Every once in a while, your humble WillVideoforFood gets an exclusive. Here’s one.
The folks at Rain Bird Corporation (a manufacturer of irrigation products and services) are doing a film contest to raise awareness of water conservation. “The Intelligent Use of Water” Film Competition seeks short films (1-20 minutes in actual or excerpted run time) that focus on the topic of water conservation. Says a forthcoming release, “Narrative, documentary, animated, experimental and/or student-made productions should explore approaches and ideas to intelligently manage and efficiently utilize the Earth’s most precious resource.”
Filmmakers who submit their short film (in English) on DVD/VHS or electronically via the competition website will have their films reviewed by a panel of judges with academic, professional, industrial or governmental expertise in film and/or water conservation. Finalists will be selected and invited to a screening event on September 30, 2007, in Los Angeles at the LA Arboretum, where the winners will be announced and awarded cash prizes of $6,000 for judges’ selection and $3,000 for audience’s pick.
All entries must be submitted on DVD or VHS in NTSC format or as a .mov, .wmv or .mpg file no later than August 15, 2007, for consideration. Visit http://www.iuowfilm.com for more information on the competition and entry requirements.
See “more” for, um, more.
“Films such as Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, demonstrate the powerful influence that the film medium has on affecting positive change among the public,” said Dave Johnson, Rain Bird’s Corporate Marketing Director. “In light of the great impact that scarcity and mismanagement of water will have on the whole world, providing forums such as The Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition enables people to actively exercise their influence and raise awareness of these important issues. The solution to the world’s water problems requires the education, mobilization and involvement of everyone, and film is an ideal tool for inspiring action.”
Rain Bird’s Intelligent Use of Water Film Competition is the most recent example in the company’s history of creating programs and initiatives to boost awareness of water conservation. Rain Bird devotes significant resources to its Intelligent Use of Water public initiatives, which include a series of white papers; public service announcements; membership on the EPA’s Alliance for Water Efficiency and the EPA’s WaterSense steering committee; bi-annual Intelligent Use of Water Summits, partnerships with non-profit organizations; development and support of elementary and middle school curriculums; and participation in the Tournament of Roses Parade®, an annual worldwide stage to communicate the need for water conservation.
ABOUT RAIN BIRD CORPORATION
Based in Azusa, Calif., Rain Bird Corporation is the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Since its beginnings in 1933, Rain Bird has offered the industry’s broadest range of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the world. Rain Bird has been awarded more than 130 patents, including the first in 1935 for the impact sprinkler. Rain Bird and The Intelligent Use of Water™ is about using water wisely. Its commitment extends beyond products to education, training and services for the industry and the community. Rain Bird maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing assembly facilities in the United States, France, Sweden and Mexico http://www.rainbird.com.
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This is an interesting trend. Two years ago, I was on a team of filmmakers who competed in a local film competition. The prize: bragging rights. We won three awards, we bragged. We looked for more opportunities to compete. Aside from the “shorts” entries for film festivals, there wasn’t much.
Now there are self-sponsored contests out there with decent prizes. It’s all ad-type stuff, but it still gets you to stretch your filmmaking wings. I wonder if it will stick around?
Interesting, just before reading your blog, I read my local news rag and it said local towns are in an uproar over the EPA & GE dredging of the upper Hudson River to pull out PCB’s. I might have some footage here.
[...] tip to Nalts at the Will Video for Food blog for spotting this opportunity. Highlight for others:These icons link to social bookmarking [...]
I learned about this interesting contest and Nalts’ blog from Water Words That Work. What terrific sites they all are!
The Huron River Watershed Council in Michigan started the Millers Creek Film Festival 2 years ago as the result of a brainstorming session. It is a contest for films under 5 minutes that are entertaining and about the human connections to any part of the Huron River system of lakes, streams, etc. The prizes are $500 in each category, see details at http://www.hrwc.org/filmfestival. We want to add a prize for the winner to work with a filmaker to improve the winning film. Any ideas? We also plan to use the film to start a community discussion.
Windows95…
Interesting Windows95 post….