Hollywood Post Alliance Announces 2009 Award Nominees

Nominations have been announced by the Hollywood Post Alliance for the Fourth Annual HPA Awards. Winners of the prestigious HPA Award will be announced during a gala evening ceremony on Nov. 12 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The awards, launched in 2006, acknowledge creative and technical excellence in the art, science and craft of post production in twelve categories.

In announcing the nominees, HPA President Leon Silverman noted, “Again this year, the fourth for the HPA Awards, we have been consistently impressed with the quality, skill and talent of the entrants. These awards honor those people who make the art happen, the collaborative partners throughout the creative process. It is no small accomplishment to take a vision, contribute to it, and make it reality. We are proud to present these nominees who make the magic real and we are grateful to the companies that support them, and who make their work possible.”

Nominees for the HPA Awards include:

Outstanding Color Grading – Feature Film in a Di Process
“Pride and Glory”
Dave Cole, LaserPacific Media Corporation
“Julie & Julia”
Steven J. Scott, EFilm
“Defiance”
Natasha Leonnet, EFilm

Outstanding Color Grading – Television
“Four Single Fathers”
Sergio Cremasco, Rumblefish
“Mad Men – The Jet Set”
Tim Vincent, LaserPacific Media Corporation
“Yankee Stadium Tribute – Yogi’s Bronx”
Siggy Ferstl, Company 3

Outstanding Color Grading – Commercial
Pepsi “Pass”
Stefan Sonnenfeld, Company 3
American Express “Members Moments”
Valerie Junge, Big Sky Editorial
Jaguar “XJ Launch Film”
Alex Bickel, Outside Editorial

Outstanding Editing – Feature Film
“Star Trek”
Maryann Brandon, A.C.E and Mary Jo Markey, A.C.E., Paramount
“The Hurt Locker”
Chris Innis and Bob Murawski
“Slumdog Millionaire”
Chris Dickens, A.C.E.

Outstanding Editing – Television
“Dollhouse – Omega”
Harry B. Miller III, A.C.E
“Breaking Bad – ABQ”
Lynne Willingham, A.C.E., Sony Pictures Entertainment
“Lie to Me – Season Finale”
David J. Siegel, A.C.E. and David C. Cook

Outstanding Editing – Commercial
Bing.com “Syndrome”
Chris Franklin, Big Sky Editorial
NASCAR “Start Er Up”
Neil Gust, Outside Editorial
Jaguar “XF/XK”
Neil Gust, Outside Editorial

Outstanding Audio Post – Feature Film
“WATCHMEN”
Chris Jenkins, Frank A. Montano, Scott Hecker and Eric Norris, Universal Studios Sound
“Up”
E.J. Holowicki, Pixar Animation Studios, Tom Myers, Michael Silvers and Michael Semanick, Skywalker Sound
“Quantum of Solace”
Eddy Joseph, Soundelux London, Jimmy Boyle

Outstanding Audio Post – Television
“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation – Mascara”
David F. Van Slyke, Slick Sounds, Ruth Adelman, Jivan Tahmizian, Bill Smith, Yuri Reese and Mace Matiosian, Todd-AO
“Lost – The Incident”
Tom de Gorter, Paula Fairfield, Carla Murray, Scott Weber and Frank Morrone, Walt Disney Studio Post Production Services
“Fringe – Unleashed”
Thomas Harris, Michael Ferdie, Chris Reeves, Mark Fleming and Tom Dahl, Walt Disney Studio Post Production Services

Outstanding Audio Post – Commercial
Sony “Extreme Detail Bond”
Parv Thind, Wave Recording Studios
Honda Fury “Unleashed”
Paul Hurtubise, Richard Cooperman and Thom Blackburn, Solid, Jeff Levy, Margarita Mix Santa Monica
Honda Civic “Grooves”
Nathan Dubin, Margarita Mix Santa Monica

Outstanding Compositing – Feature Film
“Star Trek”
Eddie Pasquarello, Grady Cofer, Greg Salter and Conny Fauser, Industrial Light & Magic
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
Nelson Sepulveda, Ben O’Brien, Matthew Brumit and Robert Hoffmeister, Industrial Light & Magic

Outstanding Compositing – Television
“House – House Divided”
Elan Soltes, Dan Lopez, Jeremy Jozwik and Changsoo Eun, Encore Hollywood
“Krupp – Eine Deutsche Familie” (Krupp - A German Family)
Thomas Tannenberger, Olcun Tan, Shane Cook and Josiah Howison, Gradient Effects

Outstanding Compositing – Commercial
NBA “Amazing Playoff Moments – Bird Steals the Ball”
Geoff McAuliffe, Jimi Simmons, Sean McLean and Robin Hobart, Brickyard VFX
“The Day the Earth Stood Still - International Landmark Destruction Campaign”
Brady Beaubien and Brandon Peterson, Interlace
Toyota “Ninja Kittens”
Colin Renshaw, Animal Logic

In addition to the categories announced, famed filmmaker, sound designer, visual effects expert and Academy Award winner Ben Burtt will receive the Charles S. Swartz Award, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of post. The award recognizes Mr. Burtt’s important contributions and his powerful artistic impact on the industry. Also on Nov. 12, post production icon Paul Haggar will receive the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Haggar rose through the studio ranks from the Paramount mailroom to apprentice editor and eventually to Executive VP of Post Production for Feature Films, a post he held for over 20 years. The HPA Engineering Excellence Award winners, DVS Digital Video Systems for CLIPSTER, Signiant for Content Distribution Management (CDM) and S.two Corporation for the OB-1 Uncompressed Digital Recorder, will also be recognized at the gala.

Tickets are now available at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. For further details about the Hollywood Post Alliance Awards or to buy tickets, please visit www.hpaawards.net, call 213-614-0860 or write info@hpaawards.net.