Local college students awarded for funk documentary

Video: Prior coverage

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — The University of Dayton has award winners in their midst.

The school announced that students from the university were awarded with the “student Emmy” in the non-fiction longform category at the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Student Production Awards, Ohio Valley Chapter.

A team of 14 students made “Funk: The Sound of Dayton”, a film that explores the relationship between the city and the music.

The documentary is 20 minutes long and was made last school year through the Documentary Filmmaking course in the university’s communication department.

“It’s about the music — the fusion of jazz and blues and rock — but the real story is about the people and the history they built around that type of style,” said Brayden Chayer, a 2024 graduate from the university. Chayer wrote the screenplay, edited audio and was production manager for the documentary.

The idea for the film was sparked by a conversation that fellow 2024 graduate Claire O’Brien and friends had with a ride-share driver while on a trip in Chicago.

After the driver asked where they were from, and everyone said Dayton, Ohio, the driver responded with “‘Dayton, Ohio, the capital of funk music?’”

“After that encounter in Chicago I did some research and it was crazy what I learned because I didn’t know any of this history about funk music,” O’Brien said.

In the film, Dayton funk legends, journalists and historians all break down what has made the genre so resonant in Dayton specifically, including its origins in the city.

Speaking about some of the artists who made their way through the genre, Chayer spoke about the purpose behind the documentary.

“Funk music let them be who they are and shine bright in a city that, at times, didn’t really want them, which is sad to say,” Chayer said. “So I think just for us to highlight a smidge of that history, focusing on funk music was so, so cool.”

For more information on the documentary, as well as how to watch it for free, visit the university’s website .

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