Entry Guidelines

ENTRY WINDOW: January 20 - April 1 

FESTIVAL: May 17, Hollywood HS, 10am (Elem.), 1pm (Middle & High School)

ELIGIBILITY: PreK-12 California Schools, Extracurricular Programs, Extended Day Programs

COST: FREE

PRIZES:

• All winning projects receive one plaque at no cost. Additional plaques are available for purchase. 

• School/Program donations of $500-$750 for each of the following:

  • Grand Prize winner: Elementary School Division

  • Grand Prize winner: Middle School Division

  • Grand Prize winner: High School Division

  • Media & Information Literacy - Elementary - details

  • Media & Information Literacy - Secondary - details

  • Greatness of School Libraries - details

• Some special award winners may receive additional in-kind prizes for the sponsoring school or program

THREE STEPS FOR SUCCESS:​

1. Upload your project to a public-facing URL. We recommend YouTube, iCloud, Google Drive as options.

2. Please read through the PRACTICE ENTRY FORM, FESTIVAL RUBRIC, and the guidelines below BEFORE completing the application. Once you get started, the online application should take approximately 10 minutes to complete. You cannot save an application in progress.

3. Include all credits for copyrighted or original sources  IN your project or in the description text below the video.​ NOTE: Copyright & Citation Aligned: All entries should follow copyright law & fair use guidelines. Credits should include original student work as well as all other contributors and sources. Judges need to know when they are seeing original student work.

GUIDELINES:

1. All entries must have a valid, public URL. Please double check that your URL is valid before submitting it. Please make sure it is accessible through June and does not "time out."

2. Please be sure you have permission on file for all of the students featured in your project. It will be your responsibility to save all forms releasing student likeness until requested by media festival officials.

3. Enter each project only once. We offer THREE DIVISIONS: Elementary (grades prek-5), Middle (grades 6-8) & Secondary (grades 9-12).

4. For each project, choose ONE CATEGORY: Film/Video, Animation, Photography, Music, or Interactive Media. NOTE: since most entries are Film/Video, we encourage any entry that features a different medium to choose the other medium. Choose "Music" for music videos, "Photography" for a photo series, "Animation" for a stop-motion video or "Interactive Media" for videos about other media, etc.

   • ​Film/Video, Fiction: A made-up story or concept. Not based on a real event.*

   • Film/Video, Non-Fiction: A documentary-style recap of an actual event, educational or 'how-to' presentation or public service announcement (PSA) are all examples of Non-fiction film/video entries.*

   • Animation: Frame-driven technique to create the illusion of motion. Examples include: stop-motion, hand-drawn, claymation, 2-D, 3-D, machinima and LEGO (of course).

   • Photography:  A static image or a series of images produced through a traditional or digital camera. Editing is allowed - be creative!

   • 
     Music: Any original audio work, including songs, audio podcasts, or soundscapes. 

     Interactive Media: multimedia, AR/VR, 3-D models, Original Apps, Games, etc.

   • *Both types of Film/Video entries use the same Film/Video Rubric. 

5. Teachers, parents, or program coordinators submit all entries. All communication from the festival will be sent to the ADULT responsible for the entry.

6. Teachers are limited to a maximum of THREE total entries per class project. Do not submit an entire class of entries - pick your top three.

7. Entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PDT on the day of the submission due date.

8. Entries from the previous school year must represent work that was completed after April 14, 2024.

9. Save a complete, high-resolution copy of your project, as this is required for all winning projects.