By Jennifer Clay
Staff Writer
There was no red carpet, but there were acceptance speeches at Pepperdine’s version of the Academy Awards.
The Pepperdine Video Festival announced this year’s winners during an intimate ceremony in Raitt Recital Hall Tuesday night. Pepperdine alumnus Michael Richards, senior producer for “The Other Half,” hosted the event. The winners from each of the four categories received a cash prize, a trophy and other gifts donated by local businesses as well as the opportunity to showcase their work in front of an audience.
Two Pepperdine students came home with their hands full. Shannon Corder won the Dramatic Short category for her film “Complainte De La Butte” starring Melissa Potts. Corder also co-starred in and co-produced the winning Music Video entry, an interpretation of the song “Lately” by the band Userfriendly. Sabrina Ready and Ariani Waworuntu co-produced, with Ready also starring in the clip. Corder and Ready were on hand to accept the award, and they thanked telecommunications professor Susan Salas for her support.
Along with Corder, Nick Sheldon also proved to be a big winner. His direction on “From the Cheap Seats — Spotlight on Paul Westphal” won him and producer Brielle Jones the News Package category trophy. Directed by Rob Mooring and produced by Sheldon, “From the Cheap Seats — Road Trip Segment” won the Comedic Short, bringing Sheldon’s award tally to two. The entertaining film followed a car full of male Pepperdine students on a road trip to watch the Waves basketball game in San Diego.
While accepting the award, Sheldon specifically thanked Matt Storm, Josh Harrold and Nathan Smithson, and called them the “three hardest-working individuals in Pep TV.” He also said a Pepperdine show starring Mooring and his friends was in the works for next year.
Salas began the annual video festival in 1999 in hopes of giving talented students the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in the highly competitive fields of television and film as well as to recognize these students for their work. The festival is a nonprofit event sponsored by the Seaver Board of Visitors, a philanthropic organization “dedicated to supporting educational ventures.”
This year’s festival marked the first time Malibu High School students were invited to participate. Their entries were judged separately from the Pepperdine submissions, but with 1,300 students, Salas believed Malibu High’s inclusion helped involve the Malibu community.
Thirty-three entries were accepted for this year’s festival, 26 submitted by Pepperdine students. The most popular category for Pepperdine students was the News Package with nine entries.
Pepperdine students and faculty as well as those of Malibu High School were encouraged to view the entries on Pepperdine’s educational access television channel, TV-26, which broadcasts to more than 14,000 viewers in the Malibu, Calabasas and Agoura areas. The films were shown continuously for 10 days in March. Voting was then conducted online at www.pepperdine.edu/videofestival. Students could also download the entry form and view the submission guidelines.
Host Richards was Salas’ student several years ago, and his artistic vision created the popular student-produced “Randumb Show,” which is still produced by Pepperdine students today. Last year’s video festival boasted more than 50 entries and Larry Bagby, an actor, producer and director, and Damen Doane, a producer and director, served as celebrity presenters.
April 04, 2002
