NATPE Educational Foundation Accepting Entries for Annual Student Video & Film Production Awards

LOS ANGELES - The National Association of Television ProgramExecutives' (NATPE) Educational Foundation has formally opened its callfor entries for its annual Student Video & Film Production Awards.The announcement was made by Lew Klein, co-founder of NATPE andpresident of the organization's Educational Foundation.

Open to any full-time, matriculated undergraduate college oruniversity student, the Student Video & Film Production Awardsrecognize excellence in the production of video or film projectscomprised entirely of original footage. Each entry must be two minutesor less in length. The productions may be fiction or non-fiction andtake any form (for example, commercials, public service announcements,human interest stories, biographies, interviews, cultural events orprofiles of distinctive individuals) and must be related to theapplicant's school or university.

All entries, which will be judged based on concept, execution andcreativity, must be submitted to the NATPE Educational Foundation on1/2" VHS videotape no later than May 5, 2003. Entries should be sent to2425 Olympic Blvd., Suite 600E Santa Monica, CA 90404 Attn: StudentVideo & Film Production Awards. Winners will be announced in June2003. More information on the 2003 NATPE Student Video & FilmProduction Awards can be found at www.natpe.org.

A $3,000 cash prize will be awarded to the outstanding entry alongwith a matching donation to the student's academic department.Moreover, the faculty or staff supervisor listed with the winning entrywill be invited as a NATPE 2004 Faculty Fellow to the association'sannual Conference & Exhibition next January 13-16, 2004, at theSands-Venetian Expo Center in Las Vegas. $1,000 will be awarded to thestudent producer of the second place entry, with a matching cashdonation to the student's academic department.

Regarding the announcement, Klein noted, "I encourage all studentsinterested in a career in television or film to seriously considerentering our Student Video & Film Production Awards. This event isdesigned to spark the creativity of students and give them theall-important head start in developing the skills many companiesthroughout the television industry seek in candidates for entry levelpositions."

Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, the NATPE EducationalFoundation, in addition to its Student Video & Film ProductionAwards, promotes educational activities on behalf of the associationthrough a wide array of seminars, grants, workshops, meetings,instructional videotapes and conferences throughout the year to reachout to NATPE members and the global academic community. TheFoundation's Faculty Development Grant (FDG) sponsors an annual summerprogram for college and university-level television educators to"intern" at a broadcast station or network, cable system or network,distributor or other media company. The "internship" allows an educatorto observe a media company's daily operations so that he or she canenrich their curriculum for students with an experience that reflectstheir teaching or research interests.

NATPE also provides "Educational" memberships to the association forfaculty. Services available through this membership are, to name a few,a discounted registration fee for NATPE's annual conference; onlinesubscriptions to the association's two widely utilized industry guides,Media Content Directory and NATPE Guide to North American Media, aswell as its quarterly research report Media Trends and monthlynewsletter; invitations to NATPE networking and seminar events heldthroughout the year; access to submit applications for NATPE's FacultyFellowship Program, as well as the FDG; and a complimentary annualedition of NATPE's "Living Curriculum" box set of video-taped panelsessions from the convention.

The Los Angeles-based National Association of Television ProgramExecutives (NATPE) is a global alliance of business professionalsengaged in the creation, development and distribution of content, aswell as advertising and financial activities. NATPE is the world'slargest non-profit association dedicated to facilitating the continuedgrowth and convergence of all content across multiple distributionplatforms.