High School Festival: Video
The world is full of stories—stories that must be shared. If you’re passionate about exploring the language of film and telling stories through video, this competition is for you. Choose to shoot a documentary or narrative, or create an animated world all your own.
Competitions
Narrative
Time Limit: 4–6 minutes
One long or two short memorized selections from a novel, short story, poem or play. Introductions and transitions are expected.
Animation
Time Limit: 7–9 minutes
People: 2 or more
Scene excerpted from published play by reputable author; brief introduction needed for each scene; quality of literature will be part of the evaluation. No Readers’ Theatre, lighting, makeup or sound effects.
Small table, two chairs and one stool provided; costumes, props and other set pieces left to discretion of performers. Students must be able to perform their scene in an acting space of approximately 20'x12'.
Documentary
Time Limit: 5–7 minutes
Original speech to stimulate, convince, inform or move to action. May not deal with doctrinal interpretation or religious controversy. Must be delivered without notes.
Guidelines for all categories
The project must have a running time of 3 to 8 minutes.
All elements contained in the video must be free of copyright issues including but not limited to music, photographs and ideas. The credits must include the following: name of the student/director and school, a list of crew members and their positions, a list of the equipment that was used (cameras, editing software and any other software used in production), and the source for the copyright free music.
The film may focus on any subject as long as content is suitable for a Christian venue. Music in the style of pop, rock, jazz or country-western music will not be permitted. Final decisions about content will be made by the judges.
Limitations
- Students may win first place more than once in successive years with different pieces.
- Any student who does not fulfill all of the contest requirements will forfeit their right to win but will receive judges’ written critiques.
Submissions
Your video submission should be uploaded to YouTube as an “unlisted” video. Submit the direct link to the video on your registration form. Test your unlisted video link by logging out of YouTube and accessing the link.
The YouTube video should be labeled in this format:
Performer/Group name - Organization/School name - Competition Category
Individual Example: John Smith - Smith Homeschool - Classical Piano
Group Example: Concert Choir - Bob Jones Academy - Choir
The video must have been made no earlier than July 1, 2020.