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Pioneer Announces Judging Panel For Extreme DVD Making Competition
Esteemed Media and Entertainment Industry Professionals Sign on to Judge Project Pioneer 2880
Long Beach, CA 10/16/2003
Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announced the panel of media and entertainment industry professionals that will judge the second annual Project Pioneer 2880, an extreme DVD making competition. Thirteen competing teams of students will spend 2880 frenzied minutes (two days) in October with a scenario, a cast, a crew, a digital camera and a Pioneer computer DVD recording drive to create five-minute DVD shorts and compete for part of $20,000 in prize money for their school. The judges will review the shorts and judge them based on cinematography, screenplay, performance, editing, use-of-technology and overall impression.
The members of the judging panel bring an array of industry experience to the competition. For the second year, writer, director, and winner of HBO's Project Greenlight, Pete Jones, will participate on the judging panel. Other judges include media representatives from some of America's favorite consumer publications, top-ranking members of two educational associations, and a lead production coordinator from NBC's hit reality series, Fear Factor. The 2003-2004 judging panel for Project Pioneer 2880 includes:
· Steven D. Anderson: As an assistant professor in the School of Media Arts & Design at James Madison University in Virginia, Dr. Anderson teaches courses in multimedia design. He is also vice president for academic relations on the board of directors for the Broadcast Education Association (BEA).
· Alexis Bledel: As an experienced young actress, Bledel brings several years of entertainment and moviemaking knowledge to the judging panel. Bledel currently plays Rory Gilmore on the WB's critically acclaimed hit show, Gilmore Girls. In addition to her television role, Bledel has starred in several films including Tuck Everlasting, and the upcoming films Orphan Kings and Bride and Prejudice. She has been nominated for Choice Actress in a Drama Series at the 2002 and 2003 Teen Choice Awards. Before being cast in the role of Rory Gilmore, Alexis attended New York University Film School to study writing and directing.
· Robert Engelman: A distinguished Hollywood producer, Engelman brings a wealth of entertainment industry knowledge and experience to the competition. His film credits span more than two decades and include blockbuster hits like Steel Magnolias, Scooby-Doo, Blade, The Mask and Footloose.
· Liesa Goins: Goins brings many years of journalistic and pop culture knowledge to the judging panel. As an associate editor for Men’s Health and former assistant editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, Goins has covered technology, pop culture trends and home entertainment.
· Pete Jones: Writer, director, and film competition winner, Pete Jones of HBO's Project Greenlight has signed on for his second year judging Project Pioneer 2880. Jones is currently in production on his second film, Doubting Reilly.
· Kevin Law: Experienced in many different aspects of production, Law has worked on projects including Bad Santa, The Princess Diaries, What's the Worst That Could Happen, Big Trouble, and the Disney Channel's hit series, Even Stevens. This will be his second year as a distinguished judge for Project Pioneer 2880.
· Robert Leveen: A veteran of the entertainment industry, Leveen brings more than twelve years of experience to his role as a judge for Project Pioneer 2880. His industry credits include working as an assistant director, producer and production manager on films such as Dante's Peak, Species, Loaded Weapon I, Ricochet and Permanent Midnight among others.
· Steve Morgenstern: This will be Morgenstern's second year as a judge for Project Pioneer 2880. He has spent many years as a contributing editor and writer for top consumer magazines covering entertainment and personal technology.
· Erin O'Brien: O'Brien has worked in production and post-production on a wide variety of projects. Currently, she is the lead production coordinator for NBC's hit reality show, Fear Factor. In addition, O'Brien has worked as a production coordinator and location manager for Timecop 2, Rent Control, After the Storm, and National Lampoon's Men in White.
· Suzanne Regan, Ph.D.: Dr. Regan brings an academic and industry trade perspective to the judging panel. She is a professor of film and television at California State University in Los Angeles. She is the national president of the University of Film and Video Association and former editor of the Journal of Film and Video.
· John Walsh: As the Senior Editor of Maxim and contributing writer to Blender, two of America's top-selling magazines, Walsh brings a catalogue of experience to the judging process. Walsh covers entertainment news, technology, and travel. He previously worked with TV Guide and The Hollywood Reporter.
· Fred Watkins, Ph.D.: Watkins is a distinguished member of the faculty at the University of North Texas, teaching directing, narrative film production, experimental film and screenwriting. Watkins also has several films in distribution, including A Matter of Honor, Reluctant Hitman, Brutal Fury, and Lethal Seduction.
“I'm thrilled to serve as a judge for Project Pioneer 2880,” said Erin O'Brien, lead production coordinator for NBC's reality show Fear Factor. “Digital technology makes it possible for young filmmakers to showcase their creativity and talent using tools readily accessible today, without big production budgets and studio contracts. I'm excited to see what these future industry professionals create in this extreme challenge.”
Each school selected to participate in Project Pioneer 2880 will receive a Pioneer DVR-S606 computer DVD burner and a $500 stipend to create their five-minute DVD short. They also will receive a one-paragraph story idea on which to base their DVD. The winning entry will be screened in January at the 2004 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Participating universities include the Academy of Art College, Augusta State University, Ball State University, Boston University, Brooks Institute, Florida State University, Los Angeles Film School, North Carolina School of the Arts, Northwestern University, Pepperdine University, University of Montevallo, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Washington.
Project Pioneer 2880 teaches the value of teamwork, time and budget management, which are useful skills in any business, particularly the film industry. Most importantly, it showcases the benefits of digital technology for sound and visual effects as well as for quick turn-around and easy distribution. The Pioneer DVD burner enables students to maintain a high quality video product that can easily be shared with others in a way that video-tape never before allowed.
Pioneer was one of the original companies that helped engineer the DVD format and was the first company to offer a computer DVD burner in 1997. Now, as DVD technology is becoming more widespread in its use, Pioneer has shipped more than 5 million DVD burners to businesses and households throughout the world. It has continued its innovative heritage with the recent introduction of an external DVD burner and a slim DVD burner for notebooks. The company's computer DVD burners support the DVD-R/DVD-RW format which was developed in part by Pioneer, as well as multiple other formats, enabling students to choose from a wide range of writable and re-writable discs to make their DVD short.
More information about the competition and outtakes from the 2002/2003 entries are online at www.pioneerelectronics.com/Project2880/Index.html. Participants in the 2002/2003 Project Pioneer 2880 competition included Florida State University (winner), Academy of Art College (runner up), Los Angeles Film School (runner-up), Brooks Institute, Columbia University, Northwestern University, Sheriden College, University of Oklahoma and University of Washington.
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