MDC-TV Wins Four Honors From The Communicator And Telly Awards

The College’s award-winning TV station—MDC-TV—recently received four honors for two projects they produced last year.

On May 6, the network, which is based at North Campus, received three Communicator Awards. Two weeks later, they were honored with a Telly Award.

The awards recognize excellence across multimedia communication. 

MDC-TV’s awards were for the following programs:

• A Gold Communicator Award in Features: Events and Live-streaming for Video Game Concert 2024.
• A Gold Communicator Award for Public Service & Activism Award for Black History Month.
• A Silver Communicator Award in Social Media: Games & Gaming for Video Game Concert 2024.
• A Silver Telly Award in Live Events & Experiences for Video Game Concert 2024.

“These awards are never guaranteed,” said MDC-TV Executive Director and Senior Producer Ariel Rubalcava. “[This] puts our college station in the same conversation as major networks, proving that educational content can compete at the highest level.”

Video Game Concert 2024, a 27-minute long film that features a live performance by Miami Dade College students, includes orchestral music from video games such as Super Mario, Final Fantasy and Halo.

The project, which has had seven editions dating back to 2015, was directed by Rubalcava in collaboration with orchestral conductor Alberto Bade.

It began as a project for students to showcase music from their favorite video games and has developed into an award-winning final performance. 

The operation starts six months before the actual concert and involves projection technicians, art engineers, video engineers, audio technicians and around 60 musicians.

“We like to think of the concert as the ultimate test for the students,” Rubalcava said. “It’s always exciting, recognition like this validates the passion and hard work our team puts in behind the scenes.”

This year’s rendition will be performed on Saturday, June 21 at the Finn-Con: Anime & Gaming Expo at the Lehman Theater, Room 5120, at North Campus from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. It marks the program’s 10th anniversary. 

Black History Month was a montage released in February of 2024 to celebrate the influence of the African American community in show business.

Tony Leal, a producer with MDC-TV, directed the minute-long video. 

“I felt really happy because it is always special to be recognized for your individual work,” Leal said.

The production features African American influences who set a precedent for future generations, including poet Gwendolyn Brooks—who was the first African American to win a Pulitzer Prize—and singer Aretha Franklin, the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

“I wanted the African American community to see their historical legacy in entertainment,” Leal said. 

MDC-TV can be found on Comcast channel 78, Atlantic Broadband channel 78, AT&T U-Verse channel 99 and their YouTube channel.

One of the interviews for this story was conducted in Spanish.

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