Two Indiana University of Pennsylvania students majoring in Communications Media were recognized for films they produced in the Digital Media Institute at IUP.
Brandon Roudebush, of Kittanning, and Erika Knox, of Indiana, are the first IUP finalists in the College Broadcasters National Awards for television production.
The students were honored at the October 30, 2009, National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas.
Knox was one of four finalists in the Best Technical Production category for her work on Somewhere Near, an animated children's show about making healthy choices and having self-confidence. The production was jointly produced by the Indiana Area School District and the Digital Media Institute.
Roudebush, a senior, was one of four finalists in the Best Special Broadcast category for Roadtrip IUP, a joint production of the Career Development Center and the Digital Media Institute.
The one-hour documentary features interviews with IUP alumni conducted by current IUP students. Also this year, the film won a national Hermes Creative Award and awards in the Indiana Video, Animation, Multimedia, and Photography competition.
The productions were selected from among 450 entries. Both students received trophies as part of their recognition.
“To have two students win trophies with Digital Media Institute productions on our first-ever submissions is just simply amazing,” Dr. Erick Lauber, Digital Media Institute director, said.
“I told the students ahead of time that we would be going up against the best college media productions in the company and not to expect too high a ranking, so we were all really excited when we found out both had made the top four in their respective categories.”