UC Makes Impressive Showing at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

Two University of Cincinnati colleges walk away with impressive awards at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' 48th annual Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Awards Ceremony July 28th. Both the College-Conservatory of Music Division of Electronic Media (CCM E-Media) and UC Blue Ash College Electronic Media Communication students will be recognized for their creative work at this prestigious event.

The NATAS Student Production Awards are open to entries from all colleges and universities within the Ohio Valley Chapter region. Like the professional Emmy categories, all submissions are judged by a panel of industry professionals and awards are given for outstanding achievement based upon a standard of excellence. This year, the Academy recognized student work in specific categories just as they recognize professional work, where in the past, all student work was judged in one category.

CCM

The team responsible for the film, "P. Sneez: The Life and Death of Hans Van Poppelscratch," will be presented with awards in both the “Fiction” and “Photography/Editing” categories. The video’s production team included Eric Ransbottom (writer/director), Kevin Bush (director of photography), Joey Thomas (music/audio editor) and Walter Nini (editor). The video previously received the grand prize in the “Comedy” category in competitions at the National Broadcasting Society convention. Kevin Burke served as the project’s faculty advisor.

The production, "SFRI Shoe Commercial," will also be recognized in the “PSA/Commercial” category. Its student team included Nicholas Lipari (writer/director/editor/VFX), Ryan Bahm (logo design) and John Ashcroft (voice-over recording/sound mixing). Raul Barcelona served as faculty advisor.

UC Blue Ash

For the fifth consecutive year, student productions from Electronic Media Communications at UC Blue Ash College (formerly known as Raymond Walters College), have received honors at NATAS.  The award winning projects from Electronic Media Communications are "Forever Gomer" by Katie Sammons, the top winner in the Arts and Entertainment category, and "The Eastern Box Turtle" by Richard Castle and Heather Noe as the top winner in the Non-Fiction category.  "Lost in Space," by Jeffrey Kraus, received an honorable mention in the Arts and Entertainment category. Melissa Jackson, an e-Media student, was nominated for the David J. Clarke Memorial Scholarship which is funded by the chapter. UC Blue Ash eMedia faculty members serving as advisors for these productions are William Boyle,  Dave Hubble and H. Michael Sanders for "Forever Gomer;" H. Michael Sanders for "The Eastern Box Turtle;" and Ted Ferdinand and David Hartz for "Lost in Space." eMedia Communications professor of media and department chairperson, H. Michael Sanders, noted that all three of the recognized projects were supported by department faculty and that many “were capstone projects by graduating students in degree and certificate programs. These capstone projects were evaluated by a panel of external professionals during the capstone review process.”

Both the CCM and UC Blue Ash projects represent professional levels of accomplishment in the areas of photography and lighting, graphics and animation, technical execution and writing.  These projects were recommended by working media professionals including animators, video producers, production managers, directors of photography and screenwriters.  

About the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Founded in 1957, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences is dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within these sectors of television industry. Twenty chapters of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, located across the United States, conduct regional awards to recognize excellence in all the regional television markets.

The roots of The Ohio Valley Chapter can be traced to 1959 when the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences was petitioned to form a regional Chapter in Columbus, Ohio.

Today, the chapter presents the prestigious and coveted Emmy Award to television professionals in thirteen markets from four states, and makes scholarships available to students at accredited colleges and universities throughout the region.