Rowan Documentaries Take Awards

January 31, 2003

Two video documentaries produced in Professor Ned Eckhardt's documentary production class during the spring 2002 semester at Rowan University have won awards of excellence in the prestigious Communicator Awards contest.

The Communicator Awards contest is an international awards competition that recognizes outstanding work in the communications field. Media industry professionals judge entries, and the winners are considered benchmarks of excellence in television and film production. This year, there were 3,242 entries from 48 states and nine other countries.

The Rowan team received the Crystal Award of Excellence, the highest award the competition offers, for <+>Ecstasy and Electronica,<+> which took 15 weeks to produce. The documentary, supported by a grant from the Rowan Center for Addiction Studies, is a raw look at the <+>rave<+> and techno-party scene, promoting the message to enjoy the music, but don't do the drugs. The documentary uses music, lyrics, club settings, and a contemporary visual look to put the anti-drug messages in a form to which young people will listen. <+>Ecstasy and Electronica? was designed to jar people?s perceptions of party drugs and the rave scene and to generate dialogue on party drug abuse.

The <+>Ecstasy and Electronica<+> crew members were Kathleen Berger, Germany, and Erin Plyler, Vineland, producers: Berger, director; Susan Minnick, Hamilton Square, creative consultant; Christopher Robinette, Richwood, lead camera; Christopher Mueller, Marlton, lead editor; Lauren Ackermann, Brick, assistant camera and assistant editor; and Simone Viere, Germany, sound.

This is the second national award the documentary has won. In November it won a first place in the <+>Best Feature Broadcast<+> category of the College Broadcaster's Inc. National Student Television Production Competition.

Rowan students also received an honorable mention for <+>Breaking the Silence,<+> a documentary produced in spring 2002 that explored the topic of acquaintance rape among college women. Since the vast majority of college rape victims know their attacker, the Rowan team produced the documentary in part to educate men about what constitutes rape and to show a victim?s point-of-view concerning the emotional pain of rape. Made during a 15-week period, ?Breaking the Silence? is available for high schools and colleges to educate men and women on sexual assault and how to prevent it. Security On Campus, Inc., a non-profit group dedicated to making college campuses safer, is distributing it throughout the United States.

The crew members were Corry Jean, Hillsdale, and James Dowd, Robbinsville, producers; Angellina DeRichie, Egg Harbor Township, associate producer and camera; Joe Nasto, Medford, director and camera; Marylin Hamada, Berlin, camera and assistant editor; Michelle Ulrich, Mt. Laurel, editor and camera; and Lisa Simon, Germany, sound.