CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL & COMMUNITY SERVICE
2008 AMERICORPS VIDEO CONTEST
GUIDELINES
Please use the following information to guide you when making your submission. For more complete information on eligibility requirements, please see the official rules below. Applicants are encouraged to learn more about AmeriCorps at www.AmeriCorps.gov and AmeriCorps Week at www.AmeriCorpsWeek.gov.
Background: The Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation provides opportunities for more than four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America. AmeriCorps engages 75,000 Americans each year in intensive service to meet community needs in education, the environment, public safety, and other areas.
Content: The Corporation is asking you to join us in educating the general public about the benefits of and opportunities in AmeriCorps by creating a compelling AmeriCorps video up to 60 seconds in length that will be premiered at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service as well as possibly used in future recruitment efforts for AmeriCorps. There are some legal limits on what you can do (see below), and we will not post anything that we consider to be inappropriate. Other than that, what you put in your video is up to you (live action, animation, etc). We're looking for bold, new, and exciting ideas and the right message to help educate the public about AmeriCorps.
Prizes: The grand prize is a volunteer vacation worth up to $5,000 courtesy of Travelocity® through its Travel For GoodSM Change Ambassadors program. The Travelocity volunteer vacation will allow the contest winner and a guest to select from dozens of trips offered by Travelocity’s designated volunteer travel provider partners. For more information on Travelocity’s Travel For Good’s Change Ambassadors program, please visit www.travelocity.com/travelforgood. To read stories about others who’ve taken a volunteer vacation or submit your own story, visit http://travelforgood.igougo.com.
The second prize winner will receive an iPod Shuffle courtesy of AmeriCorps Alums. The third prize winner will receive an AmeriCorps Alums Prize Pack courtesy of AmeriCorps Alums including a complimentary one-year premium membership, AmeriCorps Alums beanie, t-shirt, lapel pin, and clock (a $60 value). The grand prize, second place, and third place videos will be presented at the at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service during the AmeriCorps Town Hall meeting in Atlanta on June 1, 2008.
Judging Criteria: Videos will be judged by the following four criteria:
- Overall Impact (educational, informational, persuasive);
- Originality (concepts, ideas, format);
- Memorable Content and Delivery; and
- Clear Message.
Judging Process: A panel of contest judges, including and selected by the Corporation staff and AmeriCorps leaders, will review the videos and rate them using the criteria. Using the ratings and comments of the judges, Corporation officials will select five semi-finalists, which will be announced on or about May 9, 2008. The five semi-finalists entries will then be voted on by the general public through the www.AmeriCorpsContest.org Web site during AmeriCorps Week, May 11-18, 2008. Public votes will be combined with the votes of Corporation officials in determining the first, second, and third place winners. The first, second, and third place videos will be announced and shown at the AmeriCorps Town Hall meeting at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, taking place June 1-3 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Who can participate: Any current AmeriCorps member or AmeriCorps alumni who has completed his or her term of service is eligible to participate in this contest. The AmeriCorps member or alum submitting a video may work as a team with others who are not members or alums, but the official entry must be submitted by a current member or alum. Employees of the Corporation for National and Community Service, Travelocity.com LP ("Travelocity"), or AmeriCorps Alums are not eligible. See contest rules for more information.
Format and Length: Videos must be 60 seconds or less in duration. Submissions will be accepted through either electronic upload at http://www.AmeriCorpsContest.org or via hard copy in DVD format. All entries must be in one of the following formats .WMV, .AVI, .MOV, and .MPG and be less than 100 MB in size. Entrants must submit a transcript along with their videos.
Submissions: Submissions will be accepted from March 7, 2008 through May 2, 2008, either through electronic upload on http://www.AmeriCorpsContest.org or via hard copy in DVD format. Please notify us of your interest in participating at www.AmeriCorpsContest.org so that we may communicate contest updates directly to you.
Respect for Existing Copyright: You must be the original author of everything in your video or have permission to use copyright protected material. So while we want you to be creative, you need to be careful about what you put into the video. If you're thinking about using existing music, video clips, photos or the like, its very likely that someone else owns a copyright to that material and you must obtain the copyright owner's written permission before using the material in your video.
Consent from Actors in Your PSA: Winning entrants must declare that they have written consent from any people appearing in their video. You should be aware that consent requirements may vary from state to state and each entrant is responsible for complying with state consent requirements.
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