Entries are linear and nonlinear narratives in video format. This includes documentaries, interviews, original cartoons, motion graphics, animations, and stop motion. Individual episodes or entire series may be entered.
Jury Chair: Jonathan Munar
Manager of Digital Media and Strategy and Art21, NYC
GOLD: What Can We Learn By Looking at Tusks?
The Field Museum and Angle Park, Inc.
Judges said: “What Can We Learn By Looking at Tusks?” takes a fascinating–and perhaps challenging–scientific presentation and successfully condenses it into a 4-minute video that is accessible to viewers of all ages. This was the right combination of scholarly perspective (from a paleontologist) and children commentary (by way of the two “tour guides”). The scholar was aware of his target audience the whole time, using language and comparisons that any viewer could understand. The pacing is just right and the storytelling was engaging. One juror stated that the video “shows good use of behind-the-scenes museum footage,” referring to the rooms that provide the set for the video. “I didn’t realize that tusks could be so fascinating,” remarked another juror. By taking a difficult subject, making it accessible to all ages, and doing all of that in 4 minutes, this video is a clear success.
Producers said: This video presents the science of “Tuskology,” and what scientists can learn about the health, ages, and growth patterns of mammoth and mastodons through analysis of their tusks. The video features Dr. Daniel C. Fisher, Paleontologist from the University of Michigan and guest curator of Field Museum’s “Mammoths and Mastodons” exhibition, discussing his research through tusk analysis.
SILVER: City of Ruins
The Warsaw Rising Museum and Platige Image
Judges said: “This piece really redefines the use of documentary data to conceive a historic event of otherwise inconceivable scope.” “This work transports the viewer back to a moment in time – near the end of WWII – and enables them to view the scope of destruction within the city of Warsaw. The level of detail is achieves is very impressive. The modeling, research, and dedication necessary to realize this work are extraordinarily impressive.” “By simulating a flyover of the destroyed city by a period aircraft, the creator allows the viewer to conceive of an actual flight in this historic period and imagine the actual reactions of the flight crew. It feels so much more real than a typical historic recreation.” “Successful in making you understand the depth of damage” “I can only imagine how immersive the 3D stereoscopic experience was” “The pacing was strong, starting with the river/bridges and then panning into the city”.
Producers said: Spring, 1945. The Liberator plane lowers its flight altitude, goes below the cloud line. It flies north, along the Vistula river and finds itself above the recent uprising fighting grounds, above the destroyed Warsaw. This is the beginning of City of Ruins, Poland’s first digital 3D (stereoscopic) re-creation of a city destroyed during the Second World War.
The Warsaw Rising Museum trusted Platige Image with producing their idea.. The project’s objective was, first and foremost, to re-create the horror of the destroyed, deserted Warsaw, to overwhelm the viewers with realism of the situation seen from the perspective of a person flying the Liberator plane.
BRONZE: Driven: True Stories of Inspiration
Exploratorium
Judges said: “The stories and narratives are so compelling; the ‘audio slideshow’ format works in its favor on so many levels: it’s easy on the budget, and yet lets you focus on what’s being said.” “One of the best uses of the ‘audio slideshow’ format that I’ve ever seen” “The photography is beautiful and complement the audio narrative brilliantly.” “Such compelling narratives and well-executed pacing that I wasn’t even paying attention to the fact that it was simply an audio slideshow.”
Producers said: How are creative investigations sparked? What does a state of inspiration feel like? Can inspiration be contagious? “Driven: True Stories of Inspiration” is a web project which explores these questions through case studies of a collection of inspired and inspiring individuals, using slideshows with elegant black-and-white photos set against audio culled from extensive interviews.
Honorable Mention: Colossus
Computer History Museum and Impact Media Group
Judges said: “I didn’t know about the Colossus, let alone the fact they rebuilt it, but the video made me want to see the Colossus in person.” “Brilliant production; would seem right at home on the History Channel or PBS. Good balance of WWII-era historical footage, archival footage from experts, seemingly newly-shot interviews, well-paced narration, and a mood-setting score.” “This was produced in-house? You would never guess.”
Producers said: The ability to send secret, encoded communications led to ruthless devastation by Nazi troops early in WWII. Allied mathematicians and engineers rushed to build a machine capable of breaking the codes. Here we pay tribute to “Colossus” for helping to end the war and begin the age of computing.
“Colossus” is one of more than 100 videos produced by the media department of the museum. The entire set of videos includes 4 major theater pieces (including Revolution), 14 short narrative videos, 18 area introduction videos, many mood setting videos and 37 interactive individual video stations. All but 3 were produced and directed by museum staff.
Jurors:
Todd Florio
Head of School Programs, Brooklyn Historical Society
Nora Gomez
Communications and Digital Media Manager, Public Art Fund
David Hirmes
Sarah Hromack
Julia Kaganskiy
Josh Lucas-Faulk
Associate VP, Digital Learning, Museum of Arts and Design
Francesca Merlino
Senior Marketing Manager, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
Stephanie Pau
Associate Educator, Interpretation & Research, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Dan Shields
Chris Sondreal
Producer/Director, Holocene Media LLC
Hrag Vartanian
