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VCN Sponsor Spotlight: 5/18/13

Posted by Dan L. on May 18th, 2013

Memorial Day is still a week away but from where I’m sitting it feels like summer is already in full swing. This is a great time to enter video contests because there’s a lot less competition in May, June and July. Apparently most (normal) people don’t want to bust their ass shooting a commercial on spec while their friends are off working on their tans. Plus a lot film students are back at home now which means they might not have access to camera gear or editing systems. I won a crazy amount of money in video contests last summer so I definitely recommend you spend a few of your vacation days shooting a contest video or two. Here are three stand-out Poptent, Mofilm and Tongal assignments that you might want to consider entering this month:

Deadline: June 17, 2013

Poptent’s Lil’ Drums Assignment: I usually avoid Poptent assignments that feature “fun foods” because it’s easy to come up with great ideas for a candy bar or a pizza commercial. And that means there will be a lot of really good submissions in that assignment. But remember what I said like 6 sentences ago about their being less competition in the summer time? Well Poptent’s new “Lil’ Drums” assignment is a good example of what I’m taking about. Normally an ice cream-themed Poptent assignment would get scores of really great, really funny submissions. But the Drumstick contest has been up for a week and so far only 150 people have accepted it. That is VERY low. 150 accepts would normally result in maybe 20 submissions. So if I were you I’d take one of your old Crash the Super Bowl scripts and re-write it so that it’s about ice cream instead of chips. There’s only one guaranteed purchase of $7,500 but as I’ve been saying, your odds in this particular assignment should be pretty good. DEADLINE: June 17th, 2013. Head here for details.

Deadline: July 29, 2013

Mofilm’s Corkcicle Chillsner: This Chillsner thing sounds like my alcoholic dream come true. I am a man who enjoys tipping back a nice cold bottle of beer every once in a while but I absolutely hate when you get down to the bottom of the bottle and the beer is warm. So I guess this little device goes in the bottle and keeps your beverage cold. Oh hey! Mofilm actually has a few Chillsners that they’re going to send to filmmakers so they can use them in their submissions. Hmm, maybe I’ll have to shoot an entry for this one. I don’t think this contest will get a lot of submissions because there is only one prize at stake. Sure, that prize is $10,000 and a trip to Africa but normally Mofilm contests offer a bunch of smaller prizes for 2nd-5th place. Another interesting thing about this assignment; there are production grants available and if your idea is really, really good you might receive up to $5,000 to shoot your submission. Just imagine the ~~party~~ shoot you could ~~throw~~ plan with five grand. DEADLINE: July 29th, 2013. Click here to download the brief and/or apply for a grant.

Deadline: June 28, 2013

Tongal’s National Pork Board contest: You know what goes great with a nice frosty bottle of beer and a mini-drumstick? A big slab of juicy, grilled pork. BBQ season is here so this is the perfect time for Tongal to run a contest about how awesome pork is. The National Pork Board (my favorite national board BTW) is re-naming many popular cuts of pork and this contest is meant to get the word out about the changes. Like all Tongal contests, this one is being run in three phases. The idea phase is about to close on Monday at Noon so if you hurry you might be able to get an idea in at the last minute. After the idea winners are selected you can apply for a Pitch Phase prize. Two filmmakers will win $1,500 that they can use to create their submissions. But this Tongal contest is accepting “WildCard” submissions so you can still enter the video phase if you don’t win the pitch phase. First place in the video phase is worth $12,500, second is $6,000 and third is $3,000. So even if you come in third you can still throw one hell of a pork party this Labor Day. VIDEO DEADLINE: June 28th, 2013. For more info, click here.

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Apartments.com launches the 2013 installment of their “Roommate of the Year” video contest

Posted by Dan L. on April 28th, 2013

One of my favorite annual video contests is back for 2013. The Apartments.com “Roommate of the Year” competition is up and running again and the deadline for submissions is set for May 20th. To enter you’ll need to create a funny and/or cool and/or clever video that explains what makes you such a great roommate. The sponsors will select a group of 15 finalists and then there will be a public vote. After the voting ends, a panel of judges will pick the grand prize winner from the 5 most popular entries. The grand prize is $10,000 in cash plus another $10,000 that the winner can use to pay their rent.

