2012 March | Video Contest News - Featuring News about Video Contests!

DSLR FRIDAY: Nikon’s D800 vs. Canon’s 5D Mark III

Posted by Dan L. on March 30th, 2012

DSLR Friday was a feature I used to do from time to time but it just sort of petered out. But March 2012 turned out to be a huge month for DSLR fans so I thought I’d ressurect it. About a week ago, Nikon released their new D800 and Canon released the 5D mark III. Both are being billed as the new top of the line DSLRs and both really do sound pretty amazing. If you’re interested in learning the basic stats for these two cameras, a company named Pictureline made this video that compares them to each other.

I’ve seen a handful of mediocre videos on youtube that compare the video quality of the D800 and the Mark III but none of them are worth posting. Like I said, both cameras were released about a week ago so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised there’s not more test footage online yet. But if by chance you actually bought (or have access to) the D800 or the 5D Mark III let me know! I’d love to feature a guest review of either camera. For more info about doing a guest post, e-mail me at .

Oh hey, I just noticed that the company that made the above video is doing a sweepstakes and the prize is a 5D Mark III. It looks like you earn more entries by doing a bunch of dumb stuff on facebook. I just entered but one entry is enough for me. If you want a shot at the camera, head here.

Chevy to air Mofilm-made commercial across Europe

Posted by Dan L. on March 27th, 2012

Whenever a winning video contest entry winds up on TV it’s a big deal. For the second time this year, Chevy has decided to start airing a commercial that won one of their Mofilm contests. Last time it was “Happy Grad” which aired during the Super Bowl. This time it’s the Chevy Volt commercial “Zombie Ride” by Josh Soskin. The ad won first place, $8,000 and a trip for two to Spain in Mofilm’s Barcelona competition. It looks like “Zombie Ride” was shot in Southern California but it definitely has a cool, European vibe to it. The spot is scheduled to start airing as part of a “European-wide” campaign in a few weeks. Over the years I’ve probably seen hundreds of video contest entries that featured zombies but this one actually managed to feel totally unique and fresh. I can’t embed the video so click the image to check it out:

Like I said, click this image to view

Pretty awesome, no? Good thing that wasn’t Lori from the Walking Dead driving that Volt otherwise she would have flipped the car after going like 40 feet down the road. If you don’t get that joke you need to watch a lot more TV.

Betty White and Shaq in a Poptent-made PSA?

Posted by Dan L. on March 23rd, 2012

Poptent.net is kind of a mysterious site. There are different levels to Poptent that the vast majority of members will never gain access to. Most filmmakers who join Poptent are allowed to submit to any of the Public Assignments that are posted here: www.poptent.net/assignments. But if you actually manage to make a sale, you might be invited to take part in a special “Invite Only” assignment. As the name indicates, only invited filmmakers are allowed to participate in those. And let me tell you, these closed assignments are pretty sweet. Usually the invited filmmakers get a little (or even a lot) of guaranteed cash to help produce their submissions. I think one of my greatest video contest victories was the one time I managed to win one of these private assignments. I was competing against the cream of the poptent crop so I almost couldn’t believe it when the brand actually picked my commercial. If you’ve never seen an Invite Only assignment before, click here to see what one looks like: https://www.poptent.net/assignment/24 That was a private assignment Omni Hotels ran last year. I got invited to that one and everybody that shot entries got a free hotel room for a night and a hundred bucks. One of the only negative things about private assignments is that once you accept an invitation, you’re obligated to shoot a submission. If you don’t do an entry, you seriously hurt your chances of ever being invited again. When it came time to shoot my Omni submission, I was terribly, horribly sick. But the folks at Omni went through a lot of trouble to get me a room in Chicago so I figured it would be kind of a dick move not to show up and shoot in it.

Beyond the Invite-Only assignments, there’s another level to Poptent that even I haven’t gotten to see. At the top of the assignment pyramid there are “Direct Assignments.” Only a tiny number of people are asked to participate in those assignments and sometimes, that number is ONE. Yes, sometimes Poptent runs one-person assignments. Basically, filmmakers in these super-private assignments are sort of hired directly by the brand and poptent acts as a middleman. Sometimes two or three members might be asked to submit scripts and then the brand will pay to produce the idea they like the best.

And that’s what happened in this Direct Assignment that was run by the non-profit organization, ChildHelp. Two members were asked to write scripts that would feature Shaquille O’neal and Betty White. Child Help picked the script they liked best and the director got to shoot it. The PSA that was created for this assignment is pretty good and it’s cool to see a Poptent video that has big celebrities in it.

Purchased by ChildHelp. Purchase Price: $7,500:

It looks like ChildHelp also paid for the director to create a behind the scenes video. It’s actually very interesting to see how the project was produced so I’ll post it. To my surprise, it looks like the PSA was shot with a DSLR.

