Lost Towns of the Pine Barrens

I’m very pleased to announce that Mecca Video Productions has won a 2006 Aegis Award for the 45 minute documentary “Lost Towns of the Pine Barrens, Vol. I.” I don’t like to blow my own horn, so I will re-print the press release that went out.

Mecca Video Productions has won the prestigious Aegis Award for it’s documentary “Lost Towns of the Pine Barrens, Vol. I.” The Aegis Awards are the video industry’s premier competition for peer recognition of outstanding video productions and non-network TV commercials.

Mecca Video Productions “Lost Towns of the Pine Barrens, Vol. I” was honored in the “Documentary” category for its outstanding production quality by a distinguished panel of judges representing industry professionals from around the country.

Some of the popular myths that have permeated the public consciousness about New Jersey are that the region is comprised mostly of parkway exits and oil refineries. Thanks to the work of a talented videographer named William Mecca, that image of the Garden State is dispelled in a new film entitled: “The Lost Towns of the Pine Barrens, Vol. I.”

The forty five minute documentary takes you deep within the one million acres of New Jersey’s protected forestland. The Pine Barrens, located in the Southern portion of the region, is an ecological jewel which hides a labyrinth of pine trees, sugar sand landscapes, and some surprising historical revelations about the towns and communities that once inhabited that region.

Lost Towns of the Pine Barrens also explores the “history and mystery” about the men who founded these towns, and its unique place in United States history. New Jersey was one of the first states to support a thriving iron industry, which played a pivotal role in supplying ammunition to Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War.

Still standing among the acres of pine trees and natural beauty, you will find on display one of the finest examples of Greek Revival Architecture. It is an eye opening perspective about a state that has always been highlighted as an industrial complex, rather than for its ecological and historical significance. A labor of love for it’s producer, Bill Mecca, “The Lost Towns Of The Pine Barrens” was years in the making.

“I have lived in Southern New Jersey most of my life, and knew the towns and communities that once dotted the landscape of this region had an important historical significance. I gathered as much information as I could find during my research, and asked experts on the region to appear on camera to help me tell this amazing story”.

“They took me on an incredible journey through back roads I never knew existed, and showed me towns I had never heard of before. I also learned about the men who founded these communities, how this unique area was perfectly suited for an iron industry, why it died off, and how it fit into the history of this once fledging nation,” said Mecca.

For more information you can click on the link in the BlogRoll in the righthand column.