$20,000 is a pretty amazing prize and this contest always gets a lot of great submissions. But Apartments.com is also running a weekly video contest right now and it doesn’t usually get a lot of entries. To enter the Roommate of the Year “Video Shorts” contest you just have to demonstrate what makes you a “one of a kind roommate” in 30 seconds or less. Each Friday from now until May 17th, the Apartments.com judges will pick one weekly winner and send them a $250 gift card. Last year I noticed that the weekly contest wasn’t getting much attention so I threw together a video and I won one of the gift cards. Last Tuesday I was looking over the rules for the 2013 contest and I realized that the first “Video Shorts” deadline was Wednesday and not a single entry had been submitted yet. So once again I made a quick video and although I did have some last minute competition, I managed to win again. I can’t embed my video so you can see my goofball submission here:

Click to watch on the contest site

Obviously that video ain’t exactly a masterpiece but hey, it literally took me about 90 minutes to shoot, edit and upload it. So my half-assed efforts earned me a quick $250. And that $250 comes in the form of a Visa gift card which is almost better than cash. When I get a check I just deposit it and blow my winnings of stupid stuff like bills and groceries. But a free gift card is just begging to be wasted. I think I’ll go crazy on iTunes and download 252 songs. Actually, I’m taking a trip to either L.A. or New Orleans this summer so I’ll probably save the card and use it to buy red wine and Pink’s Chili dogs or Hurricanes and Red Snapper.

The deadline for the next weekly video shorts contest is this Wednesday and so far, only one other video has been submitted. The weekly contest usually gets a bunch of entries near the end of its run but right now most people don’t even realize it’s happening. So I suggest you stop screwing around on the Internet for a few hours and go shoot a submission.

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VCN Sponsor Spotlight: 4/19/13

Posted by Dan L. on April 19th, 2013

Late April has got to be my favorite time of year. The days are getting longer, the temps are starting to rise, the flowers are in bloom, the robins and redwings are back and the sky is a deep, gloomy gray. Ok, that last point might sound sort of weird but April’s gray skies are great for filming. The clouds act like a natural diffuser and the sunlight is nice and even. I just finished a big entry for a Mofilm competition and I was planning on taking a break from video contests for a little while. But April’s niceness has inspired me to go out and shoot a new entry as soon as I can. If you’re also in the mood to do some filming this month, here are 3 new contests you might want to check out:

Deadline: 5/19/13

Poptent’s “Hormel Black Label Bacon” assignment: Just a few weeks ago I was a little worried about the future of Poptent. They were running 16 private, invite-only assignments and only 2 public assignments. I thought maybe the company was going to close their doors to the general public and just start assigning work to their most successful members. But good news; Poptent just launched a whole bunch of very enticing new public assignments. So they’re not going private any time soon. Their biggest current assignment is for Hormel Black Label Bacon. There will be one $10,000 purchase, one $7,500 purchase, one $5,000 purchase and seven $3,500 purchases. The top 3 winners will also get a trip to Brooklyn so they can attend a screening of their shorts at a “Bacon Film Festival.” Bacon is obviously a really fun product and since there are a ton of prizes at stake, Poptent is going to get a billion submissions for this. But the brief is kind of challenging, Hormel doesn’t want 30 second commercials; they want short films up to 5 minutes long. Head here for more details. DEADLINE: May 19th, 2013.

Deadline: 5/13/13

Tongal’s “Everyone Loves Welch’s” contest: Tongal is running a bunch of big money contests right now but this one for Welch’s Fruit Snacks managed to grab my attention. It’s currently in the “Idea Phase” so you still have a few days to submit a concept. After the idea winners are selected you’ll have a chance to submit a pitch and explain how you would go about creating one of the winning ideas. If you win the pitch phase you get $1,000. When all is said and done, the first place video will receive $10,000, 3nd place gets $5K and third is good for $2,500. You can read the contest brief here. And if you’re in need of some inspiration, I suggest you eat 2 or 3 pounds of those fruit snacks and then take a nap. I’m sure you’ll have some pretty entertaining fruit snack-themed dreams. Video Deadline: May 15th, 2013.

Deadline: 7/15/13

Mofilm’s “Wild Turkey American Honey” contest: According to Mofilm “Wild Turkey American Honey is looking for some fun and aspiring video content for its new campaign: Born Wild Made Smooth.” I’ve got a decent idea for this contest but I’m not sure I should enter. Why? Because the Wild Turkey contest is a part of Mofilm’s 2013 Lollapalooza contest and the 1st place winner gets $8,000 and a trip for 2 to Chicago. I can see Chicago from my kitchen window so I don’t need a plane ticket to get there. But even if I don’t enter, I’ll probably be at Mofilm’s Chicago awards dinner so if you win, you get the bonus prize of meeting your video contest buddy Beardy from VCN! Oh one more thing, there are still production grants available for this contest. The grants go fast so hurry up and submit an idea and maybe you’ll get some cash to produce your idea. If you win, I promise to buy you a glass of bourbon in person. To download the brief for this contest, click here. Deadline: July 15th, 2013.

