Our Year in Review series features the best of life at Full Sail in 2014, highlighting award-winning grads, student work, industry guests, and more.

2014 was a banner year for Full Sail alumni, faculty members, and staff—many who were nominated or won awards for their work in the entertainment industry. Others were attached to projects that garnered accolades. Here’s a look back at some of the year’s highlights.

• Early on in 2014, we celebrated the 56th Annual GRAMMY Awards. Full Sail alumni were credited on 16 Grammy Award-winning projects, including the night’s biggest prize – Album of the Year – which went to Daft Punk for Random Access Memories.  Recording Arts grad and Hall of Fame inductee Sebastian Krys took home his own Grammy for his work as composer, engineer, and producer on La Santa Cecilia’s Treinta Dias.
• In March, Full Sail hosted a live viewing party to celebrate the 86thAnnual Academy Awards. Overall, 129 Full Sail grads worked on nominated projects, with 30 of those grads attached to projects that ultimately won awards.
• This summer brought the first ever Pensado Awards, an event honoring the producers, engineers, songwriters, and musicians who work to make some of the biggest hits in music. 2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Leslie Brathwaite was nominated for the “OMG! Mix of the Year” award, while Recording Arts grad Andrew Coleman received a nomination for “Tracking Engineer.” 2012 Full Sail Hall of Fame Inductee (and Recording Arts grad) Marcella Araica co-hosted the awards.
• Full Sail grads were also well represented among the nominees at the Game Awards 2014. 35 grads were credited on 16 nominated projects, and four of those 16 projects went on to win awards, bringing the total number of grads who worked on winning projects to 18.
• Colin Hart (Course Director, Digital Audio Production) and Ryan Funk (Course Director, Digital Cinematography Lighting II) won two bronze Telly Awards in the “Online How-To/Instructional” and “Internet/Online Education” categories for their instructional video on microphone placement.
• Faculty members Jason Mathis, Shaun Trout and Jonathan Braucher also each received a national Telly Award for their work on a video showcasing the architectural design, landscape, and overall beauty of the Alfond Inn, a $35.5 million boutique hotel in downtown Winter Park, Florida. Both Shaun and Jason are Lab Specialists for the Full Sail Film program. Jonathan is a Course Director for the Film program.