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MCCC TV Students Win
Telly Award
for Mercer St. Friends Video
8/12/08
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Nick Donnoli
and Sam Kanig, two Dean's List students majoring in Television/Radio,
are the recipients of a 2008 Telly Award in the documentary video
category. The Telly Awards honor outstanding achievement in local,
regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, film and video
productions, and groundbreaking web commercials, videos and films.
A total of 13,500 entries from all 50 states and around the world
were submitted, making this year's competition one of the largest
in its 29-year history.
The
award comes as no surprise to staff members at Mercer Street Friends
(MSF), a Mercer County nonprofit organization that was the subject
of the students' 20-minute video for their Applied Field Production
class. According to the organization's Executive Director, Dr. Barry
Cole, the finished product was "terrific and very professional."
Cole says that his organization has found myriad uses for the video
since its completion last December - to orient new employees and
board and foundation members, to educate potential donors, and even
to improve internal communication among the organization's four
divisions.
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MCCC
TV/Radio students, front row from left,
Nick Donnoli and Sam Kanig display
their Telly Award. They are pictured with,
back row from left, MCCC Program Coordinator
Barry Levy and Assistant Professor Steve Voorhees,
MSF Communications Director Janina Akins and Executive Director,
Dr. Barry Cole.
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Janina
Akins, MSF's communications director, is equally enthusiastic. After working
with the students during the three months of filming, she had no idea
what to expect when it came time to screen the video. "We are a difficult
organization to define because of the many services we provide. The students
did a great job of succinctly dividing up and explaining what we do. I've
worked with a lot of professionals in the advertising and public relations
business. I can't say enough about how professional these students were
- talented, enthusiastic and compliant. They far exceeded our expectations."
MSF serves more than 30,000 needy Mercer County residents each year through
its four divisions: Food Bank, Children and Youth Services, Parenting
and Adult Services, and Home Health Care. The video captures the essence
of the MSF mission through interviews with multiple staff members and
footage of them in action. The students used voice-over to relay key facts
and provide transitions from one division to the next.
Donnoli and Kanig recall the demands of the project, estimating that they
spent at least 120 hours from start to finish. "It was a lot of work,
but well worth it," Kanig said. "Mercer Street Friends inspired
us." Added Donnoli, "It's great to know they are going to use
it to help people." They acknowledge that being recognized with a
prestigious award certainly doesn't hurt. Both students plan to transfer
to The College of New Jersey after graduating from Mercer in December.
The DVD is being distributed in both full and "mini" sizes.
"We keep finding new ways to use it," Cole said. Created without
reference to specific dates, the agency expects to be able to utilize
the video for years to come.
According to Professor Steve Voorhees, this marks the seventh national
award for the TV Program since 2006. Each year, upper level students enrolled
in Applied Field Production get a taste of the real world by working on
a professional video project for a non-profit, education, or government
client. The course prepares students for the demands and deadlines of
the industry while operating in a team atmosphere.
Graduates of Mercer's AAS degree program in Radio/Television pursue careers
as directors, producers, editors, camera operators, compositors, audio
engineers, and writers in the TV and video production industries. They
benefit from hands-on training, utilizing cutting-edge technology. Television
majors have the opportunity to create television programming that is cablecast
throughout Mercer County on MCTV, channel 26.
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