Crawford People Shine Crawford People Shine Crawford Communications, Inc. was recently honored in several categories at the teleproduction industry's prestigious International Monitor Awards, sponsored by the International Teleproduction Society (ITS). InterMedia, Crawford's interactive design service area, was nominated for Best Web Site for the MGM motion picture "Deceiver". Reid Hall of Crawford m&e (music and effects) and Rob Sanders of Crawford Audio received awards for creative excellence in the area of audio post production.

Hall was honored for his audio post production work on a :30 spot promoting the syndication launch of sitcom "Boy Meets World." His goal was to create a catchy music track utilizing the sounds of a high school environment. With this, and the target audience of 6-19 years olds in mind, Hall incorporated a style that was inspired by the international musical "Stomp." The original music composition was based on an audio storyboard, created by Hall and Producer Bill Keith of resident Crawford client Tribune Creative Services. Hall's assignment was to provide actual sounds and rhythms that would support the overall "feel" of the spot. He began by recording all of the sound effects from scratch, including the ones that would be used as musical sounds. The next step was to create the basic music track, based on the storyboards, which was achieved by beating on everything from high school lockers, to water fountains, to pots and pans.

Sanders received an award for his audio post production work on a two and a half minute non-broadcast video of "Hercules & Xena," also produced by Tribunes' Keith. The video was created for NATPE, the annual conference of television program executives, to sell the show in syndication. Keith worked with Crawford to create a video that showcased the action, energy, and humor of the programs. Because Crawford Audio mixes several "Hercules & Xena" episodic promos each week for Tribune, Sanders and the Crawford team were familiar with the process, and ideas needed to develop the longer form video. They drew heavily on this knowledge and also on an extensive library of effects to sweeten the existing audio tracks, and to enhance the video footage.

Crawford is also busy working on projects for Outdoor Life Network and Turner Private Network. They are developing eye catching network ID's by combining genre specific imagery with 3D animation for Outdoor Life Network's outdoor activity programming. Crawford's objective for their Turner Private Network project was to create an elegant, lighthearted look for CNN Airport Network, through the development of eight new network ID's. Each ID incorporates a flying theme with the use of surrealistic flight related icons: baby angels, flying pigs, kites, paper planes, UFOs, butterflies, snow boarders, even a Flying V guitar.

Other excitement at Crawford Communications includes the appointment of Paul Hansil to the position of Vice President for Strategic Technology. In this capacity, Hansil will monitor technical issues impacting the industry, and ensure that the appropriate long term decisions are made, serving as a staff resource to Crawford's operating managers to assist them with choosing the right hardware and software solutions. Hansil brings more than 25 years of industry experience to his new position. He returns to Crawford after leaving in 1995 to join Accom, a Silicon Valley based manufacturer of digital television equipment, as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Prior to his first stint at Crawford, Hansil was with Ampex Corporation, Abekas Video Systems, and Quantel.