS STORY” (:60)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Rock Paper Scissors
EDITOR: Kirk Baxter
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Matt Murphy
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Crissy Desimone
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Gorgeous
DIRECTOR: Frank Budgen
CLIENT: Levi’s
AGENCY: Bartle Bogle Hegarty
//www.rockpaperscissors.com
VISUAL EFFECTS
“ANIMALS” (:120)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Big Sky Editorial (New York)
EDITOR: Chris Franklin
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christian Rodriguez
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Cheryl Panek
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Hungry Man
DIRECTOR: Bryan Buckley
CLIENT: American Express
AGENCY: Ogilvy & Mather
//www.bigskyedit.com
BEST OF CHICAGO
“TAXI” (SEE “DIALOGUE”)
//www.cutters.com
BEST OF DALLAS
“YELLOW RIBBONS” (:60)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Willow Street Editorial (Defunct)
EDITOR: Quan Tran
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Chris Gamino
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Directorz
DIRECTOR: Jeff Bednarz
CLIENT: Bell Helicopter
AGENCY: TM Advertising
//www.directorz.net
BEST OF DETROIT
“HOLD UP” (:45)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Mad River Post/Detroit
EDITOR: Richard Smith
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Dominic Bracco
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Marie Schroeder
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Supply and Demand
DIRECTOR: Greg Popp
CLIENT: Spike TV
AGENCY: Arnold Worldwide (New York)
//www.madriverpost.com
BEST OF BOSTON
“CENSOR” (:30)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Panache Editorial
EDITOR: Barry Moross
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Roy Simmonds
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Ellen Boldis
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Redtree Productions
DIRECTOR: Christian Hoagland
CLIENT: McDonald's
AGENCY: Arnold Worldwide
//www.panacheeditorial.com
BEST OF LOS ANGELES
“STANDOFF” (:60)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Rock Paper Scissors
EDITOR: Kirk Baxter
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Crissy DeSimone
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Bisquit Filmworks (Los Angeles)
DIRECTOR: Tim Godsall
CLIENT: Microsoft
AGENCY: McCann Erickson (San Francisco)
//www.rockpaperscissors.com
BEST OF NEW YORK
“XKR LAUNCH” (SEE “MONTAGE”)
//www.outsideedit.com
BEST OF SAN FRANCISCO
“BEEP” (:30)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: Phoenix Editorial & Design
EDITOR: Jim Farber
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Aaron Owen
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Jonathan Hinman
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Harvest Films
DIRECTOR: Peter Martin
CLIENT: HBO Video
AGENCY: Venables, Bell & Partners
www.phoenixedit.com
BEST OF TORONTO
“STICKS” (:60)
EDITORIAL COMPANY: School
EDITOR: Mark Morton
ASSISTANT EDITOR: Jackie Roda
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Sarah Brooks
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Imported Artists
DIRECTOR: Gregor Nicholas
CLIENT: Pepsi Canada
AGENCY: Downtown Partners |
