Dixie State University wins 5 national Telly Awards for 2 music videos

Competing against more than 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents, Dixie State University won five national Telly Awards, which honors excellence in video across all screens.

Dixie State earned a gold, three silver and one bronze awards for its music videos “You Will be Found” and “You Make My Dreams Come True.” The videos were produced, filmed, edited and starred in by Dixie State students, faculty and staff.

“The Telly Awards have long been a prestigious industry benchmark for video production and bring together many of the biggest names in the business,” Jordon Sharp, Dixie State’s vice president of marketing & communication, said. “For Dixie State to win five awards, it is an enormous honor and demonstrates the extraordinary talent that we have here.”

Bringing awareness to mental health, “You will be Found” earned Gold in the Promotional Video General- Cause Marketing category and Silver in both the Promotional Video General – Schools/Colleges/Universities and Promotional Video General – Public Interest/Awareness categories. The video is a re-creation of a performance of the song from the hit Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” that DSU’s song and dance performing team, Raging Red, has shared around the country. The video depicts the true stories of students’ mental wellness struggles and furthers the conversation about prevention efforts for suicide, the leading cause of death for youth ages 10-17 in Utah.

“Both of these videos were the stories of individuals, but they were related to almost everyone,” Matt Black, Dixie State videographer and photographer, said. “In ‘You Will Be Found,’ we take on mental health issues and major life crises. Through showing glimpses into so many different lives, it really paints the picture that no matter what you personally struggle with, you are not alone.”

“You Make My Dreams Come True,” which follows Dixie students through the decades, was awarded Silver in Branded Content General – Education and Bronze in Promotional Video General – Schools/Colleges/Universities. The video highlights memorable moments — from going to dances to receiving their diplomas at Commencement — that students experience on campus and the impact a degree from Dixie State can not only have on graduates but also on their families for generations to come.

In addition to this year’s honors, Dixie State won two Gold, a Silver and a Bronze Telly Awards last year for the music video “A Million Dreams.” The video, which the university partnered with singer, actor and YouTube sensation Alex Boyé to create, is an Africanized version of the popular song from the blockbuster movie “The Greatest Showman.” Highlighting the university’s academic offerings against Dixie’s picturesque destination, the video features hundreds of members of the Dixie State and Southern Utah communities.

The Telly Awards was founded in 1979 to honor excellence in local, regional and cable television commercials with non-broadcast video and television programming added soon after.  The Telly Awards is judged by leading video and television experts from some of the most prestigious companies in entertainment, publishing, advertising and emerging technology.

To watch Dixie State University’s award-winning videos, click here.