Matt Miller, president and CEO of AICP, and Chris Franklin, owner/editor at Big Sky Editorial and the 2020 chairperson of the AICP Post Awards, have announced the makeup of the competition’s Curatorial Committee. The AICP Post Awards, part of AICP’s suite of competitions that includes The AICP Show: The Art & Technique of the Commercial and the AICP Next Awards, honors excellence in creative editorial and the postproduction arts. Entries to the AICP Post Awards--along with the AICP Show and AICP Next Awards--are being accepted through February 24 (after Feb. 18, late fees will apply). 

In addition to his role as chair of the Post Awards, Franklin also serves as co-chair of the AICP Awards Committee (a 43-person group of some of the industry’s most respected individuals tasked with nominating judges and industry outreach)  along with Ali Brown, partner/executive producer at PRETTYBIRD and chairperson of the 2020 AICP Show. 

In his position as Post Awards chair, Franklin will lead the deliberations of its Curatorial Committee, which is comprised of high-level artisans from the postproduction and production communities and representatives from the agency creative and production ranks. 

Editors serving on the committee this year, in addition to Franklin, include Jen Dean of Consulate, Grant Gustafson of Cutters, Geoff Hounsell of Arcade Edit, Sloane Klevin of Union Editorial and Craig Lewandowski of Utopic. Colorists on the panel include Yoomin Lee of the Moving Picture Company, Arianna Shining Star of Apache, and Jessica Vile of Framestore. Audio mixers include Julienne Guffain of Sonic Union, Tom Jucarone of Sound Lounge, and Philip Loeb of Heard City. VFX artists/creative directors include Nathan Kane of The Mill. Directors and DPs include Stuart Dryburgh, DP, Jim Jenkins of O Positive and Eben Mears of PSYOP. 

Rounding out the committee--and bringing an agency perspective to its deliberations--are Tom Murphy, chief creative officer of McCann New York, and Melany Esfeld, VP and director of integrated production at Barkley in Kansas City. 

“I cannot wait to sit down and discuss all the judged entries with these truly amazing people,” said Franklin. “It’s an honor to have this group diving deep into the artistry of the finalists from the global post community. Theirs is a collective passion that brings a perspective that can never be achieved alone, and never ceases to inspire me about the work we do.”

Collectively, the Curatorial Committee serves as the final arbiter of the 2020 AICP Post Awards. Upon review, the committee selects the top entries in each category and designates them for AICP Post Awards finalist status. From there, its members decide which finalists have risen to the top and are declared category winners. Finally, the Committee selects a Best in Show from among the winners in all categories; this coveted honor--along with the category winners--will be revealed at the AICP Post Awards ceremony on May 6th at CNVS in New York. 

“Our AICP Post Awards is an important part of our deep exploration and recognition of craft,” said Miller. “Adding various high-level and varied craft perspectives to recognize achievement in postproduction is an important evolution of this awards show. We’re eager to see what this group, working under the guidance of Chris Franklin, determines to be the best of the best in the postproduction arts this year.”

In addition to its winners in 12 editorial and 13 craft categories and its prestigious Best of Show honoree, the AICP Post Awards will continue to recognize Best of Region winners that represent the best work emanating from companies submitting within each AICP chapter, which includes East, Florida, Midwest, Minnesota, Southeast, Southwest and West.