CedarBridge Academy media communications students held their own in a student media festival involving schools from across the United States and other countries.

One of the oldest and largest events of its kind, the International Student Media Festival celebrates outstanding classroom, computer-generated media projects, including live action video, digital photography, sequential stills (such as PowerPoint presentations) and website design.

More than 1,100 entries were submitted earlier this year, with 119 being designated Judges' Favourites, and of the 30 submitted by CedarBridge Academy students, eight won the privilege of being featured during the 2007 festival held in Anaheim, California, three gaining the distinction of being selected as Judges' Favourites.

Johnelle Outerbridge, an S3 student when her entries were submitted, had two photographs, 'Bermuda Hibiscus' and 'Green', selected as Judges' Favourites, while the third Favourite, a photograph entitled 'Dancing Alone', was the work of S4 student Brittany Aguiar.

The photographs of Aston Trott (S3), Sydney Pitcher (S3), Shadday Simmons (S3) and Shomari Brown (S4) were all selected for display at the festival itself, as was S4 student Donn Foggo's sequential stills entry 'Journey to the Motherland,' the students all receiving certificates recognising their achievement.

Following attendance at the October 2006 festival in Dallas, Texas, Media Communications teacher Dana Selassie, encouraged students to produce a portfolio of work, the best of which was selected for the competition in February 2007.

Most of those entering were students of Ms Selassie, participating in a variety of classes from television communications to digital photography. For a few, becoming involved in digital photography and other media was a means of staying out of trouble, according to Ms Selassie.

So, for her: "It was more than just teaching a class. It was a way for the students to discover talent they didn't know they had, to develop a sense of pride in themselves and their work."

She added: "These students are awesome."

The students, for their part, seemed to enjoy the class, which has been discontinued this school year, Ashton Trott declaring, "I miss the class. It was one of the best classes in the school."

The festival itself took place from October 25 to 27, and involved workshops for teachers, parents and students, screenings of winning entries and an awards ceremony. The opportunities to learn from professional trainers and successful educators involved some of the latest media production tools. Students were inspired by the work of other students, and learned how to make their own work even better.

Although CedarBridge students have attended the festival in the past, this year, because of the wildfires in Orange County at the time, no students were able to attend.

Success in this venture has encouraged some of the students to develop further their interest in photography.

Shadday Simmons, who "didn't think I'd actually win," declared: "I'm going to take more pictures."

While Ashton Trott is considering photography as a career. Staphen Dill, who discovered "a love and passion for photography" in his media information class, has continued to take photos, mainly at parties, while Sydney Pitcher drew out a camera from her pocket during the interview and noted: "I have a camera with me all the time."

She is determined to capture images of her final year at school to add to the collage of friends' portraits she has on her bedroom wall.