Voting under way in N.O.W. Films contest

A student film contest, the annual Tech Tonic Technology Expo, and a presentation from digital media guru Matthew Dunn, co-founder of Say It Visually, highlight Western Washington University’s forthcoming event, “Digital Media: The Future is N.O.W.” on April 11 on the Western campus.

Voting has begun on the open category of the contest. Votes are being taken via Viking Village, Western's campus forum.

Films in the open category are no longer than 3 minutes in length. There are two cash prizes in this category: $250 for the People’s Choice award as chosen by students and $250 for the Judge’s Choice. All pieces entered in this category will be judged evenly on technical merit and creativity. The top three films for the People’s Choice category will be chosen by users in Viking Village; those three pieces will be shown and voted on via smartphone by attendees of the April 11 Digital Media Conference.

Dunn’s presentation will be at 4 p.m. on the PAC Mainstage, and is free and open to the public.

Dunn’s company, Say It Visually!, explains complex topics with compelling visual stories. Launched in 2008, the company is already the world’s largest creator of private-label explanatory media. Dunn will lead a presentation and discussion on visual literacy for the new millennium.

Tech Tonic, Western’s annual technology expo featuring booths and presentations concerning the implications of the advancement of technology, will be held at the PAC lobby from 1- 4 p.m., and is also free and open to the public. Vendors and groups scheduled to attend include Apple (which will be discussing its new iBook authoring tool), the BAIRS student robotic club, the formula SAE group from Western’s Vehicle Research Institute, and the Bellingham Linux User’s Group.

For more information, contact John Thompson in the Office of University Communications in Old Main 300 at (360) 650-3350 or e-mail him at john.thompson@wwu.edu.