About Us

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Our Philosophy • Rave Reviews • Our "Pedigrees" • AWARDS

Why would experienced filmmakers and television professionals want to make TV commercials?  It's fun!  As prominent advertising theorist Marshall McLuhan once said, "Advertising is the greatest art form of the twentieth century." This grows even more true as we move through the New Millennium. TV commercials have always been one of the most creative arenas for film and TV professionals, but that creativity used to be reserved only for the "Big Guys." UNTIL NOW. Get Hollywood-style creativity for your local, regional, or national TV spot!

contact us for a no-pressure discussion of your TV advertising project.

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Production Options

Our Philosophy

We believe that TV commercial spots are far and away the most effective advertising medium for small, local, medium sized, and start-up businesses. Statistics back us up. The average American household now watches over 8 hours of television per day, up from previous years, according to the most recent Neilsen Media Research.

We've knocked down the biggest barrier for small and new businesses who desire to advertise on television - the cost of a high-quality TV spot. How? With our economical, affordable, superior quality TV spots.

From the president of a business opportunity venture:

"First of all, please allow me to express my deepest thanks for a job beyond well done. I was so amazed at the level of talent and professionalism that I could hardly find adequate words of expression. I immediately called everyone in for an emergency meeting to view this work of art. I know I've already said thanks, but somehow it seems insufficient. Yes, I did pay for the work to be done, but the level of thought and concern invested in this project appears not to be solely my own. Somehow the team appears grafted in the mix and this symbiotic venture has taken on a life of its own."

From the president of a national crafts company:

"GREAT! Absolutely GREAT! We are so thrilled. [...] You guys are so wonderful. We can't wait to see how the consumer embraces the product. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

From the president of a local drapery and decor chain:

"Doug just brought the commercial over, and everybody's been watching it, and we are so pleased!  We're ecstatic -- you did a wonderful, a superb, job.  I couldn't wait to just call you to tell you just how pleased we all are,  and thank you, thank you very much.  Have a great weekend. Bye."

From a top-producing real estate agent at an independently owned real estate franchise:

"I'm impressed.  Thank you for your professionalism and for all the time you have been giving us with the commercial.  You certainly are giving us more than expected.  I'm very happy with the results and everyone who has seen the tape so far loves it."

From the owner of a new concept fast-food delivery restaurant:

"I never thought a small start up business like CHOW NOW! could have a commercial made at such a reasonable price that makes us look like a big company.  I like the fact that you put it together in no time at all. In a 30 second commercial, you managed to get our point across that was funny, imaginative, and productive. I now believe commercials have a strong impact in building my brand and legitimizing who we are and what we do."

Our "Pedigrees"

Academy Leader, Inc. is an international advertising and media company, with production in Florida, Texas, Oregon and California. Academy Leader, Inc. is a multifaceted media company that spans broadcast, cable, video, motion picture, and internet venues. "Cheap TV Spots®" is a service of Academy Leader, Inc.

See a list of our TV Production AWARDS.

ANN M. CLARK:   President/Executive Producer

Ms. Clark is president of Academy Leader, Inc., and Executive Producer for Cheap TV Spots®. Ms. Clark has an extensive background in communications, marketing, and media, encompassing over 16 years in the high-tech and broadcast industries. During her career in the San Francisco Bay Area, the heart of Silicon Valley, Ms. Clark has created and produced a wide variety of media for broadcast, video, print, and the Internet, and was one of the original employees at Netscape Communications (now AOL). Ms. Clark worked closely with Emmy Award winning Director Dorothy Fadiman to develop new segments for Ms. Fadiman's community outreach web site. Ms. Clark's contributions to the Subaru.com web site and the national debut web site of the phenomenal Subaru WRX helped earn these web sites numerous awards.

Ms. Clark has worked extensively in studio and on-location productions, starting as a camera operator and editor at Silicon Graphics ("birthplace" of the JURASSIC PARK dinosaurs), then working in audio, camera, and control room for live broadcasts of seasonal events presented by PBS affiliate KTEH. She went on to write, direct, produce, and edit the 1/2-hour dramatic show, EMPIRE RADIO THEATRE™.

