Video competition 2017

In conjunction with Fascination of Plants Day 2017, we are arranging a video competition for secondary school children (grades 7-9). First prize will be 1000 € for the winning video’s class and the chance to compete with other competition winners from the Nordic and Baltic countries!

Why are plants fascinating and why are humans dependent on them? Make a short film on the topic “Humans and Plants” showing how fascinating plants are and why they are important to us. The competition can use for instance your biology, chemistry, language, art and IT skills.

Tips for making a video: The best place to start is with an idea. Develop a story with a beginning, middle and end and a script if you wish. Twists and surprises will delight the audience!  Try different camera angles and backgrounds to create a dynamic film. Close up pictures and details can be good to add in when editing the final video. You don’t need an expensive camera, videos made with mobile phones or tablets are often of sufficient quality. Just remember to use a tripod to avoid shake! You can edit your video with freeware programs such as iMovie, Windows movie maker or TouchCast. Sound and music can be a great way to enhance your message, but remember to only use music and sound effects that you have the rights to use.

Rules

  • All video makers must be of secondary school age (grades 7-9, age 13-16)
  • One person or a group or an entire school class can make a video contribution
  • Several contributions are welcome from the same school class
  • The video should be produced exclusively for this competition
  • The video should be a maximum of three (3) minutes long, including credits
  • You must have the rights to use all the music, pictures and clips in your video. Failing to apply to this rule will result in your video being disqualified

Technical specifications

  • Video entries will only be accepted if they are distributed over the internet, for example via Vimeo or YouTube.
  • The video may be produced in a format of your own choice
  • If your video is among the top ten selected by the judges, you will be asked to share a file of your video with the organisers

How to send in your video entry

Send a link to your contribution to fopd-suomi@helsinki.fi by 14th May (submission extended!!). In the email, write the names of those who contributed to the video, the name of your school and your class.

Selecting the winners

The judges will select 10 finalists. The winning video will be awarded with 1000 € towards class funds. Second and third places will also be selected. The decision of the judges is final.
The winning video will advance to the Nordic/Baltic final with contributions from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Estonia. The overall winners will have the chance to win a study visit to a nearby plant research centre. If there is no plant research centre in the vicinity of the school, plant scientists will visit the school and talk about up-to-date plant research.

Judges

Anna-Liisa Laine, professor in plant ecology at the University of Helsinki.
https://allaine.it.helsinki.fi/

Veli-Matti Vesterinen, Tiedepaukku film team & senior lecturer in chemisty at the University of Turku.
Tiedepaukku on YouTube
https://www.utu.fi/fi/yksikot/sci/yksikot/kemia/henkilokunta/Sivut/vesterinen-veli-matti.aspx

The video competition is part of the celebration of Fascination of Plants Day 2017.

Sponsored by:

SPPS-

University of Helsinki