Chicago, April 10, 2003 - From animation, comedy, talk shows and music videos to live event coverage, news features, drama and documentary, the entries have been pouring in as hundreds of students from 29 area high schools compete for honors in 14 creative categories in the 10th Annual Chicagoland High School Video Festival, sponsored by the Television Department of Columbia College Chicago and the Chicagoland Television Educator's Council (CTEC).
The judging process, organized and spearheaded by Luke Palermo, faculty member in Columbia's Television Department, will go on all month and culminate in the festival on Friday, May 2 at a conference center in Hoffman Estates."
"It's an absolutely amazing event," says Palermo, who has been involved since the beginning. "When we started this a decade ago, we were able to hold the festival at Columbia, but we simply don't have the space to accommodate the 480 attendees -- not to mention eleven screening rooms.
"In all, we have 363 entries and we'll be showing clips from every one. It's a massive undertaking and it's all done on a volunteer basis," explains Palermo. "We present first place trophies and second and third place certificates in each creative category and, CTEC will award seven scholarships--two to Columbia's High School Summer Institute and five $500 college grants."
Palermo's involvement in nurturing young videographers dates back to his days as a high school teacher at Riverside/Brookfield. He came to Columbia nearly twenty years ago, but kept up his ties with the community of high school television teachers. It was this connection that led to the formation of the Chicagoland Television Educator's Council, when Palermo and long-time CTEC president Linda Profetto decided high school teachers needed a forum to share experiences and expertise. The festival grew out of this association.
"We are the only regional group to sponsor a festival like this," explains Profetto, who teaches at Bremen High School in Tinley Park. "There are competitions on a national level, but the fact is that around the country, television and broadcast production educators work in isolation." When that happens both the teacher and the student pay a price in terms of collaboration opportunities, new ideas and accessto new technologies. CTEC and the work we do -- with the festival and professional development meetings during the year -- enables us all to keep current with both curriculum and technology."
"The Chicagoland High School Video Festival is terrific," says Jim Disch, President of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of The National Television Academy (NTA), the national organization that is responsible for the Emmy Awards. The NTA is launching the National Student Television Award of Excellence this year and has drawn on CTEC's long-term experience in mounting the Chicagoland competition."
"There doesn't appear to be another area in the country that has a cohesive group of television educators working in collaboration for the benefit of the students and ultimately, the industry," adds Disch, who also teaches part-time in Columbia's Television Department. "CTEC's festival is an outstanding model that educators should look to for inspiration."