Well, we’re getting down to it. If you haven’t shot your entry for the Crash the Superbowl contest but are still planning to do one then you are really cutting things close. About 460 entries have already been submitted so far and let me tell you people something….over the last few weeks I’ve watched every, single one of them! Well, technically I watched at least a few seconds of every entry. After about 5 seconds it’s pretty obvious which commercials are serious entries and which ones aren’t.

So after all these weeks and after watching hundreds of entries, here’s my big conclusion: There are some good spots but I wouldn’t be surprised if none of the videos so far posted make it to the finals. The quality of the submissions is going up and every day now, at least a few decent commercials appear on the site. But out of 460 entries, there isn’t one I would point to and scream, “winner!”

However, in the next 7 days, I’m guessing you’ll see at least 500 new videos get posted. Once it gets to the point that 100 videos a day are going up even I’ll probably have to give up trying to watch them all. Still, don’t let that big number scare you. Seven days is a long time and so if you have an idea, just go shoot it already!

The million dollar winners of last year’s Crash the Superbowl competition were recruited by Doritos to make some tutorial videos for contestants. They’re actually really great videos. If you’re new to video contests I recommend you watch them all. They’ll give you a lot of tips about how to tell a funny, fast, well-produced story in just 30 seconds:

1. Intro to the Crash: http://vimeo.com/6646967
2. Crush the Ad-Meter: http://www.vimeo.com/6985731
3. 30-Second Joke Telling: http://www.vimeo.com/6986471
4. Pro Spot on Crash Budget: http://www.vimeo.com/6986535
5. Copyrights and Wrongs: http://www.vimeo.com/6986562
6. Film Making 101: http://vimeo.com/6956378
7. Practice Makes Perfect: http://www.vimeo.com/6986591

Here’s my favorite installment:

30 Second Joke Telling

Good advice for any contest entry you plan on shooting. Keep it short and hilarious.