The Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) has announced the winners of the 2015 Teen Video Challenge. Arlington Public Library, in partnership with Workman Jr. High’s 8th grade book club, has been named the winners for the state of Texas.
Twenty-six states across America participated with over a hundred teens entering the contest. This is the second year Arlington Public Library has participated in this competition and this is the second consecutive win. This is the debut year for Workman Jr. High’s participation in the competition.
Ms. Sara Darden, Workman Jr. High’s school librarian, worked in conjunction with Arlington Public Library staff to guide members of the school’s 8th grade book club through the video’s creation process. The team, which consists of Brandton Keracik, Kwesi Tuffour, Austin Shuller, Janie Le, and Nikolas Oscib, met once a week for four weeks and created a 90-second video in their school library with their interpretation of this year’s CSLP teen slogan “Unmask”. The teens worked in their free time after school to create the winning video.
The video tells the story of misinformed Nick, a teen who thinks libraries are filled with nothing but old, boring books. Luckily, his friend Austin is determined to show him that this is simply a common misconception. After Nick falls into a portal and is transformed into the literary villain, Discard, his arch-nemesis, Bookman, shows him the error of his ways. Nick and the viewer are left knowing more about what libraries can offer.
The group was very enthusiastic about this project and even provided their own costumes from home. Each teen decided what role to play in the process, either in front or behind the camera. The team took real pride in making this video, often wanting retake after retake to make sure the each shot was perfect. The group will receive a monetary prize of $150 and a plaque in recognition of their exceptional work. The winning video will be showcased through Workman Jr. High’s social media and at the school’s upcoming media fair.
The winning videos can be found here: https://www.cslpreads.org/programs/teen-program/teen-video-challenge/
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