ADC Awards

ADC Annual Awards is the oldest continuously running industry award show in the world, with an incredible legacy of over 100 years. These awards celebrate the very best in advertising, digital media, graphic and publication design, packaging and product design, motion, experiential and spatial design, photography, illustration and fashion design – all with a focus on artistry and craftsmanship.

2025 ADC Awards - Motion / Film Craft

Group Session

Agency Studio Mals & Setreset Films

Client OFFF Festival

Category

Craft in Motion / Film / Animation

Annual ID

ADC104_MOT033B

The short film 'Group Session' is about finding your creative spark. It shows puppetry in a refreshing and playful way, with meticulous attention to detail.

Idea
In the film we follow Geoff; a young and creative individual who struggles to figure out, if there’s something wrong with him. This ‘finding your creative self’ issue is a relevant issue among creative students and professionals. It's also the deeper level of this narrative that we told in a playful and positive way to inspire those fellow creatives.

Craft
By choosing handcrafted puppets, sets, and props, we made a serious story lighthearted and playful. The level of detail in script, song, and build emphasizes the theme - finding your creative strengths. The effort, time, and dedication put into producing the project inspires fellow creatives even more.

Relevancy
It's curiosity that ties together the film and the audiences at OFFF Festival (+2000 people) and beyond. Curiosity is a sign that you're still creative, coming up with ideas, and capable of making great things. It's just that sometimes, this curiosity can manifest itself in anxious ways, as happened with Geoff and his intervention of tools.

Considerations
Making a short film was a completely new venture for us. Usually, we do photography, video, and stop-motion animation for commercial clients but on a tabletop scale. We did it all with a super small team, in 3 months time, on zero budget.

2025 Awards

Total Points: 9

Bronze Cube

Credits

Design Firm

Studio Mals & Setreset Films

Composer

Maarten Smeele

Digital Artist

Koen Berkhout
Silas Nout

Director of Photography

Koen Berkhout

Editor

Koen Berkhout

Illustrator

Max Peterse
Silas Nout

Lighting Designer

Koen Berkhout

Producer

Eileen Boeijkens

Sound Designer

Lars van Leeuwen

Behind the scenes

Paula Paduraru

Character Design

Koen Berkhout
Max Peterse
Silas Nout

Color Grading

Koen Berkhout

Eye Animation and Tracking

Koen Berkhout

Lead Puppetmaker

Silas Nout

On set Assistant

Inge Groeneveld
Lotte Cremers
Paula Paduraru

Props Designer

Martin van der Molen

Puppeteer

Koen Berkhout
Martin van der Molen
Silas Nout

Puppetmaker

Anne van den Berg
Eileen Boeijkens
Marlice van den Oord
Paula Paduraru
Silas Nout

Set build assistant

Randy Beker

Set Designer

Martin van der Molen

Song mix

Koen Jansen

Voice Actor

Eddie Contento
Maarten Smeele
Shaun Leyden

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