NLHS video blindsides its competitors

New London High School's Digital Video class, you've won bragging rights as the creators of the best 60-second movie ever, "The Other Side!"

OK, maybe not quite ever, but this class should be proud of itself. Not only did it enter a video that garnered the top number of votes (280) in The Day's Mini Video Challenge, but it also managed to produce the video just a week into the new Digital Video class, which was reinstated into the school's curriculum in January.

Rebecca DiPalma, the technology education teacher who runs the class, taught students how to create a storyboard for the video short and pick out key lines from the movie "The Blind Side" to develop the class' own minute-long movie.

Students in DiPalma's class campaigned heavily for their video. Senior Jamalyne Rhodes said she promoted the video on Facebook and MySpace in order to get all her friends to cast votes for the NLHS video.

The grand prize, a Flip Ultra camcorder, will stay with the Digital Video class. In addition to her regular class assignments, DiPalma said she plans to assign video projects specifically requiring the use of the Flip.

"We did it, Slim Jim," senior Anea Crespo told senior Ian Hook, who played the character Slim Jim, upon learning of the class' achievement.

The students are: Megan Branch, Anea Crespo, Yareliz DeJesus, Nathan Epperson, Alba Filomeno-Gomez, Ian Hook, Jannesha Lopez, Matthew Mirles, Jamalyne Rhodes, DeAndre Stanford and Lemar Williams.

We want to thank everyone for entering The Day's Mini Video Challenge. We loved "The Other Side," but we also had our own favorites, which we are recognizing with the following "Editors' Picks:"

• First place: "Julia and le Boeuf." We loved Karen Mitchill's whimsical, musical take on the movie "Julie and Julia."

• Second place: "Auf Wiedersehen." A well-produced video with great comedic effect, by 17-year-old William Mather and his friends.

• Third place: "Film Trek." Williams School students Ankur Gupta and Ran Liu clearly had fun putting their own spin on "Star Trek."

And what would an awards ceremony be without distinctions in special categories?

• Best Original Soundtrack: "'Up' in 60 Seconds" by Jamie-Grace Harper

• Best Special Effects: "UP and Down the Hallways" by Tripp Cotrell and Isacc Davis

• Best Foreign Language Film: "An Unglorious Basterd" by Matthew Fiedler

• Best Actor/Supporting Actor: "An Unglorious Basterd" by Matthew Fiedler

• Best Screenplay: "The Other Side" by New London High School Digital Video Class

• Best Nontraditional Use of Props/Best Portal to Another World: "NAVATAR" by James R. Grider

• Best Celebration of Being a Teenage Boy/Best Stunts: "Shernot Holmes" by Jack Haronian and Marissa Peck

• Best Accidental Appearance of a Teacher: "Film Trek" by Ankur Gupta and Ran Liu

Check out all the entries at www.theday.com/videochallenge.