Rules

Video Project: Information Sharing

The Internet gives new meaning to the notion that, by sharing ideas, we build a better understanding of the world around us. If you use YouTube or Wikipedia, exchange gaming tips on the Internet, or have a blog, you probably well understand the value of sharing information, ideas, and knowledge.

Sharing can also be a vital tool in helping to address complex problems that challenge society - like disease, hunger, global warming, and economic disparity. The sharing of ideas gives us ways to discover, collaborate, and create in unprecedented ways.

The SPARKY Awards challenges you to illustrate in a short video presentation what you see as the value of sharing information. Use your imagination to suggest what good comes from bringing down barriers to the free exchange of information.

Here are a few takes on the theme that might inspire you:

·         Access to research - Why is it important for researchers, students, and the public to have access to scholarly literature? What happens when they don't have full access to the work of others?

·         New opportunities - The Web and other digital technologies have created unprecedented opportunities for sharing and using information. How might technology revolutionize the way that students, researchers and scholars work? What previously unreachable goal might be possible as a result of sharing science and data online?

·         Information equity - Students and researchers at small colleges and in developing countries, as well as the general public, often have limited access to scientific and scholarly research results. What are the some of the effects of inequitable access to knowledge? What can we do about it?

·         Taxpayer access - Taxpayers fund more than $50 billion in U.S. research each year. Do taxpayers have a right to expect access to the results of the research they paid for? What might happen if this was possible?

·         Knowledge as a public good - The purpose of scholarship and scientific endeavor is to advance the welfare of society. Should scientific and scholarly knowledge be available to anyone who wants to learn? What might be possible if access to this knowledge becomes the norm?

Rules and Requirements

Videos must:

• Be submitted by December 6, 2009.
• Examine the theme described above.
• Be no more than 2 minutes in length.
• Have been completed between January 1 and December 6, 2009.
• Be narrated or subtitled in English.
• Be posted on the Internet and available for public use under a Creative Commons license. Acceptable licenses include: Attribution, Attribution-NonCommercial, Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike, Attribution- ShareAlike, Public Domain

Make your video in as high a quality as you can. The winner will be screened on a full-size movie theatre screen!

You must be the original author of everything in your video or have permission to use copyright protected material. Videos using non-licensed, copyrighted musical, visual, or literary properties without legal permission are ineligible. In addition, you must have consent from any people appearing in your video.

There are plenty of resources that provide access to re-usable materials. Consider these video, music, and image sites - many of which feature content licensed for re-use under Creative Commons:

• CCMixter
• 25+ Sources for Creative Commons Content, from Mashable.com
• blip.tv
• Creative Commons Commoners
• Google Advanced Search allows you to search according to usage rights, and filter for material that is free to use.
• Video links from Creative Commons
• Audio links from Creative Commons
• Image links from Creative Commons

(Take care to include proper attribution).

Get all the details including Talent Release forms to keep it legal. >>

The decisions of the jury are final. Void where prohibited by law.

Copyright, 2008 SPARC

Planning a Video: The Samim "Heater" Project

The following two videos represent the making of  the Samim "Heater" video project and the end result. While not a part of the Sparky Video Awards, the videos reflect similar goals in the sense that the Samim videos embrace sharing, a worldwide sharing of music, dance and tradition. In the first video, the producers discuss the conceptualization and production of the video.

 

The following video is the end result:

There are many ways to translate sharing. The Samim "Heater" project successfully translates sharing, accomplishing what the producers of the video describe as an "uplifting, positive track, humorous track...reflected in the video well through having all kinds of people from all walks of life united through joy, happiness and dancing." 

 

Files

Storyboard

Entry Form

Judges

Official Rules/Legal Issues

Mashup Contest 2008 Winners

Measures of Excellence

Audience Profile Worksheet

Markel  Chapter 1 Power Point

Markel Chapter 1 Quiz

Markel Chapter 5 Power Point

Markel Chapter 5: Interactive Exercise 

Sparky Videos