Tyler Pennick never imagined that his documentary about the newly revealed bronze WuShock statue, 鈥淲uShock Doc: The History and Making of WuShock in Bronze," would be awarded 鈥淏est Kansas Documentary Short鈥� at the this October.
鈥淎fter over two years of development and help from numerous colleagues. We couldn鈥檛 be happier to receive this award,鈥� Pennick said.
Not only was the award a surprise, but the documentary鈥檚 acceptance into the Tallgrass Film Festival after two years of filming and editing was a commendable milestone for Pennick as well.
At first, Pennick, director of videography for Wichita State鈥檚 Office of Strategic Communications, wanted to make the documentary for Shocker fans to enjoy when it was finished. He didn鈥檛 realize how impactful and important the characters in the film would become to the Wichita State community or the university鈥檚 history.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time in history that the WuShock from our logo has ever been made in 3D,鈥� Pennick said.
Wichita artists Wade Hampton and Connie Ernatt play significant roles in both the making of the statue and the film.
鈥淭hey are full of life. They care about Wichita State. They care about their work,鈥� Pennick said.
Hampton and Ernatt were two of the first people Pennick told when he found out that the film could be submitted into the Tallgrass Film Festival.
From that moment on, Pennick was creating a documentary not only for the Wichita State community, but for a globally celebrated film festival created to be a platform for independent films. Not only would Wichita State fans view the documentary, but film enthusiasts from around the world could have the opportunity to enjoy the film as well.
The thought of this opportunity overwhelmed Pennick.
鈥淎t first, we were a bit reluctant to submit because of the novelty of it,鈥� Pennick said. 鈥淣obody had ever done that here. It was a lot of new territory for us.鈥�
Aside from navigating uncharted territory, there were other challenges that Pennick and his team had to overcome when creating the documentary.
The making of the film took two years due to the creative process and the timeline uncertainty that arose from the pandemic. Pennick became nervous that the film would not be finished in time for the festival. The statue was revealed in September, which made the timeline fit within the festival鈥檚 deadline.
Another challenge for Pennick was telling a detailed and accurate story about the creation of the bronze sculpture.
鈥淭here are so many procedures, and it ended up being such a technical film,鈥� Pennick said. 鈥淚 needed a lot of guidance from the creators to help me understand.鈥�
In the end, the challenges brought more meaning to the accomplishment.
鈥淚t was almost like a sense of relief honestly,鈥� Pennick said. 鈥淚t was a two-year project so when we got accepted, it all was worth it. We were finally finished with it after such a long time.鈥�
To Pennick, the most remarkable part of the entire process was that so many people at the university had a role in the creation of the documentary and of the physical statue. Jaci Ignudo, creative specialist for strategic communications, created the documentary鈥檚 graphics and motion elements.
鈥淭his is my first time working on a documentary, and everything I鈥檝e done for this project has been a new learning experience,鈥� Ignudo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting and surreal to be a part of something bigger and collaborative and have others in the industry see what this group of people is capable of.鈥�
Additionally, former video student intern and recent graduate, McKenzey Bell, contributed as a second shooter during the filming process. Wichita State鈥檚 National Institute of Aviation Research鈥檚 Reverse Engineering Laboratory and students from GoCreate, a Koch collaborative, created a foam WuShock replica which was used in the creation of the bronze statue. The students and foam replica are featured in the documentary.
Although the film was a team effort, the film鈥檚 acceptance altered Pennick鈥檚 perspective on his own professional abilities: 鈥淚f the video being accepted has done anything for me personally, it has validated my abilities as a filmmaker.鈥�
Pennick is happy the public can finally view the film.
鈥淥nce we got accepted, I was like, wonderful, this is so great. The community can finally see this. I was just excited for the community to finally be able to see it,鈥� he said.
The community was, at last, able to view the documentary during the from Oct. 16-25. The documentary can be viewed on for all to enjoy.
