Immersed in the beauty of Missouri’s Drury University campus, students find inspiration to push them to the top at Vid Con.
“Other competitions are limited. You might go to a film festival and it’s just film, or you might go to a festival and it’s just broadcast, this one encompasses it all,” said TV and broadcasting teacher Travis Sherman.
This competition incorporates everything from broadcasting, commercials, and film to news writing and features intense timed competitions such as Midnight Madness which involves students in groups that are given five hours to write, shoot, edit, and turn in a video.
“It’s the biggest competition,” said Mr. Sherman.
Senior Robert Crisp excelled in these competitions winning two 1st place prizes and one 2nd place prize.
“It’s a beautiful area and you get to compete with people near you,” said Crisp.
He enjoys the good healthy competition with other students and enjoys letting his imagination run free.
“I have creative freedom to do whatever I want,” said Crisp.
Many sophomores were taken to Vid Con along with the upperclassmen, which is a definite change for the students.
“This year I tried to do a little role reversal because I want my students to teach other students,” said Mr. Sherman, who said that with increased experience in competitions, these young sophomores will be much better able to help fellow students and those to come.
Two of those sophomores are Katie Jones and Kasey Sanders.
“Sophomores don’t usually get to go, and the fact that I was chosen to go means a lot to me,” said Sanders.
Jones found the opportunity to be fun yet informative and felt that it was important to get the experience and feels honored to be able to carry on the knowledge she acquired.
“It doesn’t really put pressure on me, it gives me the opportunity to learn, so I can teach other people,” said Jones.
Overall it was a success with Har-Ber’s TV and Broadcasting community winning 3rd place and definitely making Mr. Sherman proud of his students.
“I had a personal email written from the director of the competition and he went on and on about what type of program we were running up here and that they’re so proud; it was really nice,” said Mr. Sherman.