I just realized that I made some really delicious picks this month. BACON, FRUIT SNACKS and WILD TURKEY: Everything you need to throw one kick ass party!

Quick! Go shoot an entry for Vinki’s video contest

Posted by Dan L. on March 28th, 2013

Tomorrow is Good Friday and that probably means you’ve got a 3 day weekend ahead of you. Why not put your free time to good use and shoot an entry for the “Open VINKI Style” video contest? To enter, all you have to do is “Make a maximum 3 minutes CRAZY, FUNNY, ZINGY Video about VINKI.” Why should you run out and spend your Friday off working on a video for this contest? Well because your chances of winning a decent prize are pretty damn good. The deadline is April 7th and so far, only 7 videos have been submitted. But Vinki is offering a total of 18 prizes! Here’s what’s at stake: ONE 13″ MacBook Air, TWO IPADs, FIVE $200 Gift Card and TEN $50 Gift Cards. After the deadline passes, judges from VINKI will pick 18 finalists and then a public vote will determine who wins what prizes. If you win a $200 gift card be sure to buy me something nice! One final note, if you don’t know where to find VINKI products you should check Whole Foods. They sell Vinki stuff there. For more info about the contest, head here:

VCN Sponsor Spotlight: 2/14/2013

Posted by Dan L. on February 14th, 2013

Since it’s Valentine’s Day I thought I’d show our sponsors a little love and list some of the biggest and best contests that are being run on Poptent, Mofilm and Tongal right now! Enter one of these and maybe next year you’ll be able to buy your significant other something better than gas station roses and a blank card from the dollar store:

Deadline: 3/4/13

Poptent’s Orange County Credit Union Assignment: When it comes to Poptent assignments I always tell people to skip the “fun” ones. Right now Poptent is running contests for Popsicle and Lay’s Potato Chips and and those assignments are going to get an avalanche of entries. Anyone can buy a box of Popsicle and make a fun video. But it takes real talent to make a Credit Union seem fun. So the Orange Country Credit Union assignment is probably the one you should focus on this month. There probably won’t be a lot of submissions plus the purchase price is $10,000! The goal is to motivate viewers to open a new checking account “by delivering an uplifting and aspirational message.” This assignment also comes with a very special bonus prize. The best “Early Bird” video submitted before February 18th will win $1,000. So if you’re going to enter this one, you might as well shoot your entry this weekend. Deadline: March 4th, 2013. For more details. click here.

Deadline: 2/21/13

Mofilm’s “Texas 2013″ HSBC contest: Oh crap! It’s already February and once again I forgot to make plans to go to Austin for South by South West. Every fall my friends and I tell each other that as soon as passes go on sale we’re going to buy some and do SXSW for real this time. But once again we forgot and now the passes are probably sold out and every hotel room in town is probably booked. But there’s still one other way you can get to SXSW this year. You can win one of the categories in Mofilm’s “Texas 2013″ competition. The deadline for most of the categories is February 18th but the deadline for the HSBC contest was just extended to February 21st. When a sponsor extends their deadline it sometimes means that they’re not happy with the entries they’ve gotten so far. So this might be a good chance for you to slide in and win one of the prizes that are at stake. (UPDATE: Turns out that Mofilm hasn’t actually received any HSBC entries yet since most videos are submitted within 48 hours before the deadline. The HSBC deadline was extended simply because the brief went up late.) First place gets you $8,000 plus a trip for two to Austin, TX for SXSW. If you do win, I’m available to go as your +1. I will pay you back by buying you some BBQ brisket at the Iron Works. Deadline: February 21st, 2013. For more info, click here.

Pitch Deadline: 2/28/13

Tongal’s Excedrin Contest: As soon as I’m done with this post I’m gonna start working on a Pitch for this contest. Excedrin is offering $75,000 in prizes and there are lots of ways to win some cash. Unlike most Tongal contests, this one doesn’t have an idea phase. So if you want to enter you have to submit a pitch based on 1 of 16 pre-approved scenarios. Each scenario is a different “Headache Inducing Situation” like waiting in line at the DMV and sitting in rush hour traffic. Excedrin will pay 16 pitch winners (one for each idea) 700 bucks so they can produce their video. In the video phase, there are 20(!) prizes ranging from $500 to $20,000. Even if you don’t win a Pitch prize, you can still shoot and submit a “wild card” video. Pitch Deadline: February 28th, 2013. For details, head here.

Good luck and Happy Valentine’s Day everybody! Never forget, Beardy loves you!

