Wheatland OmniMedia Wins Aegis Award for Unique Homeless Documentary
Naperville, IL – Wheatland OmniMedia, and Producer Karen Walerow, has won an Aegis Award for their production of the documentary “Walking the trail”. The Aegis Awards are the media industry's premier competition for peer recognition of outstanding productions. The half hour documentary was honored for its story telling and exceptional production values by a distinguished panel of judges representing media industry professionals from around the country.
“Walking the Trail” is the brain-child of Director Jake Elster of Naperville. For a year, three homeless men were given cameras to document their daily lives. Using a process called photo-ethnography, the men, Jeff, Darryl, and Smokey, used the pictures they took to guide the discussions presented in the film. At the end of each discussion, the men decided what new images they should capture next. This was done over a dozen times resulting in many hours of narrative and hundreds of photographs. Elster compiled the stories in partnership with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and was supported by a grant from the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values at Washington University in St. Louis.
Wheatland OmniMedia donated most of their resources to the project once they met Elster. “Jake brought us hundreds of pictures, hours of audio, and a basic framework. We then took the materials and put together the story. During this process we also enhanced the audio and color corrected many of the pictures.” Walerow says. “Jake had a great concept and executed it well. We were very happy to work with him as producers to create a unique view of homeless life in Chicago.” Walerow continues.
Wheatland took to the trail as well, capturing many locations on video and still photography for the opening of the documentary and to highlight certain sections. “We wanted to give the viewer a sense of what the areas featured in the film are really like.” Walerow said.
“Walking the Trail” is currently in competition for further awards around the country.
About Wheatland OmniMedia
Wheatland OmniMedia is a locally owned and run business located in Naperville Illinois. Through their Studios, New Media Services, and Film Labs groups, Wheatland OmniMedia surrounds their clients with quality media capabilities in all mediums and provides the knowledge that makes the difference in effectively communicating their client’s message.
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