Here Are the Winners of the 2021 Edit Challenge

It’s been over a month since we launched the second edition of the Artgrid & Artlist Edit Challenge, and we are ready to announce the lucky skilled and creative winners who will share $75K worth of filmmaking gear.

A brief recap for those who did not follow the contest (shame on you!). We challenged creators to create the best video they can using Artgrid stock footage and Artlist music. We more than doubled the prize money from last year, and your response has been overwhelming.

After watching more than 1,600 of your submissions, we are ready to announce the 10 winners.

The 3 Contest Categories

The Edit Challenge was divided into 3 categories

1. A fictional brand ad (up to 30 seconds long)
2. A fictional film trailer (up to 90 seconds long)
3. A music video for an Artlist song (no longer than 3.5 minutes)

3 winners will come out from each category, plus a cross-category judges’ favorite video. Our panel of judges included some industry-leading creators:

• Ryan Connolly from FilmRiot
• Video director, editor and VFX artist Cache Bunny
• Film directors and editors Vania Heymann and Gal Muggia – the minds behind award-winning music videos for Coldplay and Dua Lipa and commercials for Apple and Nike
• Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and VFX supervisor John F.K. Parenteau
• Artgrid’s Creative Director Omri Ohana
• Members from the Artlist Creative team

The Prizes

The Edit Challenge sponsors include some of the best gear manufacturers and software developers out there, including Blackmagic Design, Nanlite, Zhiyun, BenQ, RØDE Microphones, Lume Cube, Rhino. Insta360, MZed and Maxon.

Now let’s see the prizes what share of $75K in filmmaking gear the 10 winners will receive:

1st place

• Blackmagic Pocket 4K camera
• Nanlite Full Studio Lighting Kit
• Nanlite full On-the-Go Lighting Kit
• The newly released Zhiyun Weebill 2 gimbal
• A BenQ PD3200U Monitor
• RØDE NTG5 shotgun microphone
• RØDE Boompole
• Rhino RŌV Pro motorized slider + $500 Rhino Store Credit
• Insta 360 ONE X2 Ultimate pocket camera Kit
• Lume Cube Panel Pro RGB light
• 1-Year subscription to leading online education platform for filmmakers MZed Pro
• 1-year subscription to the Artlist Music + SFX plan
• 1-year subscription to the Artgrid Pro plan
• 1-year subscription to Motion Array
• Artlist & Artgrid merch kits

2nd place

• Nanlite Full Studio Lighting Kit
• Nanlite full On-the-Go Lighting Kit
• Zhiyun CRANE 2S gimbal
• BenQ PD3200U Monitor
• RØDE Wireless GO II & 2 Lavalier GO
• Rhino RŌV Pro motorized slider
• DaVinci Resolve Studio
• Insta360 ONE X2 Creator pocket camera Kit
• Lume Cube pocket-sized adjustable bi-color LED light PANEL GO
• 1-Year subscription to MZed Pro
• 1year subscription to the Artgrid Creator plan
• 1-year subscription to the Artlist Music plan
• 1-year subscription to Motion Array
• Artlist & Artgrid merch kits

 

3rd place

• Nanlite Full Studio Lighting Kit
• Nanlite full On-the-Go Lighting Kit
• Zhiyun Smooth-Q3 smartphone gimbal
• BenQ PD3200U Monitor
• RØDE VideoMic NTG shotgun microphone
• Rhino RŌV Pro
• Insta360 GO 2 action camera Selfie Stick Kit
• Lume Cube Panel Mini adjustable bi-color LED light
• 1-Year subscription to MZed Pro
• 1-year subscription to the Artgrid Creator plan
• 1-year subscription to the Artlist Music plan
• 1-year subscription to Motion Array
• Artlist & Artgrid merch kits

 

Judges’ favorite

• Nanlite Full Studio Lighting Kit
• Nanlite full On-the-Go Lighting Kit
• Zhiyun CRANE 2S
• BenQ PD3200U Monitor
• RØDE VideoMic Pro+ compact directional on-camera microphone
• RØDE Wireless GO II microphone
• Rhino RŌV Pro
• Lume Cube Bluetooth controlled RGB Panel Pro Light Shaping Kit
• Insta360 ONE X2 Creator pocket camera Kit
• 1-year subscription to Maxon
• 1-Year subscription to MZed Pro
• 1-year subscription to the Artgrid Creator plan
• 1-year subscription to the Artlist Music plan
• 1-year subscription to Motion Array
• Artlist & Artgrid merch kits

Before we get to the winners, we have to say that this year’s competition was very tough to judge and came down to a difference of a few points, which is a testament to the quality of your filmmaking skills.

The Brand Ad category

Because the contest was so tight we have to give a shoutout to the videos that came really close to a podium finish and will receive Artlist & Artgrid merch kits.

