Inspire
AWARDS
EMMY FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
In 2001, Mark Lichtle, president of Aerial Extreme received a phone call from James Reid, the producer of the KPIX hit show Evening Magazine. The show at the time was being hosted by Mike Rowe and Malou Nubla. T and they were looking for something new and exciting for an upcoming segment. James was interested in the extreme sports footage that Mark was producing for television but also wanted something family driven – extreme sports with a twist. What James found that excited him was an airborne love story about a family that looks ‘normal’ on the surface but has a deep extreme adventure undercurrent. After discussing it over with Mark, James came up with the title “Love is in the Air”. It would beHe would create an episode including that would include Mark, his wife, Nancy, and their two year old daughter, Taylor. The show was based on their love for each other and the sport they loved so much, skydiving.
With cameras in tow, Evening Magazine followed the Lichtle family for a couple of days collecting footage for the show, from family walks down the street, to Nancy’s typical day in the office as a marketing executive in Silicon Valley, to a day of
skydiving in Monterey, California – much of it , all with little Taylor tagging alongin tow. Mark supplied the extreme sports footage to help round out the episode.
Tremendous Viewer Response
The show was a hit from its first airing. The response was so great that Evening Magazine ended up producing
two more complete episodes while the first episode was busy being nominated for an Emmy.
Mark was excited at the chance to win his first Emmy, but James Reid quickly cooled him down as this was
James’s fifth nomination without a single win. Unfortunately, Mark was out of town on for work during the
awards ceremony and couldn’t attend. With his hopes of winning now in check, Mark didn’t even think twice
about his chances of winning while he was in Idaho workingBASE jumping with Nancy and others – working to
capture more adventure video.
The Unexpected Call
Then Markhe got an early morning call on his cell phone from an elated James Reid. “We won,” Jameshis said.
“, Wwe won!” Mark was stunned. He actually won an Emmy Award on his first nomination and for doing
something he loved - doing, extreme sports – with the people he love – his family.
First Place NCME AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY
On May 4th, 2014 the Inspire project claimed its first award with it's performance driving sequence.
Justin Rypma, the lead cinematographers and editor on the project submitted the sequence through his highschool into the first annual NCME, Northern California Media Educators, Awards Showcase. The top highschools in the area submitted their best student made films to compete in fifteen different catagories.
The sequence was entered under the documentary catagory as an independent film seperate from the rest of the inspire project. The five miniute sequence came out on top of its catagory with a first place win against stiff competition from the other thirty highschools.