Last night at the official ceremony for the third annual CLIO Sports Awards, the National Hockey League and agency Baby Bear's Porridge Productions were honored with the Silver award in the Commercials category for the 2015 Stanley Cup Final national spot entitled "Name" (https://youtu.be/E8uggvSFsl0).
The spot, which also recently won top AICE Award honors in the Broadcast Promotion category, was edited by Steve Bell of Cutters Studios in New York, which also provided audio and finishing services for the project. Over the past several years, Bell has been a key team member behind numerous classic NHL campaigns promoting the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the iconic "History Will Be Made" campaign, "Cup Raise," "Boys" and "No Words." Describing "Name," Fast Company magazine staff editor Jeff Beer wrote, "The spot shows how the Cup can make a name go from what someone is called to how someone is remembered in history."
In Bell's words, "It's especially great to see Name doing so well and getting such nice recognition, because it represents the collaboration of a relatively small group of people with the same clear goal: We all wanted to do something with gravitas that drew on the long, storied history of a truly great sports league. For those of us involved, it felt personal."
Continuing, Bell explained, "The guys at Baby Bear's came up with a beautiful concept and script, and the NHL gave us terrific footage from every era to work with. For me it was a blast bringing it together and making it play the way they wanted it to. The work is dignified and restrained, but with it, you really do have an opportunity to indulge in all that emotion – and, of course, in Liev Schreiber's amazing voice – and make it as meaningful as it can be."
Along with Bell, the Cutters credits for "Name" also include executive producer Elizabeth Krajewski, producer Julia Pepe, Flame artist Moises Tavera, assistant editor Austin Rauterkus and audio engineer Eric Thompson. Color correction was courtesy of colorist Adrian Seery of MPC, where Adina Birnbaum served as executive producer.
Bell's latest project is the 3:30 "Here I Am" brand film (https://youtu.be/fJlvtCzJPaQ) for JCPenney via agency mcgarrybowen and director Tucker Walsh of m ss ng p eces. Since debuting in mid-June, that high-profile project is currently averaging over 100,000 views per day on YouTube.
After commenting on the amazing job done by Walsh on the new JCPenney work, Bell added, "The most gratifying thing about ‘Here I Am' was hearing that the incredible 'Influencers' featured in the film were happy with the way it turned out. It really is all about them, their success, and their world view, so I'm thrilled to think that the film got it right and does them proud."
To view the latest work from Bell and other Cutters Studios artists, please visit http://www.cuttersstudios.com.
About Cutters and Cutters Studios
Established in Chicago in 1980, Cutters has cemented its reputation as a premier provider of extraordinary editing and post-production artistry, and today the company is among the world's largest independent editorial companies. Based on its solid reputation for world-class editorial talents, family values and truly great leadership, over time, Cutters has opened successful studios in Detroit, Los Angeles, Tokyo and New York City. With its partner companies Another Country, Dictionary Films, Flavor and Picnic Media, Cutters Studios represents unlimited full-service creative capabilities. For more information please visit http://www.cuttersstudios.com.