Here are the honorable mentions:

“Café au Ray” by RayRay Media

“Dream Big” by Noel Fenez

Check out Noel’s Instagram timeline here:

 

3rd place

“Inquire” by Etienne Portas

With a simple yet clever concept, this ad for a fictional insurance company by the London-based video creator has the look and feel of an official ad. ANBR’s gentle piece for piano and strings Little Things beautifully sets a hopeful mood, the sound design adds depth, the voiceover is expertly done and the text and footage come together to tie in the different vignettes into a complete story.

Etienne also shared his ad timeline on IG, which you can see here.

2nd place

“JITL” by Vasily Zhitlov

With a powerful electronic track (Hit n’ Run by Lalinea), dynamic editing and a great mix of expert After Effects work with classic animation, this ad perfectly captures the urban feel and serves as a great example of the range and flexibility stock footage gives you.

Vasily’s IG timeline here.

Now for the big winner in the Brand Ad category:

1st place

“The Hermit” by Simon Meyer

One of the most important traits of a good ad is its memorability, and this ad for a fictional blender sure stands out from all the entries we received. The Berlin-based video creator uses fine compositing and clever sound design to turn an epic Artgrid story into a hilarious Super Bowl-looking commercial.

Simon also shared his timeline on IG.

The Movie Trailer Category

The honorable mentions in this category include 2 winners from last year:

“The Anomaly” by Matt Sears

Watch Matt’s trailer The Gate that finished 2nd last year.

“From Sarah” by François Wessels

Watch François’ trailer The Conservatoire that finished as the Judges’ favorite last year.

3rd place

“Nimoy and the Mystery of Killing House” by Paul Hanna

When you go retro, it’s important to adapt all the aspects of your video – visual and auditory – to the style of the period you’re referring to, and Paul Hanna does it expertly. It starts with the nasal voiceover, archaic phrases and subtle white noise in the background and ends with the black and white style, transitions and font titles.

Considering all this, we would be schnooks not to place this video as one of our winners.

Paul Hanna’s IG timeline:

2nd place

“The Good for Somethings” by Tyler Cherman

Here’s another example of the flexibility you get with stock footage…everyone can be anyone. In this Guy Ritchie-style trailer with touches of Tarantino by Tyler Cherman, 2 guys talking about “getting the crew back together” for a job. Very clever use of the footage, funny voiceover, great pace and a cool soundtrack make this a very entertaining trailer.

See Tyler’s IG timeline here.

1st place

“Alice” by Kristopher Mac

Out of all the movie trailer entries, “Alice” has the most intriguing premise. A woman who lives each day as a different person. The editing is fast and loopy, which fits nicely the story, the voiceover is compelling as it is seductive. And it seals nicely with the tag line: “Live life like there’s more tomorrow.”

So congrats, Kristopher! We’re waiting for the feature.

The Music Category

Honorable mentions:

Ivan Mask for “Yeah That’s Me” by Frank Bentley

Tomáš Bucher for “How to Convert PDF to JPG” by Umlala

3rd place

“Black Skies” by Yali Blank by Bruno Taniguchi

Like many music videos these days, Bruno Taniguchi’s is framed as a short film called GROWTH. A young boy playing with a toy spaceship in his space-themed room and as he suits up his spacesuit we are transferred to a grown-up astronaut wandering around a desert. The dark electropop song perfectly fits the imagery and adds an ominous and epic feeling to the video, and the added blurriness to the grown-up astronaut footage gives the whole video a dreamy feeling, suggesting he is not on Earth.

Bruno’s IG timeline here.

2nd place

“Mini Me” by WEARETHEGOOD by Erick Solis

So apparently not only will the revolution be televised, but it will include dancing! Expertly juxtaposing footage of a demonstration with cool people dancing, Erick Solis crafts a music video with plenty of intensity and fun. And focusing on several characters in the protest gives this video storytelling depth.

1st place

“Hope I Feel Better” by Teo Laza by Jan Retz

This video shows how you can build a complete story with masterful editing. Constructed as a story within a story, we see a photographer looking at film in his dark room, remembering a love triangle he was involved in 10 years earlier. With his editing skills, Jan manages to tell a very rich and compelling story with an excellent pace that perfectly flows with the melancholic pop-rap song.

See Jan Retz’s IG timeline here.

Judges’ Favorite

“Viral” by Peter Miller (Movie trailer)

The premise of a viral TikTok that kills people is a movie waiting to be made, and Peter Miller beat everyone to it, at least trailer-wise. The fast editing style, fine sound design and soundtrack that turns from an intense orchestral piece to dark electronic beats give the video great pace and suspense.

 

Congrats to all the winners! Hope you will put your prizes to good use. We already can’t wait to see next year’s challenge, stay creative!