HIGH SCHOOL WINNERS
AUDIO Category – with comments from Jim Lange
Winner: Mu “Samm” Du – The Linsly School – “The Spirit of Life” “A very nice piece of the right length with good orchestration and unusual instrumentation. Very good use of cymbal crescendo to (at 00:53) a quiro and music box, then again crescendo used at the end to silence. Well done. Perhaps a bit of Anime, etc. influence?”
Mu “Samm” Du is also the Best In Show Winner for High School. Congratulations Mu!
2nd Place: Zach Brown – Upper St. Clair High School – “P.T.K.” “Very cinematic, dark electronica. Well done.”
3rd Place: Daniel Hamilton – Brooke High School – “Disturbed” “Excellent choice of subject matter. Your voice has an interesting accent and quality to it. That said, be sure to edit out stumbles, pauses, etc., when reading unless it helps the narrative. Be sure always to make a smooth audio presentation without bumpy edits -one at 5:20 for example. Good job.”
DIGITAL Category – with audio comments from Wes Ebeling
Winner: Madison Monarque – Union Local High School – “Life’s a Comedy”
Madison Monarque is also winner of the Faculty Choice Award for High School. Congratulations Madison!
2nd Place: Caleb Funkhouser – Bridgeport High School – “Student Life Composite”
3rd Place: Terry Maag III – Bridgeport High School – “180”
Honorable Mention: Sydney Baciak – Belle Vernon Area High School – “Track & Field Poster”
Honorable Mention: Caleb Cunningham – John Marshall High School – “Decades”
Honorable Mention: Rachael Laney – Harrison Career Center – “Cryptide”
Honorable Mention: Sierra Scott – John Marshall High School – “Teen Dating Violence”
Honorable Mention: Michael Gregg – Jefferson County JVS – “3D Phone”
Honorable Mention: Tyler Mitchell – Jefferson County JVS – “Babushka Vin Diesel”
Honorable Mention: Dylan Williams – Bridgeport High School – “Gloomy Somber”
TRADITIONAL Category – with comments from Maciej Zdanowicz
The basis of my decisions was not only the aesthetic look, technical/technological level of the execution of the works, but above all the awareness, and artistic sensitivity. I was looking for art works with a clear form, concrete message, authenticity resulting from experience, emotionality, and the author’s own vision.
Winner – Callie Cika – Bridgeport High School – “Standards” The first prize may come as a surprise to many people. She convinced me with her expressiveness and uncompromisingness, which manifests itself in a simple but bold invention in photography.
2nd Place: Shyla Haydin – Bridgeport High School – “Pouring Emotions” The second prize awarded to this artist for her intimate work, painting abstraction with distinctive, expressive charge, and interesting colors.
3rd Place: Samantha Pavell – Union Local High School – “Working Man Hands” The third prize for the existential work, based on a realistic form, but not closed into precision, aesthetics of realization. Realism has been used to show the effort, persistence of perhaps a relative, perhaps an anonymous person.
Honorable Mention: Creed Kidney – John Marshall High School – “Watching the World Burn”
Honorable Mention: Hannah Johnson – Calhoun County Middle High School – “16”
Honorable Mention: Kayla Nowakowski – Bridgeport High School – “Blinded by Beauty”
Honorable Mention: Chasadie Harris – Union Local High School – “Pig Cent”
Honorable Mention: Shelby Hannahs – Union Local High School – “Two Hearts Beat as One”
VIDEO Category – with comments by Jim lange
Winner: Damani Johnson – Belle Vernon Area High School – “High School Questions” “Very, very funny. Great personality of the host. Watch the audio levels -too low/high sometimes. Think about editing into shorter episodes. You might just have a YouTube hit on your hands. Good luck. Well done.”
2nd Place: Gianna Laurita – Belle Vernon Area High School – “Live Your Story” “Love the stop-motion animation. No other video used it. It creates its own beautiful, handmade look. Nice message succinctly done. Great job.”
3rd Place: William Lewis – “Land of Confusion” “Normally i like more than just titles moving about and you did just that. With that level of skill, film directors will be calling for you to do their graphics. My congratulations.”
