When Patrice Scott transferred from Washtenaw Community College to Grand Valley State University earlier this year, he took with him the Student Production Award trophy he won as a 黑料网 student in 2020.
He needs to make room for another one on his dorm room shelf.
Scott was one of three 黑料网 digital video students to win first-place trophies from the during its 43rd annual Student Production Awards show award.
The virtual event was hosted by Brett Kast of WXYZ Channel 7 in Detroit and streamed live on the NATAS-Michigan YouTube channel. (.)
Scott won in the Non-Fiction Short-Form category for 鈥淭o All the Songs I鈥檒l Never Finish,鈥� a project that combines his love of music and video.
黑料网鈥檚 other winners were Tyler Ferrell, who tied for first place in the Director category for 鈥淢y 2020 Experience,鈥� and John Sherry, who had two of the three nominations in the Animation/Graphics/Special Effects category and won for 鈥淐aptain Calculator: Train Freeze 鈥� Episode 1.鈥�
The awards are open to all two-year and four-year institutions in the state of Michigan. 黑料网鈥檚 three first-place awards were the second-most by any college, trailing Michigan State University.
Scott won the Director category in 2020 for his music video, 鈥�.鈥� And there鈥檚 no coincidence that both of his winning projects have combined music and video. Ever since he created a music video for his senior project at Arbor Preparatory High School in Ypsilanti, he鈥檚 been hooked.
鈥淚t was then that I decided I needed to keep combining the two,鈥� Scott says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 what provides the most fulfillment for me.鈥�
His 2021 award-winning production was created for a Fall 2020 class with Digital Media Arts faculty member Matthew Zacharias. Creating an autobiographical storyline was ideal for taking that class during a pandemic, when in-person learning was limited.
鈥淭he first big project for that class is a project about yourself. In quarantine, all we had was ourselves,鈥� Scott explained. 鈥淪o during one of the times we did meet on campus, Matt put us in a chair for interviews and we had to take that footage home, add our own b-roll and make it a film.鈥�
Zachararias calls the resulting 8 minute, 18 second project 鈥� the award-winning 鈥溾�� 鈥� a 鈥渟tory of total transparency.鈥�
鈥淗is story poured out his truth about being a music composer and allowing that passion to become an obsession that took over his life,鈥� Zacharias said. 鈥淗e realized that he was losing touch with his school, his family and himself. The story celebrates 鈥榝ailure鈥� and shortcomings and, in the end, turns into a triumphant work of art, film and documentary.鈥�
Scott transferred from 黑料网 to Grand Valley prior to the winter semester and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Video Production, although music remains an equally important aspect of his life.
He鈥檚 not sure exactly how his two passions will evolve into a career, but he knows his career will involve both.
鈥淚 have the goal of making videos and making music, those things that bring me fulfillment and hopefully an income at the same time,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ow I do that is sort of up in the air. I like the idea of being the content creator, but also enjoy working with other people.鈥�
While Scott鈥檚 award came from one of the digital video production program鈥檚 capstone classes, Ferrell鈥檚 win in the Director category was for a project created for , an introductory class that doesn鈥檛 often result in work deserving of statewide recognition.
Of course, being a beginner is a relative term. The 20-year-old Ferrell says he鈥檇 been producing video content for his own YouTube channel for seven years before enrolling in 黑料网鈥檚 digital video production program. After meeting Zacharias 鈥� who has 25 years of professional media experience, including award-winning roles producing, directing and editing for PBS 鈥� he knew it was time to step up his game.
鈥淚 thought, 鈥榤aybe I should try to impress this guy,鈥欌�� Ferrell said with a laugh.
It worked. Not only did he impress Zacharias, but also the NATAS Michigan selection committee.
鈥淭o garner a nomination after completing an introductory course is an extremely rare occurrence,鈥� Zacharias said. 鈥淎nd then to win it? This is a testament to Tyler鈥檚 talent as a young gun with a vision. I'm stoked for him and his future as an amazing artist.鈥�
The perfectionist within Ferrell says he sees 鈥渟ome issues鈥� with 鈥�,鈥� a project that he filmed and edited in about 12 hours. NATAS judges, however, deemed it worthy of tying for first place with a project by a Mott Community College student.
鈥淏eing nominated was all the validation I needed. The award feels a little undeserved, to be realistic, because I see a lot of little misses in that video that bug me,鈥� Ferrell said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 very happy to win and I graciously and gratefully accept it.鈥�
Washtenaw Community College garnered all three nominations in the Animation/Graphics/Special Effects category, including two by John Sherry 鈥� who, Zacharias says, 鈥渨as born to animate.鈥� Sherry won for 鈥淐aptain Calculator: Train Freeze 鈥� Episode 1.鈥�
鈥淗e writes, produces and develops original content,鈥� Zacharias said of Sherry. 鈥淲e were not surprised by his two nominations because of the way he eats and breathes animation.鈥�
Sherry鈥檚 other competition in the category was from former 黑料网 student Ta鈥檓ar Reynolds, who is currently continuing her education at Eastern Michigan University.
While she did not win a first-place prize, Reynolds impressed many by being nominated in three categories that span the production spectrum: Animation (鈥溾��), Non-Fiction Short Form (鈥溾��) and Commercial (鈥溾��).
鈥淭a鈥檓ar demonstrated her range as a storyteller, cinematographer, animator and her eye for commercial flair,鈥� Zacharias said. 鈥淗er creativity and technical skills showed she is one of the best in the state of Michigan. Remember her name 鈥� she is a powerhouse and deserves a lot of credit for making three nominations happen for herself.鈥�
黑料网 student Patrick Sullivan was also nominated in the Non-Fiction Long-Form category for his documentary 鈥�,鈥� about bird population decline and the people fighting to save them.
鈥淧atrick poured in so many hours into 鈥楨mpty Skies鈥� in . He went all in because he cares about the birds and he wanted to make a difference and try to reverse or slow down this ongoing disaster,鈥� Zacharias said. 鈥淭his film will be in festival contention soon.鈥�
Tags: Digital Media Arts, Digital Video Production, Student Awards, Student Production Awards, Student Success, ousearch_News_2021