ALPENA — The Sanctuary of the Great Lakes is getting more exposure while local videographers get more experience.
The fifth annual Fresh Takes 2021 video contest, hosted by the Alpena Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, recently concluded, with Paul Gerow winning first place, and Nicky Searcy taking second place and the people’s choice award.
Both winners submitted in the category of “Environment, natural outdoor landscapes.”
The Fresh Takes winnning videos are available to view on the CVB Facebook page, “Alpena: Sanctuary of the Great Lakes.”
Searcy has participated in this competition four out of the contest’s five years, he said. He got third place the first year, first place the next two years, and second place this year. Each year, he tries to film different areas in and around Alpena.
“This year, I focused more on the birds,” he said. “And just, like, weird spots. I would just go and drive around and just find random spots and just put my drone up and just see what I could see. All my clips are with a drone.”
He said he got clips of six or seven types of birds. Filming from the drone offers a unique perspective.
Searcy has always enjoyed taking photos and video.
“I’ve always had a camera, and then my grandpa ended up buying a drone probably five years ago,” he said, noting that they shared it until Searcy crashed it into the lake. Then he bought his own.
“Me and my friends are kind of into photography and video editing and stuff like that, so it was cool to see a contest around here,” he said.
Searcy went on a road trip out West this fall, which made him realize how fortunate he is to live in Northern Michigan.
“You don’t really realize much when you live here all your life,” he said. “Out there, there’s no water anywhere, or birds and wildlife, and once you hit, like, three hours from Michigan coming back, you kind of realize how different it is.”
He said all the fall colors were beautiful when he came back, and it felt good to be home.
“It is pretty unique up here,” he said.
He hopes people who watch his video are inspired to come visit.
Attempts to reach Gerow via phone and email were not successful.
An in-person premier event did not happen this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is the fifth annual Fresh Takes event,” said Kyla Schatz, visitor experience specialist at the Alpena Area CVB. “This is the first one that we actually haven’t had a premier for. Usually, we have it at Bob’s Bullpen … and we showcase the videos on the big screen there, but, this year, unfortunately, due to COVID, we weren’t able to do that.”
In late 2020, local residents and visitors were encouraged to submit a 30-second to two-minute video to the Bureau’s annual video contest.
The goal of the contest is to offer amateur videographers and filmmakers a platform to share their passion while showcasing the natural beauty, resources and recreational opportunities our area has to offer.
“The purpose of the contest is, one, for anyone who’s an aspiring videographer to go out, shoot some video and really be creative and have fun with it,” Schatz said. “The second is to really help the area be showcased. Many of our followers on Facebook don’t live around here, and we do have a lot of tourists looking at the page, and this will help them get an idea of what the Alpena area is like. And we always like to say that you can come up north, get away from the stress and the city life, and take advantage of the state parks and the nature and the lakes that we have here that a lot of people don’t have near where they live. So, watching these videos will definitely, I think, inspire them to travel up here.”
She added that the videos are also for locals to enjoy.
“I think, a lot of times, we take for granted where we live,” Schatz said. “We are surrounded by so much natural beauty and natural resources. We have the lakes, we have the trees, and just wonderful things to do here.”
Two contestants submitted their videos on the deadline of Dec. 30, 2020. A team of judges with film and production experience critiqued the short videos based on a given criteria, a press release explained.
“We designed this contest to offer creators of Alpena videos a stage upon which to tell their visually compelling story from start to finish about Alpena, our Sanctuary of the Great Lakes,” said Alpena Area Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Mary Beth Stutzman. “Video is an important communication tool in that it allows creators to visually reach out to the viewer and inspire them. Just as each one of us is unique and different, each video creation offers a unique take on the creator’s personal interpretation of Alpena as the Sanctuary of the Great Lakes — whether it be exciting, intriguing, educational, or emotional.”
Videos can inform, inspire, entertain, or anything in between, according to the press release. Each entry was required to focus on presenting Alpena as the Sanctuary of the Great Lakes — meaning Alpena is a place where history and heritage collide with relaxed outdoor adventure. It is a place to escape the stress of everyday life, where one can leave their cares behind to relax, restore, and rejuvenate while exploring.
Videos were submitted in one of these three categories:
¯ Arts, culture, or heritage specific to Alpena
¯ Outdoor recreation and outdoor lifestyles, including silent sport activities
¯ Environment, including relaxing natural landscapes, local natural features, etc.
Organizers hope to have more entries next year.
Searcy will definitely be back next year.
The Link LonkFebruary 01, 2021 at 01:05PM
https://www.thealpenanews.com/life/2021/02/fresh-takes-2021-video-contest-winners-announced/
Fresh Takes 2021 video contest winners announced | News, Sports, Jobs - Alpena News
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