VCN Sponsor Spotlight: 1/14/13

Posted by Dan L. on January 14th, 2013

So….you didn’t make the Crash the Super Bowl finals this year, did you? Oh well, such is life. You’ve had 2 weeks now to feel bad about your Doritos loss so it’s time for you to get back on that ~~horse~~ goat and find a new contest to enter. Our sponsors are running some massive video contests and assignments this month so here’s a quick run down of the ones that I happen to think are the most appealing.

Deadline: TBA

TONGAL’S “THE BIG GAME” VIDEO PROJECT: Here’s a huge contest that totally came out of nowhere. A few days ago Tongal launched a contest for Dunder Mifflin paper (YES, THAT IS A REAL THING NOW) and the winning ad might air on TV in Scranton, PA during “The Big Game.” You know what the “Big Game” is right?? Well for legal reasons, Tongal can’t actually use the phrase “Super Bowl” but Tongal and the NFL can’t tell Beardy what to write so I’ll say it, If you win this contest your freaking commercial might air in Scranton during the super bowl! Sure, nation-wide would be nice but getting an ad on TV in even just one market during “the big game” is a huge deal. Plus Dunder Mifflin will most likely also use the winning ads online and that would be pretty sweet too. Tongal runs their contests in phases and the pitch phase for this one ends in about a day! If you don’t win the pitch phase don’t worry, wild card entries are accepted for this contest. $25,000 in prizes are at stake so hurry up and get your cousin Mose to help you shoot something more amazing than an episode of Battlestar Galactic that features an all bear cast. Head here for the details. Pitch Phase Deadline: January 15th, 2013.

Deadline: January 24th, 2013

WOMADZ’ “BE THE FIRST” CONTEST: Late last year a new player joined the video contest scene; Womadz.com. Womadz is currently holding their first ever contest as sort of a test run. It’s a neat and worthwhile contest for a few reasons. First, the site is actually offering some decent prizes. In the last few years Ive seen a handful of video contest sites come and go because the folks running them didn’t have the capital necessary to back their first contests. No one is going to spend a lot of time and money to win a “grand prize” of $500. But Womadz is offering $15,000 in prizes this time. And the funny thing is, their first contest is just sort of for fun. Like I said it’s a test run so there is no actual sponsor. And that’s the other reason I like this competition; filmmakers can just shoot a crazy commercial for any made-up product they want. So if you’re like me an you have a bunch of random ideas jotted down in a notebook it might be time to pull out one of your favorites and shoot it. The deadline for this is still 10 days away so you’ve got lots of time. Click here for more info. Deadline: January 24th, 2013.

Deadlines: February 3rd + 7th

POPTENT’S AMERICAN EXPRESS ASSIGNMENTS: Currently Poptent is running two separate assignments that are being sponsored by American Express and both of them are very winnable. Most Poptent members go after the easy and fun assignments. For instance, Poptent’s new SpaghettiO’s assignment will probably get a bazillion entries because anybody can buy a can of SpaghettiO’s and make a wacky viral video about how awesome they are. But I’ve noticed that credit card and financial assignments don’t usually get a ton of submissions. That’s because you can’t just make something crazy and goofy; you also have to craft an accurate and articulate explanation of the companies services. So if you’re willing to spend more than 15 minutes writing your submission you might want to go after one of the new American Express assignments. Yeah, yeah, credit cards aren’t fun. But you know what is fun? Making a $7,500 Poptent sale. If you enter the SpaghettiO’s assignment you’ll probably have a 1 in 80 shot of making a sale. But if you enter either of the American Express assignments you’ll probably have like a 1 in 20 chance of making a sale. For details about AMEX’s Receipt Match assignment head here and for the AMEX Serve assignment head here. OH BY THE WAY! Poptent is offering 2 seed payments this month of $250 for all of their open assignments. If you want to apply for one for either of these assignments, join this discussion and throw your hat in the ring. Deadlines: February 3rd and February 7th, 2013.

Deadline: January 21st, 2013

MOFILM’S SYDNEY CONTEST: Hey you know where I’d like to go? Sydney freaking Australia, that’s where. Well if I were to win one of the four brand competitions in Mofim’s newest contest my $8,000 prize would come with a trip for two to the upside down apple. (That city needs a nickname so I’m hoping this one will catch on.) There are 4 different video contests rolled up in this one event and the briefs look pretty fun. As always, there are lots of prizes at stake for each brand so go get your Cousin Mose to help you write something better than an episode of Battlestar Galactica that features an all-Koala bear cast. Then if you win please keep me in mind for your plus one. I’m willing to bet I’d be more fun to travel with than your Cousin Mose. That dude’s a weirdo. Head here for a list of the brands that are participating in this contest. Deadline, January 21, 2013.