Honorable Mention: Therman Gross – Jefferson County JVS – “The Tell-Tale Heart” “Hats off to any Poe fan and the vulture eye was well done. I’m not sure the Joker style makeup suits the narrator. After all, isn’t Poe saying we could all potentially, under the right circumstances, go mad? Well done.”
Honorable Mention: Ryan Huss – Elizabeth Forward High School – “Central 147” “A nice tribute to our first responders. The final roll call at the end was very poignant. One thought: with a little editing and sound fixing, this could have been top-notch. Well done.”
WEST LIBERTY UNIVERSITY WINNERS
AUDIO Category – with comments from Jim Lange
Winner: Kaitlynn Wheeler – Broadcasting Major – “Announcer Test” “Excellent diction, very nice radio voice. Your original work was good. You are wise beyond your years and might think about NPR as a career highlight. My congratulations.”
Kaitlynn Wheeler won West Liberty Best In Show for her work. Congratulations Kaitlynn!
2nd Place: Taylor Scott – Digital Media Design Major – “Interview No. 2 “You have a great cheerfulness to your voice. Be careful of your diction – we all get sloppy on this, for sure. I liked your interview because you seemed to be enjoying yourself and when you do – we do. One thing: it could have been shorter. Edit out the bits that are not engaging to your audience. Think of them first – always. Nice job.”
3rd Place: Skylar Bachman – Digital Media Design Major – “Project Bachman” “Be careful naming a project after yourself, even if you have Bach in your name, as it can be an immediate turnoff to some. Prince, you may not know that artist, was very self-referential, but he could get by with it. That said, I really enjoyed all aspects of this piece: the colors, instruments, the layers are quite clever. The ending could use a longer fade. You have to give the listener, especially with a piece with these textures, some time to realize what has happened. Great job.”
DIGITAL Category – with audio comments by Wes Ebeling
Winner: Samantha Palmieri – Visual Communication Design Major – “UI/Ux Roomie App.jpg”
2nd Place: Wilhelm – Animal Grocery Live
3rd Place: Henry, A. – Thrifting for Wishes.jpg
Honorable Mention: Stamper – Cloud Jumper.png
Honorable Mention: Murray – Hotel Cortez.jpg
Honorable Mention: Everson – Eighty-three.jpg
Honorable Mention: Deem – Red.jpg
Honorable Mention: Bachman – Fish in a Cup.jpg
Honorable Mention: Tallman – Introvert.jpg
Honorable Mention: Anderson, L. – Buzz-Off.JPG
TRADITIONAL Category – with comments from Maciej Zdanowicz
Winner – Katherine V. Stamper – Art Education Major – “Wild Thing” The first prize for a balanced form, with poetic expression and subtle art workshop.
2nd place West Liberty: Holbert – “Nature’s Veins” The second prize is for a sculpture with an intimate form and overtones, an interesting organic surface modeling emanating hidden meanings.
3rd place West Liberty: Karleigh M. Kowcheck – “Not Peeling Well” The third prize for photography, on the one hand emanating intense color contrast, on the other hand, uncompromising. The photography is radical, perhaps ironic, but it catches the viewer’s eye for a long time.
VIDEO Category – with comments by Jim Lange
Winner: Danielle Eddy – Visual Communication Design Major – “Three Rivers Art Festival” “The video has an organic feel – the way the video evolves has an unforgettable quality. Very professional. Well done.”
Danielle Eddy also won the Faculty Choice Award for this piece. Congratulations Danielle!
2nd Place: Nate Wilhelm – Digital Media Design Major – “Wormy’s Trick” “I laughed out loud. The graphics were so awkward (intentional or not), but very funny. Well done. Liked the other BC entry too. The turtle character checking the weather by looking over the balcony. Funny stuff.”
3rd Place: Olivia Baumhoer – “Life By the Numbers” “Very professionally done. Clean graphics – succinct and to the point. Being a broadcaster, I will say to slow down a little bit and watch your diction. Very well done.”