The Four State Scholastic Broadcast Conference

MAIL-IN CONTESTS

(All should be submitted as Quicktime files on DVD)

Entry Fees: A $5.00 per entry fee will be calculated and charged at the event.

DEADLINE: October 24th, 2009 (postmarked)

Schools may only enter ONE segment per category. All pieces must have been produced between March 15 and October 24th, 2009. All entries must be produced by current students, and NOT by recent graduates.

NEWS STORY: (2 minutes max) Coverage of a breaking event, or an event as it happens.
FEATURE STORY SHORT FORM: (2 minutes max): A story about a person, issue, or other appropriate topic that is not necessarily tied to a news event.
FEATURE STORY LONG FORM: (2-4 minutes): A story about a person, issue, or other appropriate topic that is not necessarily tied to a news event.
HUMOROUS SEGMENT: (3 minutes max) A story or produced piece that goes for laughter. This can be from a regular newscast, or an entertainment

Drop off Contest

The 72-Hour Challenge

SCHOOLS MAY ENTER AS MANY TEAMS AS THEY WANT IN THE DROP OFF CONFERENCE CONTESTS, BUT STUDENTS MAY ONLY BE ON ONE TEAM

"MOVIE MAKER CHALLENGE

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4th, all "Movie Maker" teams receive scripts and directions. Between 8 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 7th teams will turn in two DVDs of their finished movie. One will be a standard DVD for screening, the other a DVD containing a Quicktime file of the movie. The contest will call for a finished product that runs no longer than six minutes. Opening titles and closing credits count against that six minutes. No copyrighted material may be used. All music and visuals must be original, and shot during the contest. No file footage of any kind. (Actors can be anyone the team wants to use)

JUDGES will look for: Movies that tell a strong story, with appropriate pacing, cinematography, lighting, sound, dialogue, editing, and a definite beginning/middle/end. Students are reminded to create content that is appropriate for screening in front of an audience of students and teachers. Gratuitous use of profanity, violence, sexual content, etc. can possibly prevent the entry from being screened.

"MUSIC VIDEO CHALLENGE"

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4th, music tracks and lyrics will be made available for downloading from a website. Teams choose one song to produce a video for. They will drop off their finished music video between 8 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 7th.

JUDGES will look for videos that utilize storytelling techniques, strong editing and visuals, compelling angles or approaches, and videos that fit the music they are illustrating or interpreting. Gratuitous use of profanity, violence, sexual content, etc. can possibly prevent the entry from being screened.

"BROADCAST JOURNALISM CHALLENGE"

At 8 a.m. on Wednesday, November 4th, teams will receive an e-mail containing their "prompt" or "theme," and any other specifications the coordinators choose to include. A final show or story, not to exceed 15 minutes, will be turned in between 8 and 9 a.m. on Saturday, November 7th. Shows and/or stories must be journalistic in nature, and all footage must be shot and edited during the 73 hours of the event. NO file footage, no copyrighted material of any kind, is allowed.

JUDGES will look for entries that concentrate on strong storytelling while sticking to the theme and/or directives provided in the contest packet. The quality of the video, audio, editing, reporting, plus the overall impact of the entry will help judges determine the winners. Schools are reminded to avoid "inside" stories about staff members or anyone connected with your broadcast program. The topics and characters covered for this production should not have been previously covered by the staff.

STUDENTS WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE PRE-CONVENTION CONTESTS MAY ALSO ENTER AN ON-SITE CONTEST. GOOD LUCK!

ON SITE CONTESTS

ALL EDITING WILL TAKE PLACE IN ASSIGNED AREAS IN THE SHEWMAKER CENTER. YOU MAY NOT EDIT OUTSIDE OF SHEWMAKER, AND TEACHERS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED IN THE EDITING AREA.

***All On-Site Contests begin with a meeting in the Shewmaker Lobby***

ON SITE ENTRY LIMITATIONS

Students may enter a maximum of two on site contest and no more. Schools may enter as many as teams or Individuals as they wish in each on site category as long as each student enters no more than two categories.
EXCEPTION- Only one team per school in Spot Feature.

9 a.m. - 11 a.m. Editing: Students will receive a DVD with Quicktime files of raw footage and sound. They will have two hours to edit a short film between 90 secs and 2 minutes long. No voiceover or music will be allowed. Submit final story as a Quicktime file on DVD. Any entry over 2 minutes will be disqualified.

9:45 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Spot Feature: Teams will receive an assignment and have 3 1/2 hours to file a 75-second story. Submit final story as a Quicktime file on DVD.

10 a.m. - 12 noon Anchoring: Each student will have five minutes to review a script on teleprompter. They will them be taped reading that script on-camera.

10:15 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. Commercial: Teams will receive a product and be challenged to produce a 30-second commercial for that product. Final project must be submitted as a Quicktime file on DVD. Drury will provide music.

EXCEPTION: Any team that finishes in time and prefers to transfer their Quicktime file from a portable hard drive instead of submitting a DVD may do so, but they must complete that process by the deadline, and we take no responsibility if there are unusable files transferred.

11 a.m. - 12 noon Newswriting: Each student will receive wire copy and have 60 minutes to write a one-minute news script.

1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Live Shot: The contest will involve students receiving a list of facts about a spot news story they are covering "live." They will have a few minutes to organize their thoughts, then do a live report, which will involve a toss back to the anchor, who will ask the reporter a follow-up question. Judges will look for accurate, professional delivery of information, and the ability to think on your feet.

NOTE:

*PROVIDE YOUR OWN FIREWIRE.
*LABEL EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT YOU BRING WITH SCHOOL
NAME/CONTEST
UNLABLED MEDIA WILL NOT BE JUDGED
*WE WILL NOT RETURN YOUR CONTEST ENTRIES.

Send entries to:

Brian Shipman & 4 State
Drury University
900 N Benton
Springfield Mo 65802

Conference Highlights