The Ironton Tribune

Chesapeake High School student Francesca Karle tried to play cool as she plucked the cheese from her pizza, but the bounce of her beaded purse on her knee was ample indication of the butterflies fluttering about the crust and sauce.

Karle's documentary on the plight of the homeless "On the River's Edge" was one of the 83 nominees for the Sixth Annual Electronic Media Moving Image Excellence (or EMMIE) Awards, which were presented yesterday in the Riffe Rotunda of Ohio University Southern.

Over 230 students from 17 high schools throughout the Tri-State had submitted media projects to the competition, in categories such as Best Newscast, Best Commercial, and Best News Feature or Documentary.

With a little work

The students of Fairland High School had submitted several projects for consideration, and video production teacher Amy Lewis was looking forward for her students' moment to shine.

"I'm excited for the kids, I hope they win something, they've worked hard," Lewis said. "We spent several weeks on these projects, and I think we've turned in some pretty decent stuff, so I'm anxious to see who wins."

Lewis and other attendees would have a bit longer to wait however, as the day began with several workshops for students conducted by local media production luminaries.

Stos Hall lives in Kenova, W.Va. and is a Coordinating Producer for ESPN Regional Television. During his workshop, he felt the most important thing he could impart was that securing a career in a field such as his is challenging, but not impossible.

"I don't know that they really knew it was attainable, the perception is 'This is something that I can't do,'" Hall said. "It's almost like Hollywood, because there is just such a limited amount of people doing it. So to know that it's attainable is pretty important.

Though the students were learning about their future careers at the workshops, their minds were on the present, namely, the awards presentation set to begin moments after the Noon lunch break.

Local boy makes good

The students managed to calm their anticipation of the ceremony long enough to hear the sage advice of a Raceland native whose work has been seen by billions.

Shandon Melvin is the Art Director for the National Football League, and is responsible for the Super Bowl XXXIX logo, as well as those of the 2004 NFL Training Camp and NFL Draft. Melvin has also worked as an art director for Calvin Klein and Levi's.

Once Melvin had said his piece though, it was time for the big show to begin, and over 230 sets of eyes slid to the 10 glittering crystal trophies that were about to be awarded.

And the winner isŠ

After the lights dimmed, and a short introductory video rolled, Amy Lewis and crew didn't have to wait long for the vindication of all their hard work. They won the first award of the afternoon in the Multimedia-Presentation category for a PowerPoint presentation called "FHS Video."

The sixth award of the afternoon was for individual projects, and Karle's grip on her beaded purse tightened. As OUS senior producer Joe Barta declared her film the winner, Karle sat for a moment, stunned. As tears welled in her eyes, she brought herself to her feet to except her trophy.

Once all 10 awards had been presented, it was time for Karle and her fellow students to return to their home schools. Though only a few left with trophies in-hand, there was one parting gift that all received: a taste of the careers they were working towards, and the knowledge that with a little work, their dreams of being the producers and directors of tomorrow could be well within their reach.

2005 EMMIE Winners

Multimedia – Presentation: Fairland High School, "FHS Video"

Newscast: Waverly High School, "WCS News"

Audio Production: Portsmouth High School, "And 1"

Sports: Waverly High School, "Waverly City School News – Sports"

Multimedia – Web: Northwest High School, "Northwest Local Schools – Web Site"

Individual: Francesca Karle, "On the River's Edge"

News Feature Story 0r Documentary: Waverly City Schools, "Obesity in Our Schools"

Entertainment/Music: Fleming County High School, "Drug House Odyssey"

Commercial: Portsmouth High School, "Reunited"

Best of Show: Paint Valley High School, "8-Ball Corner Pocket"