The Upper Midwest Emmy Student Production Awards recognized four teams of media production students attending Bethel University. The teams were recognized in the Non-Fiction and Commercial categories.
Four student teams studying media production at Bethel University were recently recognized as nominees for the 2023 Upper Midwest Emmy Student Production Awards. The Upper Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences uses its student production awards to offer students from midwestern universities the chance to be recognized for their exemplary work on their projects, whether conducted on or off campus.
Bethel’s four teams from the Department of Communication Studies were celebrated after being named nominees in several categories for their work. Peter Kraakevik ‘23, producer, was nominated in Non-Fiction for “gooder: DALL-E”; Carter Nelson and Amira Graf, producers, were nominated in the Commercial category for “Lucky Shots Pickleball ClubPromo”; Mild Du ‘25 and Glasha Hovey ‘24, producers, were also nominated in the Commercial category for “Bethel University Men’s Hockey Intro: 2022-23”; and Ellie McLaughlin ‘24, producer, was nominated in the Commercial category as well for “Carmen’s Flower Shop Promo.”
Kraakevik’s project was based around his YouTube channel, also called ‘gooder,’ which is focused on understanding and doing things ‘gooder.’ In an article posted on Bethel University’s website, he was quoted as saying, “I like knowing a lot about a lot of things and so this channel is an excuse to do that and bring the audience along for the ride.” His nominated video was about the A.I. generated art and learning model DALL-E.
Graf and Nelson’s project was made for a Minneapolis-based pickleball club called Lucky Shots. Nelson was quoted on the video, saying, "Creating a promotional video for a recreational sports club gave me the opportunity to learn more about the technical skills behind creative insight.” Nelson placed third in the Sports Promotional Video/Teaser/PSA category in the Broadcast Education Association student awards last year.
Hovey and Du’s project was made to celebrate Bethel University’s Royals Men’s Hockey team’s progress, and showcased how the players move on the ice. Du was in charge of making the video effects, and making sure that each shot was synced perfectly with the background audio and music. The pair was named the first runner up in the Broadcast Education Association awards this year in the same category.
McLaughlin made a promotional video for a floral designer in Iowa, and was quoted on the project as saying, “My biggest takeaway from this project is how powerful media production elements are in telling someone’s story.”
Ripley Smith, who serves as a professor of Intercultural & Media Communication and Co-Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, was pleased to see all of these students receive recognition for their projects. Smith said, “I am very proud of our students and the high caliber of their technical work that has been recognized by the Midwest Region of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.”
He also repeated high praise he heard about the students, saying, “The Executive Director of the Midwest Region personally expressed how impressed he is with the sophisticated work by our Bethel students."
More information about Bethel University can be found on the school’s website.