• • Encourage your students to film using a variety of camera shots and angles (wide, extreme close up, high, low, Dutch, etc.). These help the audience stay engaged and can even express and enhance meaning in the film.

  • Using the Rule of Thirds involves dividing your video frame into 9 equal parts with 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines and placing points of interest on the intersections of the lines. All cameras should have an option in the settings to turn on grid lines. Use these to help frame shots and place subjects or points of interest using the Rule of Thirds.

  • For lighting, our student filmmakers should be focused on making sure that the subjects and/or actions in each shot can be seen clearly. If a character enters a dark room and picks up an object, the audience still needs to see that, so some lighting will need to be used. Although there are times that a pitch black scene could be effective, don't let the darkness hinder the audience's understanding of what is happening. 

• • Filmmakers should do their best to use external microphones with their cameras to capture clear audio, especially of dialogue. If an external microphone is not used, audio could be difficult for the audience to understand.  If no external microphone is available, the built-in microphone on the camera can be used; however, filmmakers must remember that sound travels through the air from the subject to the camera.

  • When incorporating multiple sounds at a time, filmmakers should balance the multiple audio levels, ensuring that the most important audio can be heard over the secondary audio. For example, if music is being played at the same time as dialogue, the filmmaker should lower the volume of the music so that the dialogue can be easily understood by the audience. When the dialogue is complete, the music volume can be increased for a more immersive experience.

  • The music and sound effects selected by the filmmaker should enhance the audience's experience with the film, not distract from it. Accompanying music should fit the current mood in the film, and sound effects should "fit" well with both timing and mood. Also, the inclusion of too much music or too many sound effects can get tiring for the audience. The student filmmaker must judge the proper balance in applying these.

Pacing refers to controlling each camera shot's duration in the film. Lingering on one camera shot for too long can cause the audience to be bored and lose interest; however, camera shots that don't last long enough can prevent the audience from picking up on important details. Student filmmakers should seek to strike a balance in shot durations, changing between multiple camera shots per scene, keeping the audience engaged.

Continuity refers to the elements in a shot being in their proper place when switching to a new shot, keeping the details consistent (or continuous). Student filmmakers should begin to take notice of continuity as they begin to incorporate more cuts into their films.  

Special effects refers to any additional effects added to the film through the editing software, such as chroma key (green screen), cropping, scaling, key frames, etc. When using these, student filmmakers should be diligent in adjusting settings to find the best incorporation of the effects with minimal distractions.  

Titles refers to the addition of text to the film through editing software. All films should include a credits sequence with titles. When using titles, filmmakers should ensure that the titles have correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. In addition, the formatting of the titles should be consistent and appropriate for the film (consistent font size, alignment, etc.). 

Graphics refers to the addition of images to the film through editing software. Any additional graphics should be formatted correctly to fit the frame of the video. If a video is filmed in (horizontal widescreen but the filmmaker wants to include a vertical picture taken on a phone, steps should be taken to ensure that the sides of the video frame aren't just black bars. The filmmaker could opt to scale the picture to fill the frame, place several vertical pictures side by side to fill the frame, etc.  

The Transitions criterion refers to how the film displays changes in location or the passage of time. Typically, filmmakers will use a hard cut between shots within the same location, within the same time frame; however, they may opt for a cross dissolve or fade when changing locations and time. Special effect transitions (cross dissolve, dip to black, blinds, etc.) are neat to see but aren't pleasant when they are overused. Student filmmakers need to judge when it is appropriate to use these and how often to use them. 

Plots should be clear for the audience, allowing them to easily discern the direction of the story. Student filmmakers should consider how they will introduce the audience to the world of the film (exposition), begin the conflict, generate rising action, and culminate the action with a climactic event. 

Student filmmakers should strive to submit films that have a great deal of originality, avoiding the reproduction of videos that have been submitted in the past or other well-known productions.

Although it can be difficult to completely avoid common motifs and tropes, student filmmakers can still express their creativity and imagination through their own spin on characters and scenarios. Films that display this degree of originality will score higher than films that seem to "copy and paste" these elements from other sources.

Characters should be well-developed and properly introduced, preventing the audience from wondering who they are and how they fit into the story. 

The story should have characters with a clear relevance to the plot, pushing the plot forward, causing a struggle for the protagonist, or highlighting the qualities of another character.

The audience and judges should have a firm understanding of the stance of the commercial, the focus of the stance, why the topic is worthy of conversation, and what is expected from them after having watched it (call to action).

Student filmmakers should strive to submit films that have a great deal of originality, avoiding the reproduction of videos that have been submitted in the past or other well-known productions.

Although it can be difficult to completely avoid common motifs and tropes, student filmmakers can still express their creativity and imagination through their own spin on characters and scenarios. Films that display this degree of originality will score higher than films that seem to "copy and paste" these elements from other sources.

