Penn State Public Broadcasting productions win Aurora awards

Topher Yorks Penn State students are briefed by a park ranger in the Grand Canyon as Topher Yorks, far right, films for 'Geology in the National Parks.'

Penn State Public Broadcasting (PSPB) productions have been recognized with three top Aurora awards: a Platinum Award for the PBS-distributed documentary "Small Ball: A Little League Story" and two Gold Awards for "Geology in the National Parks" and "Penn State Outreach: Shared Stories," both produced by PSPB's Creative Services multimedia unit in partnership with departments at Penn State.

Gold Award-winner "Geology in the National Parks" won in the self-promotional/demo reel category. Produced in partnership with the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, it features the Geology in the National Parks course taught on location by Evan Pugh Professor Richard Alley and Sridhar Anandakrishnan, associate professor, from the college. It was co-written and directed by Tom Keiter and co-written and edited by Joe Myers. Co-producer is Topher Yorks with videography by Jeff Preston and audio mix by Kerry Trout. The featurette already has been recognized with a first-place Telly award, a first-place Communicator award and a regional Emmy Award.

Gold Award winner "Penn State Outreach: Shared Stories," produced for Penn State Outreach, won in the recruitment category. Producer is Tom Keiter. Co-director, editor is Joe Myers with audio mix by Kerry Trout. Tracey Huston oversaw the project for Outreach.

Platinum Award winner "Small Ball: A Little League Story," distributed nationally on PBS in 2004, was recognized in the sports-related category. The 90-minute documentary tells the story of a team of 11- and 12-year-old Little-Leaguers as they go from their small town all the way to the 2002 Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Executive producer is Station Manager Tracy Vosburgh. Producers are Louis Alvarez and Andrew Kolker of the Center for New American Media. Coordinating producer is Sandra Zweig with Peter Odabashian as editor and photography by John Chater.

The Aurora Awards is an international competition designed to recognize excellence in the film and video industries. The competition has categories to feature the work of private and corporate production groups, advertising agencies and television stations. It specifically focuses on regional or special interest entertainment and corporate-sponsored film and video. Entries are judged by peer panels on technical execution, content and creativity. Entries have come from across the United States and abroad, including Canada, Hong Kong, Mexico and other nations.