The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed in anticipation.
A screen at the front of the lecture theatre was shining bright and illuminating the space.
All at once a loud beep echoed through the room.
The show had begun.
On Wednesday, March 18, Durham College (DC) students and staff celebrated the annual live screening event for the MAD 48-hour Storytelling Challenge.
Registered students had just two days to create an artistic project that told a story through a medium of their choosing.
The event showcased all 16 submissions which included digital drawings, written stories, a photo series, traditional drawings and short films.
Students who signed up were sent an information package on Friday, March 13 and had until Monday, March 16 at 9 a.m. to submit their projects.
For the first time the challenge was divided into two categories, still media or motion media, which gave students more chances to win.
The event was hosted by the Faculty of Media, Art of Design, and organized by Megan Pickell, the student support technician for Media Loans and Print Services.
Using the submissions she received, Pickell created a slide show of all the projects and displayed them live.
The contest is unique because a new theme is chosen every year. This year, it was loop.
Nicholas Coon, a second-year video production student at DC, was one of this year’s winners.
He won $250 in pre-paid Visa gift cards for his short film “Consumption Loop.”
“I immediately just thought of things I do on loop, like sometimes I’ll watch the same movies or TV shows and I’ve always kind of wondered why there’s a comfort in doing that type of thing,” says Coon.
His short film follows one person moving through familiar routines which repeat over and over again. As the repetition carries on the pace of the film begins to increase, all while Coon’s voice is used as background noise.
“I just expanded on that idea of why we repeat these patterns, and then that turned into other types of patterns, like things we consume or things we do on a daily basis,” says Coon.
As a first-time participant, Coon’s favourite part of the experience was the anticipation of the live screening event.
He was so nervous, and excited, that he was counting down the seconds till the event, “waiting for the day to pass, each class that ended, I was like ‘OK, I’m now three hours away from this.’”
Now that the event is done Coon says he is “relieved” but also eager to keep building his skills.
“I honestly thought some of the other videos today were amazing and I didn’t think I was going to win after seeing them – but it kind of inspires you to continue to push your creativity,” says Coon.
Amy Bridges won the still category with a traditional drawing titled “Infinite Loop of Life and Death.”