Dance Marathon at Florida State University Receives National Digital Media Award
Dance Marathon at Florida State University (DM at FSU) was recently awarded the Digital Media Award at the Miracle Network Dance Marathon Leadership Conference in July. The award recognizes a dance marathon organization that best utilizes digital media to bring the mission of their organization to life, whether it be to highlight a campaign, educate and engage their audiences, or tell a story.
DM at FSU’s Technology Team had a goal to inspire others to join the movement and be a part of something bigger than themselves. To achieve this goal, they used strong storytelling through photography and videography with an emphasis on the emotions experienced by those involved in their cause. When shooting photo and videos DM FSU focused on the principles of photo/journalism, emphasizing the importance of reactions and never letting go of the shutter button until the story is clearly told, and worked to showcase the importance of each individual’s impact.
The first major project for the DM at FSU Technology Team was for Marshal’s Statement, producing a video story about how one individual can inspire hundreds of people to be apart of something bigger than themselves. They hoped to show the impact of Dance Marathon on one family and how Marshal’s legacy inspired the lives of everyone involved.
DM at FSU hoped to reach new audiences by making their Dance Marathon content standout on social media. By adapting to modern media trends and techniques, they captured the attention of people scrolling through their social feeds. One project included animating still photographs. In short, this means the subject in frame would be frozen while the smoke around them would be animated to appear as if it was moving. Furthermore, looping 1 second videos for their Dancer Registration Profile Pictures grasped the attention of new audience members.
In addition, DM at FSU tapped into the “Humans Of” trend, adapting it into their own “Faces of DMFSU” campaign, allowing them to share the diverse stories of many different people from throughout their organization.
Each of these projects gave DM at FSU the opportunity to inspire participants to continue their DM journey while also gaining a new following of individuals who were inspired by their multimedia productions.
Miracle Network Dance Marathon is an international movement, involving over 400 colleges, universities and K-12 schools across North America that fundraise for their local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Since its inception in 1991, Miracle Network Dance Marathon has raised more than $250 million–ensuring that no child or family fights pediatric illness or injury alone.
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