Teen Digital Reel Annual Awards Showcase 2003 is a regional network project within the Tower of Youth. It links educators, organizers, commercial computer artists and professionals involved in digital communications technology. Our focus is to access and master the global computer tools for youth to express themselves, create beauty, promote civic values, and build careers in telecommunications and the arts.
The project promotes ongoing mentoring, creative projects, technical and artistic development and resource support for all interested youth spanning individual high schools and school districts in six counties comprising the Greater Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothill area. The Tower of Youth organized a circle of advocates and educators, initially founded September, 1996, to help regional youth showcase short digital movies. Each year since then, the Tower of Youth promotes a cooperative network of computer resources to produce the digital movies which grew from an initial 16 school and community based production sites, to 40 schools. Over the years, each participating school has been provided with major software bundles donated by Adobe, Apple, Sonic Foundry, Meta Creations, Macro Media and or NewTek. The fruit of this mobilization led to first four Teen Digital Reel Showcase and Awards held February 7, 1997, March 8, 1998, March 14, 1999, March 12, 2000 and April 29, 2001 respectively. Major media personalities, Stan Atkinson (KOVR 13) and Kitty O'Neal (KFBK Radio); Kelly Ryan (KCRA 3) and Chris Eddy (Fox 40); Bob Hilton (KOVR 13 and Angela Buchman (KCRA 3); Tina Macua, Doug Brauner and Mark S. Allen ( KMAX 31) and Bree Walker, (CBS TV) have hosted the beautiful media events. Last year, Kristina Werner and Tim Robinson, (KTXL Fox 40) hosted. Afterwards, each year, the Crocker Art Museum has sponsored a month long exhibit of the youth winners and family reception.
These Teen Digital Reel Showcase events were organized, designed and supported
by all volunteer friendships and coordination between the education community
and sponsoring hi tech businesses. The UC Davis New Media Center Lab, Cosumnes
River College Communication Arts Department, the Communication Studies Department
of CSUS and Access Sacramento host a series of Saturday digital training opportunities
for youth to gather with their mentors to learn and share skills to improve
their entries. The calendar of training events and images of past work can be
seen on our website (www.towerofyouth.org).
Major, commercial quality equipment donations and software to TOY for participating
schools have come from NewTek, Discreet, Apple, Sonic Foundry, Macromedia
and others. Beyond the annual achievement of producing the digital movie competition
event, the Tower of Youth is committed to long term regional youth organization
and promoting careers for youth in radio, television, film, theater and internet
learning and creative activities.
Tower Of Youth teens are forming a communication arts career guild, the Youth
Broadcast and Media Association, a stepping stone organization
towards a media corporation and decisive voice in the decision making of the
organization. Youth must aim to become a major community and commercial contributing
asset to the society-at-large offering membership, mounting career projects
and demonstrating the synergy in combining telecommunications, entertainment,
arts and media skills .
Benefits to youth activists, business community, and schools are:
• CAREER SKILLS & JOBS - Promote
high interest and hands on access among teens to a range of state-of-the-art
computer graphics technology
• YOUTH MESSAGE - Create new and compelling channels for youth to address and image challenging personal and societal concerns, conditions and issues
• PROFESSIONAL & PEER MENTORS - Organize a region wide, professional computer graphics and arts mentor network and combine computer talented youth with their peers in performing and other communication arts
• CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS - Galvanize
school and commercial professional partnerships to accelerate the quality of
digital graphic knowledge and competencies
Contact:
Phone: 916/922-0100 • Fax: 916/944-0700 • Web Site:
www.towerofyouth.org