Petaluma River Video Contest
Student PSA to Protect the Health & Vitality of the Petaluma River
Friends of the Petaluma River, in collaboration with the City of Petaluma, is offering three awards to high school students and three awards to junior high school students for the best videos answering one of the following prompts:
Prompt Idea 1:
How can our community improve water quality in the Petaluma River? Create a 55-second video that 1) educates our community about one or more common pollutants found in the Petaluma River and 2) teaches people how they can prevent pollutants from entering our waterways.
Prompt Idea 2:
Imagine you are another member of the Petaluma River Watershed community—an otter, a heron, a fish, a willow tree, or even the river itself. Through this perspective, create a 55-second video that answers the question: What can humans do to stop pollution in the Petaluma River? Think about the challenges you face, the benefits a clean watershed provides, and your relationship with the environment and the humans around you. Tell your story and inspire others to see the watershed through your eyes."
Prizes
FIRST PLACE $500
SECOND PLACE $250
THIRD PLACE $100
Video Guidelines
Videos can be a skit, newscast, music video, documentary style video, or even an animation. We encourage students to be creative!
Videos should be exactly 55 seconds long. The last scene of the video must include the Friends of the Petaluma River, Watershed Classroom, and City of Petaluma Logos (Available for download on our website).
All entries must be created by students without professional assistance (Teacher advice ok).
Contestants must have rights to all media (sound, music, images) included in the video. See below for resources.
Each entry should be submitted in one of the following formats: .mp4, .mpg, .wmv, .avi, or .mov.
Entries must be submitted with sources cited for all visual and audio media. This will be part of contestants’ entry form, not included in the video.
Videos should be submitted with entry form (available or download on our website).
Who is Eligible?
Students grades 6 through 8, and 9 through 12, at any school in Petaluma or Penngrove are eligible. This includes Petaluma, Casa Grande, San Antonio, St. Vincent de Paul, Sonoma Mountain, and Carpe Diem High Schools. Home school students are also welcome.
Students may work in teams but cash prizes will be split between them.
Winners Determined By:
Accuracy and clarity of knowledge shared
Creativity
Video quality
Edits
Contestants may be required to edit videos before receiving award money.
Always keep an editable version of your video on a device which you have access to even when school is not in session.
Additional Resources:
What is a public Service Announcement?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_announcement
Why isn’t there music in the public domain?
Copyright law information:
pdinfo.com/copyright-law/copyright-and-public-domain.php
Where do I purchase royalty free music?
Pdinfo.com
Bensound.com
Where do I find public domain images?
Free Image Sites: pexels.com;
commons.wikimedia.org
How to find Public Domain images on google:
support.google.com/websearch/answer/29508?hl=en