Purchased by ChildHelp. Purchase Price: $3,500:

So, now that I’ve got you excited, I bet you’re wondering what you have to do to get invited to one of these super secret, ultra exclusive assignments. Well guess what? That’s something I’d like to know too! Poptent’s method for selecting filmmakers is kind of a mystery. But someone on the staff once told me that it has something to do with a member’s unofficial “karma” score. And I got the impression that your score is based on how many assignments you’ve entered, the number of medals you’ve won and how you treat the other members in the community. So if you play nice with others and if you do great work, someone on the staff will probably, eventually notice and send you an invite to a private assignment.

Mayor of Virginia Beach presents key to city to the star of Man’s Best Friend

Posted by Dan L. on March 21st, 2012

Over the year’s I’ve reported on a lot of really bizarre Video Contest News. But this is story is especially weird. You remember , right? It was the Crash the Super Bowl ad that featured a hilariously gigantic dog that bribed a guy with a bag of Doritos. The commercial wound up being ranked the best ad of the Super Bowl by USA Today’s ad meter (the real one, not the bogus online vote one) and so the creator of the spot, Jonathan Friedman, received a million dollar bonus from Fritolay. Friedman is from Virgina Beach and the town decided to pay tribute to his accomplishment by presenting a key to the city to Huff, the great dane from the ad. Yes, the dog is the one that got the key to the city. If that wasn’t strange enough, the mayor’s office actually made a crazy video about the whole thing. I won’t try describing it. Just watch it and be happy that there are still people and politicians in this country that aren’t afraid to get weird once in a while.

eHarmony “Viral Video” contest winner

Posted by Dan L. on March 18th, 2012

Man, I must be slipping. EHarmony’s Viral Video contest is just the sort of contest I like to enter. They wanted wacky short films about eHamorny rather than traditional ads. But somehow, I totally missed this one. Judges picked four finalists and then the public chose the ultimate winner. The video that won the popular vote is amusing and pretty well done.

Eharmony’s First Place Winner. Prize: $8,000:

The winning filmmaker, Steven Huffaker actually shot two entries for this contest and his non-winning submission is so weird I had to post it too. As a short film, I think it’s pretty good but as a video contest entry, it’s totally insane. There is no panel of contest judges with balls big enough to put their company’s stamp of approval on a video that points out that Jesus’ death on the cross maybe wasn’t such a big sacrifice since he knew he was the son of God and that he’d be resurrected. Yes…for serious.

UPDATE: Hey now, the director of these two videos left a comment last night and said that the he shot the Jesus ad just for fun. It wasn’t actually a submission. That actually makes me like that video even more than I already did since it was just a crazy short film and not a contest entry.

A look at Current TV’s VCAM program

Posted by Dan L. on March 15th, 2012

There are only about 8 cable channels that I actually watch on a regular basis and one of them happens to be Current TV. The network runs some really excellent documentaries and news shows but I sort of miss the days when they used to run short, viewer-created docs all day long. But while Current has moved away from airing viewer-made “pods,” they still air a lot of viewer-created ads thanks to their “Viewer Created Ad Message” program. Here’s an especially great example of commercial that aired on Current. Oh…for some weird reason, Current makes you watch a commercial before you watch this commercial! So the VCAM ad is the second one that plays.

Official VCAM Selection. Purchased and aired by Samsung:

Since I’m a big fan of spec commercial contests/assignments and Current TV, I was psyched when I got an e-mail from the folks behind the VCAM program, Barry Penland and Nicole Smith. It sounded like 2012 was going to be a big year for VCAM so I decided to let Barry and Nicole tell you all about the program themselves…in the form of an interview!

VCN: So, tell me about the VCAM program. What is it and how does it work?

VCAM TEAM: The Viewer Created Content program (VCAM) is a unique advertising vehicle born out of the user-generated spirit of Current TV six years ago. The program brings independent producers together with national advertisers to create unique and often non-traditional ad campaign videos. Current TV was originally programmed solely by user-generated content and naturally complimented this aspect of our network. As Current transitioned into more traditional programming, we maintained the VCAM department as a way to offer opportunities to producers to continue to contribute to the content, as well as receive recognition and compensation. Current is based in several locations throughout the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Producers can either sign up to receive notifications, or check the assignment page at http://current.com/vcam to find out about open callouts. From there, they will be given details of the video assignment and the goals and guidelines of the brand. If they choose to participate and their finished video is selected by the brand, the producer can be compensated up to $5,000 and the video may air on Current TV and be posted on both Current’s and the brand’s web sites. If the video is chosen by the brand to air on other networks, there is the possibility for additional money.

An important distinction between VCAM and other contests is that our program is NOT a contest. Instead, VCAMs are based on client-initiated assignments or “calls for content” that we send out to our producer community all over the world. We engage with our producers directly and communicate with them during every step in the process: from the conception of their ideas, to execution of the production, through on-air delivery. We also give them vast amounts of help to create their commercials, for example: access to a license free music library and visual assets – often from the advertiser directly. Lastly, we invite our producers to speak directly with the brand on a conference call where producers can ask specific questions about the creative direction and receive honest feedback about what they are looking for in the content piece.

VCN: What kind of brands have taken part in the program?

