Leanna Coy

News Editor

The New Media Showcase will open on Feb. 13 in Orville J. Hanchey Gallery and will be on display there until Feb. 27. The ceremony and awards presentation will be on March 3 from 4-6 p.m. in the Varnado Hall ballroom.

The showcase features photography and video from students, faculty and alumni of the Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts.

New Media faculty member Emily Zering, codirector of the showcase, said this year will be more of a three-dimensional experience than in years past. Zering said some of the submissions will be displayed on easels this year instead of just on the walls. This is also the first year the reception will be held in Varnado.

“The Varnado space is so great that we really wanted to take advantage of that,” Zering said.

Another element that will make this year’s showcase unique is the addition of a video category. Zering said there will be both creative documentary-style and news broadcast-style videos joining the usual digital single-lens reflex and cell phone photography submissions. Zering said there will be televisions set up to play the videos in the gallery and during the reception.

“I look forward to this every year, but I’m just really excited to see all of the students’ work up in the gallery,” Zering said. “It really highlights some of the talent and hard work that’s being put in over in the Department of New Media.”

Dr. Ron McBride, codirector of the showcase, said he had always liked the idea of having a video category, but the logistics were not worked out until this year.

“We needed to do video because that’s an important part of what we do at Northwestern,” McBride said.

 McBride said the quality of the work submitted this year is the best it’s ever been.

“Every year I don’t think the submissions can get better, but they do,” McBride said.

Nadia Johnson, a sophomore communications major, said she went to the showcase last year as a spectator and loved it. This year, she decided to enter a few of her own photos. Johnson said she submitted two photos in the DSLR category and one in the cell phone category.

“I always look forward to seeing which photos are selected because I like seeing other photography styles,” Johnson said.

While the showcase is on display in Hanchey Gallery, visitors can vote for the People’s Choice Award. Visitors can read instructions on how to vote in the gallery. During the March 3 reception, awards will be given for the top three in each category, Best in Show and People’s Choice Award.