UC Production Master Class Films 2015 Expedition Alaska Adventure Race

The

University of Cincinnati’s Production Master Class

 changed venues from California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range to the pristine wilderness of Alaska to document

Expedition Alaska 2015

from

June 28 to July 5

.

A crew of seven UC students traveled to Alaska this summer, to work with media professionals and develop a documentary film covering this extraordinary sporting event.

A premier qualifying race for the Adventure Racing World Series,

Expedition Alaska 2015

features ocean kayaking, whitewater rafting, glacier trekking, rock climbing and mountain biking. Four person teams, comprised of the world’s best endurance athletes, navigate by map and compass through the stunning scenery of the world’s most remote, famous and beautiful terrain, the Kenai Peninsula.

The UC Production Master Class involves an interdisciplinary group of students and faculty from the University of Cincinnati who work with nationally recognized television and film professionals to produce digital media content that reaches a national and global audience.

Since 2012, the UC Production Master Class has involved over 90 UC students hailing from the

College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)

, the

College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP)

and the

McMicken College of Arts and Sciences

.

Developed by CCM Professor

Kevin Burke

and UC Alumnus and Emmy award-winning producer

Brian J. Leitten

(BFA, 2001), the UC Production Master Course was first funded by a three-year grant from the

UC Forward Collaborative

, an initiative that supports experiential learning and is part of the UC Academic Master Plan. Earlier this year,

UC President Santa Ono

pledged additional funding, which allowed the production to continue beyond its initial three-year grant period.

The goal was to create a transformative, “hands-on” experience for the students by taking them out of the classroom and into the field to produce the documentary series that could be distributed to a national television audience.

The project’s initial three years focused on the Gold Rush Expedition Race, a grueling 275-mile race through the California wilderness. Three 90-minute films were produced to document that race. All three films have aired nationally on

NBC’s Universal Sports Network

.

The

2013 Gold Rush Expedition Race

documentary film was recently nominated for an

Ohio Valley Regional Emmy Award

by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the professional category of

Best Documentary – Cultural/Topical

.

You can learn more about that nomination by visiting

http://www.uc.edu/news/NR.aspx?id=21859

.