Ms. Clark is a classically trained musician and professional voiceover artist. She is one of just a handful of women who took the challenge to prove that yes, Virginia, women can edit.  She's qualified on Avid, Media 100, and Final Cut Pro non-linear digital editing systems, and has been known to perform magical editing feats that have baffled the experts. Ms. Clark has even been at the helm of a national, 1/2-hour automotive-themed television program, part of a slate of high-energy television productions for broadcast and cable.

Ms. Clark holds a B.A. in Mass Communications from California State University and an A.A. in Film. In 2002, Ms. Clark won the prestigious Silver Award at the Houston International Film Festival, the Videographer Awards Award of Distinction, and Winner of the Aegis Award, for her work in advertising and video production. Her achievements in 2003 include the Videographer Awards Award of Distinction, and she is both a Finalist and Winner of Aegis Awards for TV commercial productions.

In 2004 her productions took the Communicator Awards Award of Excellence, Award of Distinction, not to mention Honorable Mention.  Also for 2004, she is a Platinum Best of Show winner at the 2004 Aurora Awards.  Ms. Clark's producing prowess was also recognized by the prestigious Telly Awards, honoring her work with a Winner and two Finalist statuettes.

In 2005, Ms. Clark was honored with numerous awards: the Telly Award, Communicator Award, the Summit Creative Award, the Remi from Worldfest Houston, and the Crystal Vision Award.

Ms. Clark has continued to garner TV production, campaign, and marketing awards from many prestigious international competitions.

Ms. Clark is president and founder of Academy Leader, Inc.

JEFFREY HILTON:   Founder

Jeffrey Hilton is a producer, creative executive, and entrepreneur who works within the two worlds of Hollywood and Silicon Valley. He is that rare individual who holds the minutia of the motion picture industry in his head -- from the creative and technical aspects, legal caveats, and financial details to the mechanisms that return revenues to their rightful participants. He is renowned for his rigorous risk management techniques. Hilton recently lectured on "New Approaches in Completing the Business Model" to the venture capital and film communities in Palo Alto, California. His lecture demonstrated the methods necessary to orchestrate myriad technical and creative elements in our environment of great economic and political change. His highly regarded opinions have been featured in publications such as The Business Journal and MicroTimes.

Hilton builds value for entertainment and high-tech clients by merging talents, relationships and technologies in innovative ways. Respected for his visionary analysis, he contributes to white papers on the burgeoning fields of digital motion picture exhibition and internet advertising methodologies.

Hilton's intuitive sense of what the audience wants to see is impeccable. He encouraged a pre-Saturday Night Live Jon Lovitz to persevere after his part was cut from a Showtime comedy special. Hilton's marketing instincts, too, are cutting edge. He championed the concept of a tornado-chaser story to Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment, which later produced the hit movie "TWISTER" ($400 million at the box office). Anticipating big box office for a then-unknown and unreleased film, he urged its producer to double the "P&A" (prints and advertising) budget. Shortly afterward that film, "FORREST GUMP," went on to gross over $329 million in domestic box office. Hilton has been featured on ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, HARD COPY and the NBC EVENING NEWS. His achievements include a Cable Ace Award nomination, a number of Best-Of-Show awards, and numerous accolades for the feature-length parody, "A MAN CALLED...RAINBO," (starring SYLVESTER STALLONE) for which he received two Silver Awards and a "Thumbs Up" on the popular film critique show, "SNEAK PREVIEWS."

Hilton's creative associates include Writer/Producer Sam Hamm (BATMAN I & II) and Cannes FIFA winner Writer/Director David Alan Casci, noted in the Encyclopedia Britannica Yearbook for winning the most awards for a single film. Hilton is founder of Academy Leader, Inc.

DAVID ALAN CASCI :   Founder

Respected by peers as a master storyteller and filmmaker, Writer/Director David Alan Casci has garnered over 85 awards worldwide. He has been named in the Encyclopaedia Britannica Yearbook as creator of the most award-winning independent film of all time. Using cutting-edge computer technology in concert with solid filmmaking technique, Casci has devised groundbreaking methods to stretch modest budgets to achieve a big-budget look.

