RICHARDSON, Texas (May 20, 2004) — A group of students from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) has won the 2004 24-Hour Video Race, hosted by the Video Association of Dallas. UTD entered two teams in the competition earlier this month, and one of them garnered first prize as well as the Audience Choice Award.
The UTD students, who were competing against 17 other teams in the College/University/Recent Grads category, all are part of the university’s popular Arts & Technology program, which is designed to develop leaders in the emerging field of digital content development — including games, new media and interactive storytelling.
This year, the Video Race challenged more than 85 teams in all to complete a five-minute digital video short in less than 24 hours. Participants were required to incorporate certain previously unannounced elements in their productions. This year’s elements were a ladder, a playground, the theme “easy money” and the phrase “You can have it.”
Teams worked around the clock, from midnight to midnight, writing, storyboarding, filming and editing their original piece. Less than 70 of the teams completed their film on time. All competition films were shown and judged at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas.
Dean Terry, a UTD professor who teaches video courses, said, “This award demonstrates the strength of our new curriculum. Creative and technical skills combined with motivation and teamwork are the markers of success in today’s world.”
UTD’s winning team, made up of both graduate students and undergrads and calling themselves “Digital Simian,” produced a piece titled “Dumb Larry.” Team members were Anthony Tyler, Deter Brown, Mate Hartai, Monica Evans, Christopher Evans, Kyle Kondas, Tim Christopher and Quan Nguyen. A second team of UTD Arts & Technology students also participated in the competition.
“It really tests your teamwork skills, stamina, and creativity. Twenty-four hours is a short amount of time to make a film of any length,” said UTD graduate student Anthony Tyler. “We’re tired, but the result was worth it.”
UTD’s short, along with the winning films from five other categories, will be screened on local PBS station KERA in early June. For more information on the Video Association of Dallas, please visit www.dallasvideo.org.
About the Arts & Technology program
The Arts & Technology program at the UTD is designed to prepare students both to understand and to succeed in the media-rich, technologically sophisticated world of the 21st century. Graduates of the program are prepared for a wide range of careers that involve digital content design and development. The graduate programs offer advanced study and the opportunity to create and invent applications for technologically based communications, entertainment and education. The program offers B.A., M.A. and M.F.A degree options. Information on the Arts & Technology program at UTD can be found at http://iiae.utdallas.edu.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 13,700 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s Web site at www.utdallas.edu.