DeVry and Current want to run your ads on TV

Posted by Dan L. on December 21st, 2012

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Current TV has gone through a lot of changes in the last few years but I’m happy to see that their old Viewer Created Ad Message program (or VCAM) is still alive and kicking. Every so often Current will turn to their viewers when they need a commercial for one of their sponsors and the network just launched a new VCAM for Devry. The great thing about VCAM assignments is that the goal of the whole thing is to find commercials that Current can run on TV. They also pay you if your ad airs but just getting your work on television is a fantastic prize that can really help advance a filmmaker’s career. Current and Devry have promised that they will purchase and use up to four :30 second, viewer-made ads for $5,000 a piece. The deadline is January 7th. Here’s a little info about what they’re looking for:

DeVry University is looking for stories of those who have studied and prepared and are now thriving in today’s and tomorrow’s emerging career fields, everything from cloud computing to cyber security to robotics. In this VCAM assignment, your challenge is to find and highlight one of these success stories. Showcase real people and tell how they have let nothing stand in their way of being ready for their future. It would be great to tell the story of someone who has forged a path into a career that wasn’t even around a few years ago, but is now doing work that is on the cutting edge in a field that is growing.

Since opening its doors in 1931, DeVry University has helped prepare students for the jobs most in-demand and it holds a high standard for the education it provides, believing that ‘the future belongs to the ready.’ So DeVry graduates could be ideal subjects for this assignment, but are not required.

Videos should be smart, credible, optimistic, and aimed at graduating high school students, their parents, or working adults who are seeking a career change or advancement. The hope is that your ability to find and tell a great success story will inspire others to get the know how they need for a new tomorrow.

Got that? Devry graduates would be nice but you don’t have to feature one in your ad. And you shouldn’t have any fake DeVry grads. So don’t put an actor in front of a camera and have them say that they went to Devry if they didn’t. Oh here’s one final important note: Guild members (SAG, AFTRA, IATSE, etc.) are not eligible to participate in this assignment so be careful when you cast your spot.

For all the details, head here: http://current.com/participate/knowhow

Tis the season for making money on Poptent!

Posted by Dan L. on December 5th, 2012

hello, gorgeous.

Every December I go on a full-blown video contest bender. I don’t know why but it seems like a ton of really fantastic contests are launched this time of year. And because a lot of filmmakers are either burnt out from entering the Crash the Super Bowl contest or distracted by holiday happenings, competition in many of these contests is pretty light. So if you’re looking to make some money this season you should postpone your shopping and do some filming this weekend!

One of the best contests/assignments running right now is the Miller 64 assignment on Poptent. I’ve been planning an entry for this one for a few weeks now. (Last weekend I was shooting a party scene for some other video contest entry and when we were done, I made everyone hold a Miller 64 so I could get a quick shot.) The Miller 64 contest jumped out at me for a few reasons. Contests and video assignments for alcohol products are always good to enter because there are tight legal restrictions that will keep a lot of people from participating. If you’re under 21 you can’t enter. And thanks to federal advertising laws, no one that appears in your alcohol ads can be under 25! So those two rules mean that a very large percentage of filmmakers and actors will have to sit this one out. Just look at the number of “accepts” this assignment has compared to a similar assignment Jacuzzi ran a few weeks ago. Both assignments offered one guaranteed purchase of $7,500. But while 347 filmmakers accepted the terms of the Jacuzzi assignment, so far only 215 have accepted the Miller 64 one. If you’re going to enter a Poptent assignment, there’s no shame in playing the odds. Like I said, there are a lot of good contests and assignments running right now. So it’s good strategy to budget your time and go after an assignment that you know can’t get a billion entries.

If you’re going to shoot an ad for the Miller assignment, you have two themes to chose from. Option #1 is “a little extra.” These would be videos about the little things you can do to lead a more balanced and healthy lifestyle (like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or you know….drinking a 64 calorie beer instead of a 180 calorie beer.) Option #2 is “resolutions.” For this theme you’re asked to tell a story about New Year’s Resolutions that are related to living a healthier life and more active life.

So that doesn’t sound too tough, does it? Miller is guaranteeing at least one purchase of $7,500. You still have until December 16th to submit a video so get your ass to the liquor store and but a 12 pack of 64′s and have a little filming party this weekend. To accept this assignment and read the creative brief, head here: http://www.poptent.net/assignment/608. Because the sponsor is a beer company, there are some quirky rules for this assignment so be sure to read the brief carefully before you start writing.