A Powell teen won a top award in C-Span’s StudentCam contest.
Olentangy Liberty High School freshman Benjamin Kurian took home first prize in the high school central division with his six-minute documentary, “The Road to Vision Zero.” Vision Zero refers to a national goal to eliminate road fatalities.
StudentCam’s theme this year was “Your Message to the President.” Around 3,500 students submitted videos, according to C-Span. Kurian’s award put him in the top five videos and earned him $3,000.
Kurian, 15, said he got the idea for the film after reading a report about the impact of road traffic crashes and possible solutions that could save lives, including artificial intelligence.
“Road fatalities affect every single one of us,” Kurian said. “It's a very familiar topic to all of us, I'd say. And it's something that we accept as normal, and that's something we really shouldn't do.”
Kurian’s documentary focuses on how AI could help save lives on the road. The short video is fast-paced and packed with information. He wrote, filmed, edited, narrated and scored the video himself.
Kurian also interviewed 10 people for the video, including transportation experts from state organizations, AI experts, and people who work on the road. He said it was a challenge to fit all those voices inside the video, but he let the experts’ ideas frame the script.
“I think that created a more fascinating and a more compelling narrative,” Kurian said.
It was a different approach than what Kurian did with his other award-winning StudentCam videos. As a 7th grader, Kurian won first prize in the middle school division for "Losing a Generation," a video looking at the impact of the opioid crisis. The next year, he took second place for his look at continuing education called, "Who Do I Want to Be?"
Kurian’s interest in video and storytelling began earlier, though. He said he got his start when he was in 4th grade during the pandemic. He spent 2020’s lockdown making videos of his toys with his parents’ iPhones and then uploading those to YouTube.
“Now, obviously, I’ve taken those down, because they’re super embarrassing,” Kurian said with a laugh.
Kurian is using a more professional camera now. He said the StudentCam contests helped him realize his videos could have purpose.
“I realized I could, you know, use my love for storytelling in video editing for something other than maybe bedroom movies with stuffed animals,” Kurian said. “I could use it for something that could bring awareness about a certain topic to a group of people.”
In the case of “The Road to Vision Zero,” Kurian wanted to make sure he left viewers with a message. He said his English teacher and video advisor Aaron Rothey gave him feedback.
Kurian’s takeaway is that while technology can be helpful, safety involves every driver on the road.
“Something that we need to focus on is becoming better drivers ourselves, because not all the time technology is going to save us,” Kurian said.
Of course, having turned 15 around a month ago, Kurian can’t actually drive yet. He said when he does get behind the wheel, he wants to be a good, safe driver.
In the meantime, “Road to Vision Zero,” is making an impact. Powell City Councilman Ferzan Ahmed invited Kurian to present his video at the International Bridge Toll and Turnpike Association’s annual summit in March in Dallas. Kurian showed his video and gave a speech.
“This little video that I edited in my bedroom is something that was premiered at a conference with a thousand plus attendees,” Kurian said. “I think it's really transformative what these connections can do.”
Kurian said he isn’t sure if filmmaking is something he wants to pursue as a career, but he hopes to keep making videos.
“The Road to Vision Zero,” premieres on C-Span at 6:50 a.m. on Saturday. It’s also available to watch on Kurian’s website.