Casci is tech savvy, and as Information Architect to Internet advertising companies in New York, has also won awards in that arena. He is an innovator in digital film production, distribution and exhibition. Casci is partnered with Writer/Producer Sam Hamm (BATMAN I & II) on film and TV projects. He has authored a number of feature screenplays, among them "Library Days," for Disney Studios, "Tom, Dick and Harry," for Paramount, "The Pagemaster," starring MACAULAY CULKIN and CHRISTOPHER LLOYD for 20th Century Fox, "Severed Ties," for Columbia/Tristar, "Toady," for Turner Pictures, and the two features"Remote" and "Threads" for Universal Studios. Casci is founder of Academy Leader, Inc.

Below is a partial list of his writing/directing awards:

• Silver Cup, CANNES FIFA

• The CINE Eagle

• Silver Award, HOUSTON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• Best of Festival, CHRISTCHURCH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• The NISSAN FOCUS Award

• BEST by Audience Vote at FILMEX

• The Silver Hugo at the CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• Main Prize, OBERHAUSEN FILM COMPETITION

• The Gold Award, FESTIVAL of the AMERICAS

• BEST of Festival, MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL

• First Prize, VICTORIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• BEST Film, INTERNATIONAL CINEMA FESTIVAL of SALERNO

• Best Film, INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL of WATTRELOS

• Gold Medal, VELDEN FILMFESTIVAL of the NATIONS

• BEST Film, CANADIAN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• BEST Film, LONDON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• BEST ENTRY from North America LONDON INTERNATIONAL

• BEST of Show, UNREEL VII

• Foreign Minister's Prize HIROSHIMA INTERNATIONAL

• First Prize, PALO ALTO FILM FESTIVAL

• First Place, NEVADA FILM FESTIVAL

• First Prize, CINEMAGIC FILM SEARCH

• Silver Award, INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL of BILBAO

• BEST Film, NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• BEST Production, SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• Top Film of the Festival, BADALONA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• Gold Medal, MARBURG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

• GRAND Prize, WORLD FESTIVAL of INDEPENDENT CINEMA, BELGIUM

• Silver Award, INTERNATIONAL FILM and TV FESTIVAL of NEW YORK

• Special Prize, INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL of IGUALADA

• First Place, KINETIC IMAGE FILM FESTIVAL

• Special invitation, KORTFILMFESTIVALEN, NORWAY

• Special invitation, SAN FRANCISCO INT. FILM FESTIVAL SHOWCASE

• Special invitation, BELGRADE INT. FESTIVAL of AWARDED FILMS

• Special invitation, MUSEUM of MODERN ART CARACAS VENEZUELA

• Special invitation, PIA FILM FESTIVAL of JAPAN

REMI L. WRONA:   Advisor, Global Trade Development

Mr. Wrona is advisor to Academy Leader, Inc., in matters of international business development and trade issues. He is a consultant to U.S. based companies and governmental agencies on methods of initiating business overseas, and he also advises foreign businesses and government entities in how to best approach the US marketplace.

Among his many achievements in the field of international trade, Mr. Wrona is a Founding Board Member of the World Trade Center of St. Louis, MO.  Mr. Wrona's many years of trade experience and world travel have given him a uniquely broad perspective on the subject of world trade. He has been advisor to the U.S. Dept. of State, the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, and the U.S. Trade Representative, and has commanded his own successful joint ventures in the People's Republic of China, the former U.S.S.R., Western Europe, and Canada. Mr. Wrona is a former faculty member of the Institute of International Business, Graduate School of Business and Administration, St. Louis University.

Mr. Wrona's perspective and over 25 years of practical experience, combined with his ability to communicate methods, techniques, and international trade strategies have contributed to both domestic and international economic growth.

He has accomplished this by working to create a cooperative environment conducive to international trade and investment throughout local business, labor, academia, and government.

• Recipient of President's E Star Award for Outstanding Exports
  presented at the White House by President Ronald Reagan

• Proficiency in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian languages

• Extensive travel and business/government contacts worldwide

Mr. Wrona is available for private consultation to clients of Academy Leader, Inc. who wish to take advantage of global business opportunities through export, joint venture, intellectual property exchange, or foreign sourcing.

contact us for a no-pressure discussion of your TV advertising project.

Business Hours: 8am-6pm PT Monday through Friday

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