DigiTalkies

NCCE's Annual Digital Film Festival: "DigiTalkies"

Let Your Inner Movie Critic be heard!  

The 2009 DigiTalkies finalists have been narrowed down and now it’s your turn to decide who is the best.  Please take some time to view each grade level (elementary, middle and high) and each category (A day in the life...., Animated, Original Music Video, Public Service Announcement, Sell Me Something, and Tell Me a Story).  Winners will be announced at the NCCE Conference in Portland.

Here are the links to the NCCE DigiTalkies Finalist blogs.  

Elementary:     http://ncce.edublogs.org/

Middle:           http://ncce1.edublogs.org/

High:              http://ncce2.edublogs.org/

 

Plan, shoot, edit, enhance, and submit a short video! Your entry puts you in the running for one of the great prizes being awarded in this contest, and the winning entries in each age group will be shown at the NCCE Portland Conference, February 17-20, 2009. K-12 students or faculty must create all entries. You may enter as many times as you like. Prizes will be awarded to the adult supervisor of the winner(s). Each student will receive a certificate of participation.

Questions? Please contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Basic Rules and Regulations:

  1. K-12 students must create the movies.
  2. Each movie must have an adult sponsor/advisor/coach.
  3. The adult sponsor must be a member of NCCE. Become a member by clicking here or verify membership by emailing This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
  4. You may enter as many times as you like.
  5. All movies must be no longer than 3 minutes.
  6. All movies must be posted to TeacherTube: http://www.teachertube.com/groups_home.php?urlkey=NCCE. The deadline to submit is January 16, 2009. Late submissions will not be accepted. 
  7. Entry Form, Permission to Publish form(s), Release Form(s), Copyright Statement must be received by deadline for each video entry. A release form for each person in the movie must be included with your submission.
  8. Judges may disqualify any entry within their sole discretion.
  9. Inappropriate materials will be discarded without being used or considered.
  10. Any submissions that do not meet the time requirements will not be judged.
  11. Any logos or copyrighted music/video clips must have the appropriate permission attached. Any movie without copyright permission will not be judged.
  12. Winners in each age group will be announced during the week of February 9, 2009; displayed at the NCCE Conference in Portland, Oregon, February 17-20, 2009; and posted on the NCCE website after the Conference.
  13. Odds of winning depend on number of entries.

Categories:

There are six categories under which you may make an entry this year:

Create a Public Service Announcement
Think of a charity, event in your school/community and create a Public Service Announcement. In a creative way, provide informative information for your audience or convince them to support or volunteer for your cause.

Sell Me Something
Create a commercial "selling" your school/community or one of your classes. Convince me to move to your town, enroll in your school, or sign up for a class or group such as Computers 101, Biology, band, football, science club etc.

Create an Original Music Video
Use your ORIGINAL music (non-copyrighted) to create a music video. Please create with a "G" rating. Ones with an "R" rating will be disqualified.

Tell Me a Story
Use video to tell or illustrate a story.

A day in the life....
Use video to show what a day is like for you, your teacher, your mom, dad, dog, horse, car, tree etc. Help your audience see things from a different point of view. Some might think it is easy being a school administrator, a child in a wheelchair, or a bus driver. You can show what it is REALLY like!

Animated
Choose one of the categories (PSA, Sell me something, Music Video, Tell me a story or Day in the Life) and use animation instead of live video.

Age Groups:

Entries will be judged with others at the various age groups:

  • Elementary Student
  • Middle School Student
  • High School Student
  • Collaboration Between Ages

Judging Criteria:

Judging will be based on the following four criteria: 

Student Involvement (35 points)
Evidence of student involvement in the creation or content of the movie

Content Quality (25 points total, as shown below)
The flow of information and the quality of the images. When judging the quality, we will use the Washington State Communication Essential Academic Learning Requirement 2; "The student communicates ideas clearly and effectively." To meet this standard, the student will: 

(Audience - 5 points) Communicate clearly to a range of audiences for different purposes.  

          • communicate effectively with different audiences
          • make well-chosen and varied connections between own purposes and audience interests and needs
          • communicate for a broad range of purposes; for example, to reflect, make inferences, interview, and influence
          • identify and use different forms of oral presentation

(Organized - 5 points) Develop content and ideas develop a topic or theme; organize thoughts around a clear beginning, middle, and end; use transitional sentences and phrases to connect related ideas; speak coherently and compellingly.  

          • use a variety of content to convey messages to a chosen audience
          • access and use a variety of primary and secondary sources
          • create a comprehensive and organized presentation with a clear sequencing of ideas and transitions
          • make a well-reasoned, insightful presentation supported by related details

(Delivery - 5 points) Use effective delivery; adjust speaking strategies for a variety of audiences and purposes by varying tone, pitch, and pace of speech to create effect and aid communication.

          • vary tone, pitch, and pace of speech to create effect and aid communication
          • project voice well
          • use logic, arguments, or appeals to persuade others
          • use good posture and eye contact
          • skillfully use facial expression, body movement, and gestures to convey tone and mood appropriate to the audience and message

(Language - 5 points) Use effective language and style; use language that is grammatically correct, precise, engaging and well-suited to topic, audience, and purpose.

          • speak using standard grammar
          • use a variety of sentence structures
          • use language that is interesting and well suited to the topic and audience
          • develop effective voice for the audience and purpose

(Action - 5 points) Effectively use action, sound, and/or images to support presentations.

          • communicate messages through oral, artistic, graphic, and/or multimedia presentation
          • demonstrate sophisticated use of available technology to present ideas and concepts

 

Technical Merit (25 points)
Appropriate use of transitions, titling, background music, special effects, etc.

Impact (15 points)
The degree to which the movie achieves the intent of the category.

 

Feedback from the judges to keep in mind during future projects:

1) Rating...make sure that the movies carry a "G" rating. A few of entries this year were disqualified due to content. This is a wonderful opportunity to visit with your students about who will be viewing the film.

2) Some films were disqualified due to not meeting the deadline. When working on a project like this, it is never finished, there is always one more thing to do. But as they say on Saturday Night Live "We're going on because it is Eleven o'clock, not because the show is done".

3) Please make sure all paperwork is submitted. Some entries were disqualified because of missing/incomplete paperwork.

 

Forms (PDF) & Resources: 

Resources:

Copyright References:

NCCE believes the DigiTalkies Contest is a great opportunity for educators to teach their students about copyright laws. To help you with this process, we have listed references to assist you. You may use copyrighted material if, and only if, you have the appropriate written permission included with your entry. If you include any material that is copyrighted, including-but not limited to: photos, video clips, logos, music, sounds and text without permission, you will be disqualified.

 

"Copyright In a Digital World" http://www.sasinschool.com/results/articles/pages/ethread_copyright.shtml

“The Educator’s Guide to Copyright and Fair Use”
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright.php

"Copyright in an Electronic Environment" http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/copyright1.html

TeacherTube Copyright Tips: http://teachertube.com/copyrighttips.php