Submissions in the Commercial category will benefit from displaying various persuasive techniques (bandwagon, endorsement, etc.) and considering modes of persuasion (logos, ethos, pathos).

Commercials and Public Service Announcements should be focusing on persuading the audience to act after having viewed them or changing the audience's attitude toward an issue. Student filmmakers should make sure that their submissions display this primary purpose instead of a desire to make the audience laugh.

Documentary topics should be focused so that the audience can easily determine what exactly the filmmaker wants them to gain insight about. A documentary about a person's life may be too broad for just 7 minutes and should be focused on a specific aspect of that person.

The audience and judges should not only be able to learn about the aspect of the event or person but also the WHY of learning about it. Student filmmakers should strive to ensure that their audience understands why this information should interest them.

Student filmmakers should strive to do primary research (conducting interviews, taking pictures, filming b-roll, etc.) about aspects of the event or person that wouldn't be considered common knowledge or known by the average person. Submissions should just be a visual representation of an encyclopedia article.

Narration (voiceovers) should be well-spoken and free of errors, showing evidence of rehearsal. Filmmakers should rerecord narration when necessary.

When including both narration and interviews, student filmmakers should strive to find a balance between the narration and interviews, using narration to present facts and interviews to present either opinions or first-hand insight. The whole documentary shouldn't consist of one long interview with no cuts.

Plots should be clear for the audience, allowing them to easily discern the direction of the story. Student filmmakers should consider how they will introduce the audience to the world of the film (exposition), begin the conflict, generate rising action, and culminate the action with a climactic event. 

Student filmmakers should spend time deciding how they can use music or performing arts to tell a story. Do the lyrics explain the action that is happening in the story? Does the instrumental piece change as the mood of the story changes? Do the movements of the dance tell a story to the audience? Is there a clear beginning and end?

Student filmmakers should strive to submit films that have a great deal of originality, avoiding the reproduction of videos that have been submitted in the past or other well-known productions.

Although it can be difficult to completely avoid common motifs and tropes, student filmmakers can still express their creativity and imagination through their own spin on characters and scenarios. Films that display this degree of originality will score higher than films that seem to "copy and paste" these elements from other sources.

The original performance should be free of errors, showing evidence of rehearsal. Filmmakers should rerecord any aspects of the performance that contain errors or use editing to correct any issues.

Submissions to the Newscast category should showcase a variety of content that would be relevant to the target audience of the school (student body, faculty, etc.). Content should include segments other than just the anchor desk, such as a weather report, sports update, field interviews, news packages, etc.

Contents of the broadcast should be original and not "copy-pasted" from another production.

The production itself should also display school identity and spirit. Does the broadcast contain any catchphrases based on the school's mascot? Does the broadcast contain any original segments or programing that help promote the identity of the school?

Anchoring and voiceovers should display clear evidence of rehearsal and be free of errors. Any mistakes should be edited out and portions should be rerecorded. 

For included news packages, voiceovers and interviews should be rehearsed and balanced, with voiceovers providing facts and interviews providing opinions and first-hand insight. Packages shouldn't consist of only interviews.

Plots should be clear for the audience, allowing them to easily discern the direction of the story. Student filmmakers should consider how they will introduce the audience to the world of the film (exposition), begin the conflict, generate rising action, and culminate the action with a climactic event. 

Student filmmakers should strive to submit films that have a great deal of originality, avoiding the reproduction of videos that have been submitted in the past or other well-known productions.

Although it can be difficult to completely avoid common motifs and tropes, student filmmakers can still express their creativity and imagination through their own spin on characters and scenarios. Films that display this degree of originality will score higher than films that seem to "copy and paste" these elements from other sources.

Characters should be well-developed and properly introduced, preventing the audience from wondering who they are and how they fit into the story. 

The story should have characters with a clear relevance to the plot, pushing the plot forward, causing a struggle for the protagonist, or highlighting the qualities of another character.

How-to topics should be focused so that the audience can easily determine what exactly the filmmaker wants them to learn. Vague topics could leave the audience confused and wondering where the process is taking them.

The audience and judges should not only be able to learn how to perform the skill, project, or task but also the WHY of learning about it. Student filmmakers should strive to ensure that their audience understands why this information should interest them.

How-To films should be original productions, with the filmmaker's own steps and structure built in, not a visual representation of an existing online how-to article.

Student filmmakers should strive to insert creativity and/or imagination into the steps of their How-To film. If a submission is covering the topic of how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, what makes this particular submission stand apart from other films covering the same topic? 

How-To's should be structured logically (typically chronologically) for the audience. In these cases, transitions become very important so that the audience can judges can follow along easily.

Student filmmakers should consider how much background knowledge their audience likely has about the steps and components involved in completing the process. Is any jargon used in the process of the film? Perhaps an explanation or definition of those terms is needed.

Narration (voiceovers) of steps and explanations should be well-spoken and free of errors, showing evidence of rehearsal. Filmmakers should rerecord narration when necessary.