The awards ceremony on June 1 for the Ontario Mining Association’s high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining highlighted the creativity and talent of a multitude of students from different parts of the province. Their productions gave the audience at the Royal Ontario Museum for the ceremony a glimpse of the potential for the future success of these young film makers.
So what does an operetta about mining, a mock press conference, a rap song, a demonstration on the uses of rare earth elements, a local mining deal carried out in Bengali, a parody of the Terry Tate linebacker skits, an animation where MiningMan saves the world, a guided tour of Timmins, a philosophical discussion on the complexity of the world and an exploration of mineral industry careers have in common?
The producers of those videos all walked off the stage with SYTYKM statues and cheques in recognition of their hard work and videographic talents. Topping the list as the Best Overall winner was Amanda Ceniti from Georgetown District High School for “Mining: A Musical.”
Josiah Scott from Jean Vanier Catholic High School in Collingwood won Best Original Screenplay for “Without Mining” while Max Parr from the Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto won Best Original Score for “Mine(d) Your Business.” Last year, Mr. Parr walked off with the Best Director award for SYTYKM.
Meaghan Butler from South London C.I. was deemed Best Director for “Mining Opportunities.” In 2009, Ms. Butler won the Best Original Screenplay award in the inaugural SYTYKM contest. Back to the 2011 winners and Md.Rayun Mehrab from Danforth Tech in Toronto who captured the Best video in a language other than English category for the Bengali production “The Mining Prospectors.”
The take-off “Highschool Minebacker” earned Mitch Langdon from Woodstock C.I. the Best Comedy category and Quentin Hall from H.B. Beal Secondary in London won the Best Animation prize for “MiningMan and the Power of Mining.”
The Best Runner-up prize was shared between Leah Gosselin from Ecole Secondaire Catholique Theriault in Timmins and Ray Xue from Don Mills C.I. in Toronto for “Tomorrow.” Also, Daniela Carlino from Lake Superior High School in Terrace Bay, who produced “Career Day in Mining,” was on hand to put together a video of the awards ceremony for the OMA website.
The Best Overall winner received $5,000 and the winners in the other major categories received $2,500 each. The OMA views these cash prizes as scholarships. There is also a People’s Choice Award and an Early Bird prize. With secondary prizes included, SYTYKM handed out $28,500 in prize money.
These SYTYKM winners are an extremely accomplished group of students. Many are moving on to further their education in radio and television arts, film and animation programs at universities and colleges in Ontario. The awards gala attracted strong support from the mining industry, government, media and the education sector. The SYTYKM winners had parents, siblings and teachers on hand to share in this acknowledgment of their success.
For more information on the SYTYKM competition see the OMA website www.oma.on.ca. Watch for the launch of the fourth SYTYKM competition in the Fall of 2011.