Two More Contest Entries

TAZM Pictures is back in the video contest business – double trouble, hopefully!

I’ve re-tooled an old video from Washington DC – in fact, this is the video that inspired me to start this site (with some friendly encouragement) – and entered it into Lonely Planet’s video contest.  Check out that one by clicking on the link for “gallery” on their YouTube channel (previous link) and selecting “cities” and “go.”  The contest is being administered by the same company that sponsored the Lowe’s contest I sent 3 videos for, but they’ve noticeably relaxed their standards.  In spite of the fact that copyright music are forbidden, and professional film companies are barred from competition, quite of the videos entered break both rules.  After the Lowe’s competition I sent them some “free” feedback (no response) about their refusal to entertain some entries while at the same time refusing to respond to queries from entrants, and it seems they are now leaning the other way – accepting any and all entries in the initial phase, and probably planning to shorten the list in the future.  Contrast this with the contest sponsored by The Learning Games Network (where my daughter won a SWEET laptop and iPod), where the sponsors went out of their way to give feedback throughout the contest, and even included a nice card with each prize.  Anyway, I’m glad to see they’ve taken a different approach and am interested to see who will be chosen as finalists (the judges will do that) on November 1.  Amazing prize package for that one, especially for aspiring filmmakers like me!  I can use your votes for the video (if nothing else, to make a good impression on the judges).

Second contest is Reel Insights’ monthly contest – this one is “A Family Struggles with Going Green.”  They have had a fairly forward-leaning publicity stance, seeking me out on Twitter (they are @reel_insights) and encouraging me to join.  The deadline was extended to Sunday night (as I write) and my video will join at least two others in the quest for a $1500 prize.  This is an interesting contest, where they give you detailed instructions and suggestions – very helpful if you’re not that experienced in documentary.  The idea is you produce a 3-5 minute video along the lines of their theme, and if you win, they ask for 30 minutes of raw video footage – basically this amounts to a purchase of raw footage from your 3-5 minute highlights.  Pretty stringent requirements for individual and property releases, really forcing you to think about every frame and giving an appreciation of what is required to produce a professional documentary piece.  Check them out – maybe we’ll see a video from YOU in an upcoming contest!

Both videos and contests also represent a new partnership with a musician who has agreed to team up from time to time in producing soundtracks.  See what you think!

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