Camp Kuleshov Midwest Winners Announced

The winners are in! AICP’s Camp Kuleshov challenge for the Midwest region was a success once again and accolades were awarded in Chicago. The nightlife hotspot Tunnel at 151 W Kinzie Street was the host for the well-attended festivities last Wednesday. Let’s see who was saluted at the soiree…

The challenge at hand was the ultimate in post production creativity. Editorial category entrants must change the movie’s genre from its original to another genre on the list. Per the rules, “Now your camp counselors may have given a genre very specific to its movie’s storyline, but if it’s obviously a general comedy or horror we suggest you steer as far away from anything like its original intentions. The broadening of the genres we list are meant to further the possibilities. We hope you embrace that. Additionally, you may mash up two movies to tell a story that is neither of their original genres, but another genre on the list.”

Sound Design category entrants choose a section of a film from a list of movie options to create an entirely new sound design. The interpretation of the scene through sound design must be noticeably different from the original and be original in and of itself. Genre changes are not required, but allowable. Most importantly, you must not mimic the original.

Mind you, this is no ordinary movie list. The Camp Kuleshov team has worked hard to make a wide selection of “Kuleshov”-worthy feature films. The hope is that “Campers” are introduced to new types of films and filmmakers.

And the Winners of Camp K Midwest are..

Here are the winners in Editorial:

1st Place – Brian Naughton – Cutters

2nd Place – Kyle Totzke – Cosmo Street Editorial

3rd Place – Isabella Paulitz – Cutters Studios

Honorable Mention – Carly Bickett – Optimus

Honorable Mention – Leah Fishwick – Cutters

Here are the winners in Sound Design:

1st Place – Lucas Hansa – Another Country

2nd Place – Brett Rossiter – Another Country

And in the category of Music Score:

1st Place – JoJo Diaz-Orsi – Yessian 

Here are the winners in Graphic Design:

1st Place – Gage Bowman – Flavor

And here are some festive photos from the evening…

Congratulations to the Midwest and Chicago Honorees! And if you’re brand new to Camp Kuleshov and wondering how you can get involved next time around…

How Did Camp Kuleshov Begin?

According to AICP, “It was a dark and stormy night in Russia, the dim light of the moviola was all that flickered in the depths of the editing room where Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov discovered how to influence specific human emotions by juxtaposing images. “Nothing is so painful to the human mind as a great and sudden change.” -Dr. Frankenstein (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

And so the Kuleshov Effect was born. Cutaway after cutaway, learning how different reactions can be achieved in any sequence, and undeniably shape your story. Hitchcock, “the Master of Suspense” himself has referred to the Kuleshov Effect as “pure editing”. Lev did all of his experiments with pre-existing footage, re-arranging, re-assembling, creating a new juxtaposition to demonstrate the power of editing, and claim it to be its own artform as early as 1910.

And now we celebrate the great and powerful Kuleshov with the AICP’s Camp Kuleshov competition of storytelling through movie trailers, opening titles sequences, and sound design. Participants are assistant editors, assistant audio mixers/sound designers or assistant graphic/visual effects artists employed or sponsored by AICP member companies. Participating chapters all work from the same creative brief and winners from each local competition move on to compete against each other for “The Lev” – the international grand prize awarded to the top assistant in each category.”

Click here for more about Camp Kuleshov and the winners across the country.

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