VCAM TEAM: The brands that we work with are National Advertisers that have creative agencies that normally create their marketing/advertising for mainstream distribution. At Current, our advertisers are looking for innovative, cutting edge creative that has an authentic consumer perspective. They are not looking for the same old, same old. In our experience, brands have selected all types of VCAMs, whether unpolished and amateur, or clean and professional.

Brands have included: Toyota, HP, XM Radio, Paramount, Wachovia, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Pop Secret, Microsoft, L’Oréal, Nikon, Canon, Mini, Lexus, T-Mobile, Nissan, McDonalds, Scion, Sun Chips, Clorox, Allstate, Mountain Dew, Gillette, Chrysler, Electronic Arts, Chrysler, eHarmony, Revlon, Geico, Hershey’s.

VCN: Why do you think companies are interested in having “viewers” create their commercials?

VCAM TEAM: Viewers bring a unique perspective that is increasingly important in our socially networked world. Our producer community has done an amazing job at capturing brand messaging in their authentic consumer voice and we believe that is what draws advertisers to Current.

VCN: Do you have some personal favorite VCAM ads?

VCAM TEAM: Definitely! Check these out:

Lexus – “Zaqistan” http://current.com/groups/lexus-vcam-results/92261698

SunChips – “Little Steps” http://current.com/groups/on-current-tv/92391223

Sony Pictures Digital – Battle L.A. “Night” youtube.com/watch?v=VKkQs82I8Ac

VCN: What do you think makes for a special viewer created ad?

VCAM TEAM: VCAMs are all pretty special because they often represent perspectives that don’t normally appear in mainstream advertising. Sincerity and simplicity make for some of the best VCAMs – even if they’re rough around the production edges.

VCN: Are any VCAM assignments currently running?

VCAM TEAM: We have a number of assignments already in progress, but there will be many new assignments throughout the rest of 2012 that producers can consider. It is a very busy year! Sign up for the VCAM newsletter at http://current.com/participate/vcam or email us at to get involved.

VCN: Here’s the final and most important question; who gets crazier at the Current TV office party; Al Gore or Keith Olbermann?

VCAM TEAM: No comment

One Million votes cast in the Street King video contest

Posted by Dan L. on March 12th, 2012

Fiddy's giving you the stink eye

My friends all know that I’m a video contest nut so every so often someone will hear about a contest and send me a link. A few weeks ago, I got a message from a friend telling me that 50 Cent was holding a video contest on facebook to promote some crappy energy drink company that he owns (what is it with celebrities starting energy product companies??) and that I should enter and try and win the $10,000 prize. So I checked out the rules and man….was I turned off by what I read. I’ve come to accept the fact that most big-money video contests involve public voting, but for some insane reason, people were allowed to vote up to 10 TIMES A DAY for the same video. So instead of begging friends for just one vote, contestants were expected to beg their friends to vote for them 10 times a day, every day for weeks. And to make matters even worse, the voting was happening during the submission period. That means that anyone who entered in the first few days would have an enormous advantage over everyone else in the contest. In fact, when I first learned about this contest I looked at some of the “most popular” submissions and some videos already had thousands and thousands of votes.

When all was said and done, 300 videos were submitted but over ONE MILLION votes were cast! According to my calculator, that’s 3,333 votes per entry. A million votes in a contest with a $10,000 prize is freaking ridiculous. Luckily, I didn’t waste my time and enter this train wreck of a contest. But I still feel bad for the 300 suckers that wasted their time (and their family and friends’ time) trying to win 50 Cent’s ten grand. My friend who told me about this contest is a pretty smart guy but even he didn’t bother to look into HOW a person was supposed to win the grand prize. Like most of the people who probably entered, he just heard that 50 Cent was holding a big video contest and got excited. So the lesson for today is look before you leap. I bet most of the people who entered the Street Kings contest shot entries and THEN read the fine print that explained what they needed to do to win.

Here’s the video that wound up receiving the most votes. It’s actually pretty decent. I’m guessing the guy who made this knew exactly what he was getting into when he decided to shoot a submission:

First Place Winner. Prize: $5,000 & trip to NYC to meet Mr. Cent:

Like I said, that was pretty good. But I’ve certainly never seen so much gun play in a video contest entry before. A lot of contests straight up prohibit the depiction of firearms or realistic violence but this contest was sponsored by 50 Cent’s company so I guess Fiddy obviously doesn’t really mind if people associate him or his “brand” with firearms.

Kevin Allocca’s TED Talk: Why videos go Viral

Posted by Dan L. on March 8th, 2012

If you’ve ever read the “create briefs” for video contests that are run on a site like Poptent, you’ll know that a lot of advertisers run contests because they are hoping to strike viral video gold. Pretty much every contest brief says the same thing….advertisers want “viralness” or videos that have potential “pass-along qualities” to them. What’s funny is that sometimes companies will straight up ask for “viral videos” as if such things can simply be created.

But you can’t just MAKE a viral video. You have to make a great video and then you have to get lucky. Here’s a great TED talk on this subject by Youtube’s Trends Manager Kevin Allocca. He goes over the basic things that cause a video to explode in popularity. It’s worth checking out, especially if you love the Nyan Cat….which I do.