Electronic Media: General Information Features

General Observations

36 entries

Always a widely varied group, the entries in the category again this year forced the judges to decide that “this apple is better than that orange” – an annually challenging task. Still, the judges were able to identify four entries they felt were worthy of recognition. Most of the general comments by the judges about the entries as a whole tended toward the negative.

Overall, they felt that this year’s entries were weak – both technically, as they had also observed last year, and in their conceptualization and execution. “There were a lot of missed opportunities,” one noted. “There were potentially good stories that were not told well in the visual medium.” Some of the productions seemed to lack a cohesive plan, and came off as disjointed and without an overarching context. Heavy use of archival footage continued again this year, but often was not used well in creating an emotional appeal or even simply nostalgia.

The judges especially cited most of the longer-format entries as lacking viewer engagement. “It’s not that they were especially bad,” said one judge, “but they tended to be predictable and overly self-serving and self-congratulatory, rather than actively working to engage, intrigue, and interest the viewer.” Sound was not handled well in some productions, being overly loud and overbearing, with wide fluctuations in audio levels within the same production. And while it is a real chestnut of a gripe, the judges once again complained about an excess of talking heads. “Speakers series,” one opined, “make for weak videos.”

The gold and silver medal winners from Syracuse and Princeton Universities, respectively, especially impressed the judges for the multi-layered portraits they painted – in very different ways – of the people profiled in the two productions. “Video actually can be a warm medium, one judge said, “and can be powerful in taking you inside the subject’s world, head, and personality when used sensitively and creatively.”

Comments on Winning Entries

Gold Medal

Syracuse University – 2006 Arents Awards: Kathrine Switzer

• Syracuse continues its long-standing dominance of this category with another first-rate video profile – this time of the first woman to officially run in the Boston Marathon, who went on to become a powerful force in gaining recognition for women in athletics. Brief and beautifully edited, this profile of a woman who literally helped change the face of American sports captures her spirit and dedication through interviews and artfully used archival footage.
  At the risk of plagiarizing ourselves, we will repeat the judges’ comment from this category last year when Syracuse took two awards: without qualification, we can say that no institution does a better job on this kind of video than Syracuse, the video profile of an honored alum as part of an award presentation.

Silver Medal

Princeton University – “Robert F. Goheen: Reflections of a President”

• This is a production that could have been really boring – a 15-minute profile of a former president and his 70-year involvement with the university. However, great story telling, wonderful archival footage from a half-century ago (including the new and youthful president being interviewed by Edward R. Murrow), and candor (a description of Woodrow Wilson as “a southern racist”) make this production riveting.
  The story of this remarkable leader as he and the university move through coeducation, the Viet Nam era, and other turning points in Princeton’s history, is told simply. The focus remains on the man himself – through snippets of a four-hour interview and the use of historical visuals to complement his reminisces. The result is a warmly engaging profile of an institution’s growth, and of the man who helped to shape it.

Bronze Medals

Louisiana State University – “Welcome to LSU” 2006

• It’s less than three minutes long, and not a word is spoken, but this little video from LSU struck the judges as a winner. The production was shown on a large screen before the university’s incoming freshman class, to build a sense of excitement.
  Quick cuts and upbeat music take the new arrivals on a whirlwind tour of the campus, and touch on a wide range of topics visually – such as campus beauty, academics, technology, student diversity, the arts, and the city of Baton Rouge, and much more. It’s a warm and enthusiastic welcome that is sensitive to the interests – and to the attention span – of its intended audience.

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry – “Nature in Your Backyard”

• This series of two-minute TV features are intended to give the college, based in Syracuse, more visibility within its community while also helping viewers better understand the nature around them. It covers simple topics, such as attracting birds, understanding squirrels, why leaves change colors, and the migration of monarch butterflies. The segments air on a daily magazine show on the Syracuse commercial TV station, as well as on Syracuse University’s campus network. Beyond that, the college leverages the productions by packaging them on DVDs and distributing them to high school science teachers across the state. It’s a simple, but well-thought-out project that could be a good model for any college with limited funds and production resources that wants to dip a toe into gaining local and regional TV visibility.