Since early spring I’ve been editing videos for the Illinois Environmental Council about companies that promote conservation around the state. Here is the latest one, which profiles the eco-religious organization Faith in Place. I love the church sign about texting & driving!

Chicago Montage from Ali on Vimeo.

In honor of our first real day of spring, here’s a quick montage of the City. I used found footage from the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau and re-edited it as part of an in-house demo reel for SCREEN, theWit hotel’s private luxury screening room.

I edited this promo for Emerald City Theatre’s current production of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! It was my first-ever opportunity to do a “follow the bouncing ball” effect for lyrics in Motion (starts at 2:05). It’ll take shock treatment to get the “Responsibility” song out of my head, but we can all use a few manners reminders now & then . . .

Here is a fun project from last summer/fall that I made with my friends Jack (Short Vision) and Aemilia (Your Civic Doody). We all wrote it & improvised it, shot it at Aemilia’s place in Wicker Park, and then I went home and got crazy with Motion, P90x commercials and 1920′s abstract cinema. You’ll see.

Vote us up at Funny or Die if you like. We’re also up on Atom.com where play counts can apparently get us some sort of prize. Woot.

I’m currently planning a wedding (mine, incidentally).  So editing this Witisode was my chance to pack in all the information I know a bride wants. For a bride-to-be, no detail is extraneous. Last year I may have cut the details about capacity based on seating arrangement. This year I wake up at night thinking about capacity and seating arrangements. It stays in the video. While we’re not getting married at theWit, I must say it looks like an absolute blast and it’s 100% one-stop shopping. Must find another excuse to throw a party.

Here is a video I edited for Emerald City Theater Company, to promote their summer camp for kids. The interview selects and their order had already been determined when I got the project, so my task here was just to go through hours of b-roll and add cutaways as well as the graphics package. I also chose to add some small intervals of student performances.

The funny thing is, I used to teach at this camp myself! Total coincidence. So I really had fun picking the footage that best showcases what Emerald City’s teaching style is all about.

This is part 1 of our December ‘Witisode’ for theWit Hotel, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the Joffrey Ballet’s Nutcracker rehearsals, the Jim Henson and Christmas Tree exhibits at the Museum of Science and Industry, and a visit at Macy’s on State Street with the cast of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (yes, they sang and danced for us).

The Twenty-Second Coming [48HFP, Chicago 2010] from Ali on Vimeo.

Two weekends ago I edited a video as part of the Chicago 48 Hour Film Project, and our team’s entry has been selected to appear in tonight’s “Best of the Best” awards show at Lincoln Hall. Details here.  Our team is “The Guacamole Conspiracy.”

UPDATE: All of the films were great! Ours won the Audience Award for our particular screening group. Watch above.

Here’s the latest Witisode I directed & edited for the Wit Hotel.  Features local dance/cover band Your Villain My Hero.