Year in Review Archives · Reel Chicago News

Year in Review

Reel Chicago Post House of 2024: Optimus

By Colin Costello Dec 31, 2024

In the world of Chicago post-production, few names carry as much weight as Optimus. This powerhouse at 161 East Grand has spent decades helping brands, filmmakers, and age...

Year in Review

2024: A year of Bears, breakthroughs and big moves

By Reel Chicago Dec 31, 2024

Whether it was a bear or a donkey, Chicago dominated national headlines in 2024. It was a year where The Bear dominated awards shows and ratings, and the Democratic National C...

Year in Review

Reel Chicago Agency of 2024: Quality Meats

By Colin Costello Dec 31, 2024

What can you say about an agency that is ballsy enough to create a “couch lube” named after incoming Vice-President, J.D. Vance? You say they’ve earned the title of Reel ...

Year in Review

2024 in Review: The year’s best campaigns

By Colin Costello Dec 31, 2024

When it came to creative brilliance, Chicago’s agencies showed the rest of the world how it’s done in 2024. Highdive, BarkleyOKRP, Quality Meats, and other Windy City power...

Year in Review

To those we have lost in 2024

By Reel Chicago Dec 31, 2024

The heart of Chicago’s creative community grew quieter in 2024, as we said goodbye to several cherished members whose work left an enduring impression on the city’s film an...

Year in Review

2024 in Review: The Best Moments in Chicago TV

By Reel Chicago Dec 31, 2024

We watched a lot of TV in 2024. And lucky for you, we were glued to our flat screens taking in a lot of exceptional shows and movies that were filmed and set in The Windy City....

Year in Review

Reel Chicago top 23 stories in 2023

By Reel Chicago Dec 29, 2023

While the news of our favorite TV firemen, cops, doctors, druglords, and chefs may sometimes be our top stories, we are also the news source for our production companies, post ...

Year in Review

To those we have lost in 2023

By Reel Chicago Dec 29, 2023

The vibrant tapestry of Chicago's production community has dimmed once again with the loss of several luminaries during 2023, leaving an indelible mark on the city's rich legac...

Year in Review

Best of Chicago Advertising in 2023

By Colin Costello Dec 29, 2023

The creative struggle -- that ongoing battle to keep great advertising great from inception to production -- is real. Crafting advertising that not only captures attention,...

Year in Review

2022 in Review: To those we have lost

By Barbara Roche Jan 1, 2023

Reel Chicago remembers and celebrates the friends and loved ones of our community who no longer make the journey with us. Some showered us with their creativity. Some made...

Year in Review

2022 in Review: Top stories of the year

By Barbara Roche Jan 1, 2023

Chicago has an impressive amount of talented cast and crew members, techs, and vendors who handle absolutely any production challenge that gets thrown at them. Our most oft...

Year in Review

OUR TOP STORY OF 2022: The day the stories died

By Colin Costello Jan 1, 2023

Colin Costello is our West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Would you believe it if I told you our biggest story of 2022 was about something that couldn’t be found? In late Novem...

Year in Review

The Best of Reel Chicago interviews in 2021

By Barbara Roche Dec 30, 2021

Human beings are social animals. Personal contact and social interaction with others is simply essential. In opposition, Covid created lock downs, quarantines and...

Year in Review

Reel Chicago top 21 stories for 2021

By Barbara Roche Dec 30, 2021

Here are the top 21 stories on Reel Chicago in 2021. There were over 2500 stories between Reel Chicago and our sister publication Reel 360. With a record breaking total of ...

Year in Review

Reel Chicago remembers those who have left us in 2021

By Reel Chicago Dec 29, 2021

Reel Chicago remembers and celebrates the friends and loved ones of our community who no longer make the journey with us. They made us laugh. They made us love. They made u...

Year in Review

The Best of Chicago Advertising in 2021

By Colin Costello Dec 29, 2021

So, here we are at the end of another year. In 2021, we experienced more freedom from the pandemic during the spring and summer as cases lowered, but here we are, back in a kin...

Year in Review

2020 in Review: Anthony Gigante of PRG

By Barbara Roche Jan 25, 2021

Editor’s Note: In 2020, the world changed right before our very eyes. Ad agencies, production companies and post houses were forced to adapt and begin a “new normal”...

Year in Review

Year in Review: Dan Fisher of Bottle Rocket Media

By Barbara L. Roche Jan 18, 2021

Editor’s Note: In 2020, the world changed right before our very eyes. Ad agencies, production companies and post houses were forced to adapt and begin a “new normal” wor...

Year in Review

2020 in Review: Mark Egmon of The Team Companies

By Barbara L. Roche Jan 8, 2021

Editor’s Note: In 2020, the world changed right before our very eyes. Ad agencies, production companies and post houses were forced to adapt and begin a “new normal”...

Year in Review

2020 in Review: Mary Caddy of The Colonie

By Barbara L. Roche Jan 8, 2021

Editor’s Note: In 2020, the world changed right before our very eyes. Ad agencies, production companies and post houses were forced to adapt and begin a “new normal”...