By Bethany Peterson/nw news editor

The TCC-created documentary Apollo 11: 40 Years of Discovery is competing in the People’s Telly Awards, a competition for films and videos shown on TV and Web.

Anyone can view and vote on Apollo 11 by going to www.youtube.com/tellyawards. Apollo 11 is in the TV Program/Segments division.

The deadline for voting is April 16.

The documentary, brainstormed and produced by TCC video support services, discusses the process of getting a man to the moon, the technical challenges of the mission and the historical impact of the success. It hopes to inspire a new generation of scientists.

It is also a showpiece meant to increase faculty awareness of the largely untapped abilities and talents of the video support services, said John Gonzales, instructional television manager.

Video support is mostly called on to tape seminars but has the potential to do more, Gonzales said.

“We have a lot of resources we can tap into,” he said. “We are trying to eke in more educational programming.”

Faculty and staff at TCC were interviewed for their historical and technological perspectives on the Apollo program.

Historically, it was a huge thing for the U.S., said Lee Snaples, South Campus associate history professor. The Spanish can claim Columbus, and the Portugese sailed around the world first, but America got to the moon first, Snaples said.

Larry Darlage, NE Campus president, said he believes the video will help students appreciate the enormity of the mission’s success, especially given the limited technological equipment at the time.

“For the first time in the history of humans, a person was able to walk on an another ‘world’ in our solar system,” Darlage said. “It still sends chills up and down my aging spine.”

For perspective on the technology, video support called on James Chambers, NW Campus aviation technology adjunct.

“The computer technology onboard the Apollo moon lander was actually computers a little more sophisticated than the laptops we carry around today,” he said.

The faculty interviewed for the documentary were impressed with the quality of the finished product.

“It looks like a professional job,” Chambers said.

The People’s Telly Awards site plays only the first three minutes of the documentary.

To see the full film, go to http://64.28.242.167/Public/Apollo11Special.wmv