The Elizabethtown College Department of Communications hosted its third annual video festival event on Monday, May 22.
Etown hosted about 130 students from local high schools including Lancaster Catholic, Hempfield High School, Donegal, Solanco, Cedar Crest, and Waynesboro.
Participants gained hands-on experience in real-world media operations by spending the day on Etown’s campus planning, filming, and editing videos using the department’s state-of-the-art facilities.
“This video festival is a great opportunity for high school students to meet and work with students from other schools who have similar interests,” Elizabethtown College Professor of Communications, Dr. Kirsten Johnson said. “We hope that this festival will continue to grow in the future.”
The program originated in 2018 with an idea from Matthew Binder, a Broadcasting and Communications Technology Teacher at Hempfield High School. Binder partnered with Dr. Johnson to the create event as an opportunity to help local high school students practice their video production and teamwork skills.
Students are broken into groups of up to seven individuals from different schools with separate, grade-level contests taking place.
After arriving on campus in the morning, students jumped right into the action and were given a three-hour span to think of an idea, shoot footage, and edit videos that bring their ideas to life. At the end of the event, videos from the day were presented to the whole group, who then voted for category winners.
Students from Waynesboro took home this festival’s unique prize – an old video camera with a tripod for display, which the winners will sign and return to the festival next year along with an additional item attached. A tradition of the festival, the traveling trophy will continue to be passed on to participating schools with the opportunity to add something each year.
About the Elizabethtown College Communications Department
Etown’s Communications Department offers an interactive and innovative curriculum to prepare you for a career in radio, television, corporate communications, public relations, marketing, and social media. Students learn theory, production techniques, and the skills necessary to advance in their careers – writing, speaking, production, and strategic communication. Interested in studying Communications at Elizabethtown College? Discover more.
