Everglades Champions Making Ripples
This year, Youth Making Ripples is collaborating with The Everglades Foundation to launch a new film competition called “Everglades Champions Making Ripples” focused on sharing messages about how the Florida Everglades are connected to our oceans. Only schools participating in The Everglades Foundations’ K–5 “Everglades Champion Schools” program are eligible for this competition. The deadline for this special competition is April 22nd (Earth Day). Champion School students interested in participating in this competition should submit their film here instead of using the portal for the primary Youth Making Ripples competition.
Each entry will also be submitted into the annual Youth Making Ripples Film Competition. Students can submit short films (<5 minutes) on any marine science topic of their choice, including wetland environments like the Everglades.
There is no submission fee for the Youth Making Ripples Film Competition.
Entry Rules
Enter your film in two easy steps.
STEP #2
Submit Your Film
- At the time of submission, students must be enrolled at a participating K-5 Everglades Champion School that will complete the 2021-2022 Everglades Champion Schools Application.
- All films must be less than 5 minutes in length.
- Films must be submitted by submission deadline.
- All entries must adhere to copyright laws by using only original footage and audio or by using copyright-free media with proper attribution. See Copyright Issues for more information.
- Films can be submitted by individuals, groups of students, or by schools or clubs.
- A liability waiver is required for each student who participated in the film (all filmmakers or any person under the age of 18 who appears in the film), which must be signed by a parent or guardian for students under the age of 18.
Additional Information
K–5 Everglades Champion School students and their teachers are invited to create a film that illustrates how the health of the Everglades is important to the health of our oceans. The message of the films can focus on any number of topics that illustrate how our Everglades and oceans are interconnected: from how water quality issues in the Everglades affects our oceans and estuaries to a look at mangrove habitats or how invasive species are a serious threat.
The films will be evaluated according to the same criteria outlined on the rubric for the primary Youth Making Ripples competition as well as how they address the Everglades to Oceans theme. A cash prize of $250 will be awarded to the Champion School who is judged the winner of the “Everglades Champions Making Ripples” competition. The top films will be premiered at the Champion School Recognition Ceremony in June, where the winner will also be announced.
Champion School students interested in participating in this competition should submit their film by April 22nd (Earth Day) here instead of using the portal for the primary Youth Making Ripples competition.
Filmmaking Guide
The Youth Making Ripples Marine Science Filmmaking Unit is a guide for educators, parents and students interested in creating short marine science documentaries. This guide contains tips and best practices for making your film. Review each section below or download the complete guide here.
One of the great reasons why educators and students enjoy participating in the Youth Making Ripples Annual Film Competition is that the students have the freedom to be an advocate for whatever topic they are most passionate about. You also have the freedom to work as an individual or in a small group with your friends.
The first thing you will need to do is select your topic. If you are having trouble selecting a topic, don’t worry! This “cheat sheet” provides a few ways for you to brainstorm what topic interests you!
One of the best planning techniques for creating a short film is to create a storyboard before filming begins. A storyboard is essentially a small “comic strip” that outlines and organizes the main points of the film. Once you establish your main points in the storyboard you will then have a focused message and be able to convert your storyboard into your film. The storyboard is a helpful tool to make your outline visual to you and your filmmaker colleagues. We recommend starting with some quick brainstorming exercises to help formulate your story.
Cinematography is the art of visual storytelling. Anyone can set a camera, point it towards something and hit the record button, but the art of cinematography is what controls what is seen by the viewer and what is being presented to the audience. This is also called “shooting” as in “shooting the scene”. Shooting your scene will be a large part of the “artistic and creative” side of your film. Here we provide some basics about the composition (the way the shot is set up) of the shot to help you learn how different shots work together. These tips will help you form a clear narrative for your story.
Audio is the single most reason why a film submission will not score high with our judges. Sound is a vibration, or a wave. And just like a wave that breaks towards the sand, sound gets smaller the further away it travels from the source. The louder the sound, the bigger its wave will be. The bigger the wave, the further it will travel. Apply this concept when you begin recording your audio for your film by creating sound waves that will reach your microphone consistently and smoothly. For example, louder sounds close to a microphone will produce hurricane force waves that distort your audio, while speaking too softly or having the microphone too far away from the source of sound will produce low or inaudible recording.
