HUX Alum's Video "Checks and Balances" Wins Awards

Source: Grand Marquee Productions press release

June 1, 2005, Maui, HAWAII - Grand Marquee Productions is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded recognition by the judges of the 26th Annual Telly Awards. The video "Checks and Imbalances" by HUX Graduate Marcus Grandon with soundtrack by the band Fire Temple was awarded 3 Bronze Telly Awards in separate categories. (Go here to view the video).

"It is a tremendous honor to have been selected by the judges as a winner of the Bronze Tellys", said Grandon. "We are extremely delighted to have won such an esteemed award. We continually
strive to learn as much as possible so that we can produce video to the best of our ability. That we won 3 certainly goes a long way in revealing to us that we are on the right path."

The Telly awards is the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions. The Telly Awards annually showcases the best work of the most respected advertising agencies, productions companies, television stations, cable operator and corporate video departments in the world. It is a highly known and respected national and international competition and each year receives over 10,000 entries from more than 30 countries. Entries do not compete directly against each other. Rather, they compete against a high standard of excellence. When you consider that entrants submit only their very best work as well as the extremely high number of entrants, earning a Telly Award is a significant creative achievement. Historically, the Bronze Telly Award winners represent the top 20% of entrants. It is a tremendous accomplishment to be selected for recognition.

The winning video first received recognition when it was entered in the Makenna Video Contest in Maui, Hawaii where it was given a prize. The contest was an environmental contest to protest further development of luxury hotels by Japans Seibu Corporation on the last remaining pristine coastline of Maui. The video contrasts the natural beauty of Maui with the stark cityscapes of modern day Japan backed up by the musical track Towers of Babble by the indy band Fire Temple. It was interesting for me because at the screening in Maui, I sat anonymously in the audience and noticed that the crowd had audible reactions - - there were laughs at some places and gasps of horror in others. It was then that I realized that the piece had real impact Grandon revealed.

As part of the prize for the winning entry in the Makenna video contest, Grandon studied video production in the education program at AKAKU TV and became a producer there. Encouraged by the AKAKU staff, his video was submitted to the Tellys. Separate Bronze Tellys were awarded to him for both creative and technical aspects of the video.

Grandon Graduated from California State University, Dominguez Hills with an MA in Humanities. He is founder of the multi-media production company, Grand Marquee Productions. Grandon splits his time between Maui and Japan where he is adjunct professor at Shizuoka National University, Tokai University, and Nihon University. Additionally, Mr. Grandon is a noted shakuhachi (bamboo flute) recording artist with a Certificate of Mastery from Kyotos Myoan Zen Temple as well as a writer of numerous books and publications. In 2005 he was selected to appear in the prestigious Marquis publication Whos Who in the World as an artist and educator.

In addition to a wide variety of projects, Mr. Grandon is currently working as part of a team of artists with the Icelandic artist Bjork on a soundtrack for a film slated for release in Japan this July. Also, he is working on a textbook that incorporates video with learning English.

Grand Marquee Productions can be found on the net at www.grandmarquee.net

Contact Marcus Grandon via skype at marcusgrandon or e-mail at marcusgrandon@mac.com

For more info see www.tellyawards.com