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As Aaron Chan ’26 and Liam Dupas ’26 brainstormed for an assignment in Associate Professor Vic Costello’s Creating Multimedia Content class, they came up with an award-winning idea.

The two cinema & television arts majors recalled the compelling life story of a fellow ���ϲ����� student, Finn Curran-Ng’asi ’26, who overcame unhealthy habits – like vaping, smoking and excessive gaming – with a commitment to calisthenics and weight training. The student filmmakers felt the moment was right to share his story. And to help chronicle Curran-Ng’asi’s journey, the students brought in Julien Dupas ’26, Liam’s twin brother, to help.

Titled “The Inspirational Story of Finn Curran-Ng’asi,” the final project is a two-minute documentary that this fall at the 2023 On-Location Student Creative Competition, hosted by the Broadcast Education Association. In total, more than 120 student submissions were submitted across the competition’s 12 categories.

The students credited Costello for recommending that they submit their documentary project to the BEA contest, open to all BEA institutions.

“We are just very grateful to Dr. Costello because we didn’t know that you could submit a student project to a festival. It was his idea all along,” Chan said. “We watched all the documentaries in class, and he came up to us afterward and said, ‘Do you want to submit this to the BEA festival and the school will cover all the costs?’ We were like, ‘Sure, why not?’”

According to the students, one of the main benefits of studying in the School of Communications is the support of faculty and staff. And Costello praised his students, commending their vision, ambition and desire to create strong work.

“Coming into the class, the students’ experience and skill level in film production was already developed beyond an introductory level,” Costello said. “Rarely do projects produced in this course rise to the level of a festival-quality submission, and I’m proud of Aaron and Liam for challenging themselves on this project and succeeding in their efforts to produce an award-winning work in their first year.”

The students remember being elated by Costello’s feedback, so much so they contacted relatives to share their instructor’s praise.

“Hearing those words from a professor, I called my family and I told them, ‘They can see something in what I’m trying to pursue,’” Liam Dupas recalled. “The words from Dr. Costello motivated me. Not only did I tell this great story, but I also executed a really cool film piece.”

The project did not happen overnight. The team went through a demanding process in a tight two-week window. And they utilized what they had available to them, shooting in a studio in Arts West and ���ϲ�����’s outdoor calisthenics park. The group set up a talking heads-style interview with Curren-Ng’asi that anchors the project’s story. Admittedly, the studio’s interview space could have been intimidating.

“That scares a lot of people, and I can only imagine being on the other side of the camera,” Liam Dupas said. “As soon as we got Finn in there, he saw the lights and all the fancy equipment, but once he started loosening up, we got really good answers.”

The interview audio, overlaying the entire piece, turned out to be a crucial element. The students believe that is what made the final product so moving. “The real stuff comes out when it’s just a conversation,” Chan said. “The interview subject feels comfortable, and you forget the mic is on.”

The students view the BEA accolades as a stepping stone on their career path. In addition to winning the award, the trio has founded Seismic Studios, a student-run production company, with two other ���ϲ����� classmates. The students plan to work with clients across the state, producing short videos, commercials, music videos, micro documentaries and other content.