Torch Relay Documentary Wins Four Accolade Awards

The Accolade Global Film Competition awarded the Everlasting Light: The Story of Indiana’s Bicentennial Torch Relay four accolade awards.

Muncie – Ball State University’s Department of Telecommunications and the Indiana Office of Tourism Development won four Accolade Awards of Merits in the Accolade Global Film Competition. The awards included an award of merit in the documentary short category, an award of merit in the documentary program/series category, an award of merit in the history/biography and travel category, and an award of merit in the cinematography category. Information about the awards can be found on the Accolade Competition website. The awards honor the documentary that showcased the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay in September and October of 2016.

During the five week relay, undergraduate and graduate students from Ball State University worked with university faculty and staff from the Indiana Office of Tourism Development to produce daily videos, photos, articles, and social media related to the relay. A second team operated out of Muncie and produced a 36-minute documentary titled, Everlasting Light: The Story of Indiana’s Bicentennial Torch Relay. All material is available online at: http://indianatorchrelay.com/.

The project and documentary have won a total of seven awards this year. In February, The East Central Indiana Chapter of the American Advertising Federation awarded the Indiana Bicentennial Torch Relay media team two Addy Awards including a Gold Addy in the Film, Video, and Sound for Public Service category and a Judge’s Choice for Best in Show. The student team was also awarded a Summit Emerging Media Award for their work. Throughout the relay, the media team produced 34 daily highlight videos; the 36-minute documentary, over 20,000 photos of the event and relay runners, 25 written articles, and numerous social media posts across Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

About the Relay
The 37 day journey was meant to inspire and unify Hoosiers by symbolically ‘passing the torch,’ connecting generations to ignite our future. The relay was developed by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development as a signature project of the Indiana Bicentennial Commission.

The relay traveled through 260 cities and towns across all 92 Indiana counties. The torch was carried a total of 3,226 miles by 2,242 torchbearers. The torch relay culminated at the Indiana Statehouse, where the Hoosier Homecoming celebration was held. An art sculpture titled Lux Aeterna located on Bicentennial Plaza now holds the everlasting light.

About the Media Team
From September 9 to October 15, the media team produced the media components working in conjunction with the Indiana Office of Tourism Development. The team traveled with the Torch through all 92 Indiana counties and provided daily video highlight reels, social media posts, photos of the day’s events, and photographs of each and every torchbearer. A documentary team worked out of Ball State University to produce a ~36 minute documentary of the entire event. This team traveled to interview torchbearers, key political officials, and stakeholders of the 5 and 1⁄2 week event. A writing team also worked independently to write a series of articles on state history, the torch relay, and an overview of specific locations along the relay.

The project was financially supported by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development and Ball State University. It was implemented by the Department of Telecommunications and the Office of Immersive Learning at Ball State University. Altogether, thirty students from Telecommunications, Journalism, History, English, and Digital Storytelling worked on the project.

The production team included the following: Samantha Brammer, photographer; Anthony Campagna, cinematographer; Jacob Cannon, production assistant; Bre Daugherty, photographer; Erin Drake, staff writer; Hannah Dwyer, staff writer; Kelly Figley, assistant director; Garrett Finn, production assistant; Emily Fischer, assistant camera operator; Jack Freske, assistant camera operator and cinematographer; Amy Frye, production assistant; Brian Gibson, editor and graduate assistant; Michael Harris, lead editor and colorist; Micah Holtgraves, cinematographer; Sami Hunter, documentary director; Daniel Johnson, lead editor; Luke Jones, field audio specialist; Michelle Kaufman, staff writer; Lydia Kirschner, social media; Sadie Lebo, social media and lead photographer; Nicole Lehrman, cinematographer; Jana Lowery, editor; Denver McQuaid, motiongraphics and production assistant; Kayla Meehan, field producer; Vivien Pong, executive producer; Max Troyer, field audio specialist; Abigail Urbik, field audio director; Claire Willette, production assistant; Michele Whitehair, staff writer; Zeyu Zhang, field producer; Chris Flook, project advisor and web designer; and Kelli Huth, immersive learning advisor.

Media Contact
Chris Flook
Project Advisor
Lecturer of Telecommunications
caflook@bsu.edu
1.765.730.0841
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