The Colonies three partners - creative editors Brian Sepanik and Bob Ackerman and executive producer Mary Caddy - shared commitment to a talent-driven approach to growing their business model has served it well.
A complement of skill sets, aesthetic sensibilities, and a passion for experimenting and pushing boundaries sets the company's editors, assistant editors, graphic designers, visual effects artists - and even its interns - sets the full-service boutique apart from the crowd. Recent wins by The Colonies team at the AICE 14th Annual AICE Camp Kuleshov Competition, and The Midwest Independent Film Festivals seventh annual Advertising Community Shorts Festival, attest to the company's collective keen eye for talent.
Assistant visual FX artist Ben Pokorny was awarded top honors at AICE Chicago's Camp Kuleshov Design' competition for his graphics-driven title sequence for Terry Gilliam's dystopian fantasy, Brazil.' The guidelines for the contest were to select a film from a list of ten titles and, using only footage from the movie, and original graphics that they designed, create an intro title sequence that fits its feel and style.
I hadn't seen Brazil' before so I decided to give it a watch, says Pokorny. I loved the style of the film; I loved the style of the technology, and thought it would be incredibly fun to adapt that to a title sequence. My main goal was to the keep the feel of the hectic automated world depicted in the film while integrating the credits into the mix of malfunctioning technology and paperwork.
Pokorny took footage from the movie and modified it, using both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effect to create a series of work order forms titled Department of Information.' The documents matched the look and style of the forms used in the film, with the addition of a film credit on the name' line of each one. The sequence of paperwork with the movie's credits flows seamlessly into a scene from the film that opens with a similar looking business form being put on a clipboard by a worker and stamped.
A graduate of Columbia College, Chicago where he studied computer animation, Ben Pokorny joined The Colonie as an assistant editor in 2012. He made the move to his current position as assistant to visual FX artist, Tom Dernulc, early this year, building on his training and bringing an editor's eye to his new role. His recent work includes a spot for Nintendo Super Smash Bros. 3DS for Leo Burnett.
Camp Kuleshov Trailer Competition challenged assistant editors to select one of 27 films and cut a 90-second trailer that promotes it as a picture of a different genre. First Runner-Up went to assistant editor Jimmy Helm of The Colonie for Maniac.' Helm chose the film Tootsie' and skillfully crafted a trailer that twisted Dustin Hoffman's affable comedic character into a foreboding diabolical threat.
--
As with any project, I started by watching all of the footage. However, my focus was on catching anything that could be bent to support a foreboding storyline. I then began to assemble a substantial amount of material to build a story with a dark twist, says Helm. There's a lot of latitude with a trailer - the story needs to be solid but not complicated, as long as it leaves the audience in a state of anticipation.
I found the necessary plot points and added ominous sound elements to set the dark tone. Punctuating the story with a series of title cards helped steadily build tension that heightened and held until the last frame, which revealed the title and release date - Halloween 2015, says Helm. I cut Maniac over a 16-hour period and by the time I watched the final edit I'm proud to say that I had thoroughly creeped myself out.
Helm grew up in Nashville and discovered a passion for film - as well as Blockbuster's classic section - while still in middle school. He spent his time studying the greats - Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Stanley Kubrick - and trying to mimic the camera and editing techniques with his dad's video camera. A filmmaking major at Columbia College, Chicago, Jimmy Helm applied for an internship at The Colonie in 2010. Six months later he was offered a full-time position as an assistant editor, and began working alongside veteran cutter Tom Pastorelle. Since joining the company hes worked on a variety of commercials, including McDonald's, Kellogg's, Centrum Silver, and Kay Jewelers.
The Colonie remains just as discerning when it comes to accepting applicants for internships. Michael Dowdle, currently an intern at the company, won top Editorial' honors at Camp Kuleshov's Tent City Competition for Devil's Due,' a horror movie take on the film Dare Devil. Another intern at The Colonie, Brandon Danziger, followed him, as first runner-up, in the Editorial' competition with his intro, entitled 8 Horrible Bosses.'
While The Colonie is best known for its work in the commercial arena, its talent is also tapped for a mix of emerging media, digital content and film projects. This year's Midwest Independent Film Festivals Seventh Annual Advertising Community Shorts Night, received more than 250 submissions from the commercial community. The short film Happy Hour, directed by Martin Rodahl, owner of the commercial production company, 71 Degrees North, and cut by Brian Sepanik, creative editor and partner at The Colonie, took 2nd place at the prestigious event. The 15-minute short spans 30-years, weaving together present day scenes with flashbacks to the seminal childhood incident.
As The Colonie continues to evolve and grow our mission remains the same: To provide a supportive, flexible, creative environment for a diverse mix of fresh, inspired talent - and clients looking for a creative partner that consistently delivers co
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
14/06/2026
Library captures 1960s R&B/pop drum sound
Following on from their recent wave of plug-in effects, Iconic Instruments have just launched an all-new virtual d...
14/06/2026
HBO Comedy Rooster Shot with URSA Cine 17K 65
Brie Clayton June 14, 2026
0 Comments
Large format brings viewers intimately close to characters.
Black...
13/06/2026
Latest expansion pack includes 252 presets
Devious Machines have recently introduced another expansion for their powerful multi-effects plug-in, Infiltrator...
13/06/2026
Create custom DAW/plug-in controllers using prompts
MetaGrid have recently introduced an all-new AI Builder function to their touchscreen-based control surf...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production, Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it has given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what o...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
The Colonies three partners - creative editors Brian Sepanik and Bob Ackerman and executive producer Mary Caddy - shared commitment to a talent-driven approach to growing their business model has served it well. 
