By Trent Rentsch
I knew I was in trouble from the first entry I received. When I dreamed up this “Adopt an Audio Orphan” contest, I honestly didn’t think anyone would take it seriously. To my surprise (and panic) every contestant did. The entries were all wildly Creative in one way or another, and no two were exactly alike, which one hopes for in a Creative contest… until one realizes that he’s made himself the sole judge of said contest. And THEN, there was the fact that… well, we’ll get into that. The bottom line was that I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to be the one to be judge and jury… nor should I be.
I shared my concerns with Jerry. I suppose I approached it as wanting someone to commiserate with, when what I really wanted was someone to offer an escape hatch from this trap I had Created for myself. Luckily, he had a solution. It seems that he’s assembled a top secret group of Uber-Creatives, who he could call upon to review the entries and choose their favorites. I don’t know their names, but I’m told that they’re a pretty sharp, Creative assembly… think the Spanish Inquisition with high-end monitors. Honestly, as badly as I wanted to pass the buck on judging, I would’ve accepted the Keystone Cops with transistor radio speakers, so I agreed to throw the entries to the wolves.
They came, they listened, they cast their vote. But before I share the results with you, I thought it would be interesting to share some of their comments…
None of them made me think “I wish I had thought about/made that”, so I´ll have to go with a blank vote on this one. Maybe I´m setting the bar too high, maybe it´s the European in me, or maybe Trent just came up with an extremely different task :) That said I love the fact that you do competitions like this one, and I definitely would have entered myself had I been able to find the time, so I hope there will be plenty more.
This was a tough one: one piece was far superior (to my ears) in terms of production values and entertainment value but it didn’t have any place on a radio station, as far as I could figure out. So I had to go for one that might actually be used. It was a great idea for a contest!
Wow – Hard to wrap my head around this assignment! I had to listen to the 3 sounds to figure out what was going on. I chose my entry because I like how the effects are woven into the bed.
Some really good and creative entries there! There were 3 that I really liked, but narrowed it down to...
And so, the judges have spoken and their decision is final. I do have a few final words before I announce the winner, however. First, I would like to thank those of you who entered this first run at this contest. Your entries were thoughtful, witty, well-produced and VERY Creative! It takes a special kind of bravery to be the first to jump into a brand-new challenge, and I’m grateful that so many of you were willing to give it a go. I’d also like to thank Jerry to not only agreeing to host the contest, but for drumming up some fun prizes (trust me… my CD is not exactly what I’d call a “major award”). He’s even talking about making this an annual event in the magazine, so those of you who thought about entering and never got around to it this year will still have your chance. And of course, I’d like to thank the judges… because without them, I would have really been in a dodgy situation.
So why was I back-peddling on judging this contest? It’s because that first entry came from a friend… in fact, not just a friend, a friend I work with every day. And it was good… really good. I was grateful that he entered… but I also wanted to give everyone an equal chance. So, let the faceless (but well-qualified) Judges make the call. And that call was…
The first entry, Created by Chadd Pierce. Congratulations, Buddy… you took the parts and twisted them into something Creatively twisted, as only you can. Your talent continues to humble me.
As for the rest of you who entered, you may not have taken the top prize, but be proud of your entries… I am. You managed to Create great work out of odds and ends most producers would take a pass on. And that is REAL Creative!
♦
Trent Creates words, voices, audio and music. His professional home is Krash Creative Solutions. You can contact him at:
