Spy Hop's Best of Spy Hop 2010 Awards Ceremony (SLC: Sept 23)

MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chris Howard
Phone: 801-532-7500
Email: cjh@spyhop.org

SPY HOP PRODUCTIONS PRESENTS: THE BEST OF SPY HOP 2010 AWARDS CEREMONY
Come see the best in filmmaking, songwriting, sound design, game design and animation by Salt Lake area teens.
                                                                                                
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (September 16, 2010) — Spy Hop Productions will be hosting its annual BEST OF SPY HOP Awards Ceremony honoring the finest film, music, audio and design work from Spy Hop's 2009-10 student body on Thursday, September 23, from 7-9 PM at the University of Utah's Post Theater (245 S. Fort Douglas Boulevard, Bldg. 636). This is a free, all-ages event open to the public. To reserve seating, attendees must RSVP online at www.spyhop.org .
 
Nominations for each awards category were provided by the staff of professional mentors at Spy Hop Productions.  Then, two rounds of voting were conducted in which all staff voted for their favorite pieces in each category. Spy Hop serves an annual population of more than 1,000 students from over 117 different schools throughout the Salt Lake area.  Mentors were asked to submit as much work as they felt deserved recognition in as many of the categories as possible.  The awards categories were intentionally left general as to encourage competition between the disciplines for each award.  From 53 original nominations, the finalists have been narrowed down to just 33 individual pieces. 
 
All of the nominated works will be screened before the audience that night, after which the winner will be  announced and presented with the Spy Hop “Golden Mouse Award.”
 
Finalists for this year's 2009-10 Best Of Spy Hop Awards are:
 
BEST PERSONAL NARRATIVE
Most intelligent, compelling, articulate personal account of self.
•  Dan Pimentel – “A New Song” (Film Apprenticeship)
•  Laela Omar (Cottonwood High) – “Hijab” (REEL Stories)
•  Connor Estes (Ogden) – “Battling the Mind” (Loud & Clear Youth Radio)
 
BEST STORYTELLING
Most able to draw you in using all the elements of storytelling including, but not limited to, sound, lighting, voice, depth of field, animation, effects and music.
•  Daniel Pimentel, May Bartlett, and Kevin LeStarge  – “The Antagonist” (PitchNic)
•  Loren Ruiz, Rachel Fairclough, and Britt Decker – “Brains” (PitchNic)
•  Connor Estes, Lauren Gutierrez (AMES), Austin Charillo – “End of The World Radio Play” (Loud & Clear Youth Radio)
 
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Most thoughtful, compelling and intelligent documentary storytelling.
•  Ethan Pullan (SLCC), Alek Sabin, and Pat Thompson – “Brother of Mine” (PitchNic)
•  Erin Cole (Judge Memorial High) – “Just Say Know” (Reel Stories)
•  Laela Omar (Cottonwood High) – “Hijab” (Reel Stories)
 
BEST CREATIVE/ARTISTIC EXPRESSION
Best use of talent in a creative visual, sound, or print output.
•  Chris Miller (Magna) – Personal Narrative #1
•  Phil Davis in the role of 'Hat Man' from “The Antagonist”
•  'Interviews About Mortality' - Sending Messages (Award-winning podcast from Decker Lake Youth Center)
               
BEST SOUND DESIGN
Best technical and artistic sound design composition.
•  “The Antagonist” (Audio Apprentices)
•  “Brains” (Audio Apprentices)
•  William Palomo (Bingham High School) – “Zergs” (Loud and Clear Youth Radio)
•  Jared Gilmore (Centerville) and JT Allen (Murray High) mixing The Direction "From VII & IV" CD (Spy Hop Records)
 
BEST SONG        
Best lyrics and musical tapestry/overall song composition
•  The Direction – “Digging”
•  Joel Brown – “Lullaby”
•  Idyll Rigamarole – “Kid” by Rachel Myhrin (Musicology)
•  Idyll Rigamarole – “Benchmark” by TJ Hunter (Musicology)
 
BEST PEER MENTOR
Most dedicated, hard working, reliable and responsible peer mentor
•  May Bartlett (PitchNic)
•  Ethan Pullan (PitchNic)
•  Liz Tanner (Loud and Clear Youth Radio)
 
ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Where are they now? Most community impact and personal achievement after Spy Hop.
•  Eli Sasich
•  Garrett McDowell
•  Margaret King
 
BEST DIGITAL DESIGN, ANIMATION OR CLAYMATION
Best artwork and highest skill level exemplified in Design, Animation or Claymation
•  Ben Diez (Layton) - Character Design for Steam Knight (Game Design)
•  “Mighty Hunt of the Kickapoo” (Summer Claymation)
•  Sam Milliner (Olympus High) – Portfolio 2010
•  Alex Huggins (West High) - buttons, fliers and Direction CD booklet design (Spy Hop Records)
 
BEST GAME DESIGN
Best overall game design exhibiting the best design, playability and original idea.
•  Joey Despain (Indian Hills Middle School) - 3D Maze (Game Design)
•  Mackay Hare (Park City) – “Rocco’s Adventure” (Game Design)
•  Design Apprentices – “Steam Knight” (Game Design)


About Spy Hop Productions
Spy Hop Productions is a not-for-profit youth media arts and education center whose purpose is to empower youth to express their voice and with it create positive change in their lives, their community, and the world.  Our mission is to encourage free expression, self-discovery, critical and inventive thinking, and skilled participation via the big screen, the airwaves, and the web.
 
The White House recently recognized Spy Hop Productions as one of the top arts and humanities‐based organizations in the country. Spy Hop has been given the distinguished honor of being a finalist for the 2010 National Arts and Humanities Youth Award given by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.
 
 
###
--

Chris Howard
Marketing & Events Coordinator
Spy Hop Productions
Tel: 801-532-7500
www.spyhop.org

Empowering youth through multimedia