Two Fairfield University Media Center projects receive Award of Excellence | Press Releases

Two Fairfield University projects were selected to receive the highest honor, the Award of Excellence, by the judges of the 2007 Videographer Awards.

The award is given to projects that judges deem were written, produced, shot, and edited in an exceptional manner that exceeded industry standards. Only about 14% of the 2,000 entries from the United States and several foreign countries win this award. The competition is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals.

One of the projects, entitled "Messenger," is a short video written, directed, and edited by Rev. Mark Scalese, S.J., and produced by the Media Center. Fr. Scalese is an assistant professor in the New Media: Film, Television and Radio program at Fairfield University. He earned an MFA in Film and Media Arts at Temple University in Philadelphia. Before film school, he was an associate producer at Frank Frost Productions in Washington, D.C.

"Messenger" is about a character named Jason, a creature of habit, whose life is as organized - and constrained - as his office cubicle. He arranges everything according to symmetry or height. Each night before going to bed, Jason lays out his suit for work, sets the table for breakfast, and prepares the coffee maker to begin brewing precisely at 6 a.m. His predictable routine leaves very little to chance until one day, a series of events makes him wonder if angels are visiting him.

The other Fairfield project that received recognition is entitled, "Voices of Others." It is a series of studio-based interviews that was produced by the Media Center in conjunction with a series of on-campus lectures presented by the Center for Catholic Studies. The series was conceived, directed and edited by Casey Timmeny, external projects producer for the Media Center; and hosted by Paul F. Lakeland, Ph. D., director of the Center for Catholic Studies.

Dr. Lakeland said "Voices of Others" confronts the question of what we can learn about ourselves and our world from listening to different voices.

Those interviewed included Dr. Ronald Modras, author of "The Humanism of Ignatian Spirituality," Rev. Greg Boyle, S.J., founder and executive director of Homeboy Industries; Rev. Dean Brackley, S.J., author of "The Call to Discernment in Troubled Times: New Perspectives on the Transformative Wisdom of Ignatius," Dr. Jeanette Rodriguez, an editor of the book "A Reader in Latina Feminist Theology," andRev. James Keenan, S.J., professor of theology at Boston College and chair of Catholic Theological Coalition on HIV/AIDS Prevention since 1997.

The Media Center supports students and faculty in their efforts to learn and to teach, and produces projects that communicate and inspire.