Contest winner offers 30 seconds of safety
IU sophomore Eva Stuart is the winner of IU Libraries Moving Image Archive Safer Together contest
This article was written by Guest Journalist Barb Berggoetz.
IU sophomore Eva Stuart wanted her remixed video to grab the attention of students. She thought vintage ambulance sirens blaring and motionless bodies lying on the ground would drive home the importance of street safety and the dangers of traveling on campus.
The judges who selected her 30-second video to win the IU Libraries’ first-ever archival remix contest this past May agreed. Stuart will receive $2,000 from IU Libraries for her entry in the Safer Together contest: An Archival Remix Contest. With the money, she will buy her first professional video camera to create personal projects and use for professional purposes. “I had no clue I could win,” said Stuart, 19, a Media School film production major. “I’m super excited to get it out there, and I hope it makes an impression, especially on freshmen.”
In making her video, Stuart wanted to convey how not using safe road practices affects the entire community, not just oneself, and the staged crash victim clips were stark reminders of what could happen.
Stuart, a part-time archival assistant at the IU Black Film Center and Archives, loves working with archival material and storytelling. She wants to be a producer or director of narrative and documentary films. While she was attracted by the money, the Bloomington native also has seen accidents on campus, particularly due to scooters. “Those frightened me and all my friends,” said Stuart. “It does feel like it’s a pressing issue.”
The video will be played regularly on screens in the Wells Library in August and September and was included in an IDS social media campaign this fall.
View three versions of winning safety videos
The winning video, Stuart’s “Drive Safely" is presented through IU Libraries Media Collections Online (MCO).
The three top-scoring videos are all archived through here for long-term storage and access.
- Richard Jermain, a runner-up and Media School Ph.D. candidate, made "Share the Road, Save a Life."
- Srikar Devulapalli, the other second place winner and a graduate student studying Data Science at Luddy, created "Safer Together 2023." They received $500 each.
Prize money was provided by IU Libraries financial supporters, including IU alumni who may have worked at the libraries as students.
About the contest
In the spring of 2023, IU Bloomington students were invited to create short, compelling videos using archival footage related to street safety from the Moving Image Archive. They could select clips from 30 archival films dating from 1935 to 1977 to re-edit for a public service announcement. Ten students entered. Four professionals representing the IU Libraries, Public Safety, Communications and Marketing, and Cinematic Arts judged videos for originality, quality, appropriateness, and effectiveness.
"The project originated from discussions between Ruth Lilly Dean of University Libraries Diane Dallis-Comentale and Director of IU Libraries Moving Image Archive (IULMIA) Rachael Stoeltje about the significant number of students involved in accidents from scooters, bikes, and cars," said Carmel Curtis, IULMIA's moving image curator & digital initiatives lead.
“We saw this as an opportunity to educate,” said Curtis, contest coordinator. “We’re here for students. If they are being injured, it impacts all of us. If there’s a way we can help ensure the safety of students, then that’s important for our work.”