High school media students interact with digital media more now than ever before, and they create diverse forms of media-related content worthy of recognition. The Digital Media Arts Consortium (DMAC) Festival sponsored by Robert Morris University is a way for students to submit their work in video, photography, journalism and design for recognition among their peers.
The DMAC organization was founded in 1991 and currently focuses on all media-related fields like television production, video, journalism, photography, and graphic design. Each Spring, students from DMAC member schools compete at the Spring Student Festival,in which there are over twenty five submission categories that are judged by industry professionals. A “Best in Category” is awarded for each category, and high levels of skill are awarded an “Award of Excellence.” Seniors also have the opportunity to receive the “Founder’s Award”, which is awarded to an outstanding media student from each local school district.
The Media Department won eight awards this year. The categories were in commercial video, instructional video, sports photojournalism, sports article, opinion article, best writing for the 48-hour film challenge, best music video, and a Founder’s Award earned by senior Mia Anderson.
Senior Claire Paez won an award of excellence for her opinion article on AI, “I was quite shocked when it was announced I won the DMAC Award of Excellence for my opinion article. My article focused on how the rise of artificial intelligence is affecting literacy rates and this is something I am very passionate about as I want to become a librarian.”
Winning a DMAC is not only an experience filled with pride and emotion, it also validates a student’s hard work and creativity.
“My reaction to winning DMAC this year made me feel very proud and happy for myself. I learned a lot from the 48-Hour Film Challenge,” senior Addy Kail said. “I learned that if you work hard and put in the effort you can win. And at the same time, I had a great time doing it and wish I could go back and do it again.”
PTHS has won almost two hundred awards since DMAC’s inception, and continues to win multiple awards each year. The current total includes approximately 161 awards for the video categories, 18 for journalism, and 10 for photography. Clearly, the Media Department focuses on teaching students important skills in many different fields of media.
Overall, the DMAC Festival is a positive experience that allows the Media Department to display its commitment to media arts. It often gives students the opportunity to take risks and discover new interests.
“I also learned after doing the 48-Hour Film Challenge that I really enjoy doing things like that and hope to be able to do something in the future. I went out of my comfort zone and did something I thought I would not enjoy, and ended up enjoying every second of it.”
