New Submission Format for Chairman's Award
 

So much for trying to decide which video editing software we should use...the question now is, what color should the 4 pieces of paper be?????????????????????????

... Huh? :confused:

- Katie

uhhh
 

You...mean....they...changed....it?
I sure hope not- I checked the first website and there was nothing on changing the submission format...

You're kidding us, right? Please tell me you are

New Procedure
 

Saturday Night, an email was sent to team contacts with some new information (no mention of Nationals so do not ask). The main point was that the Chairman's Award entry would be presented on 4 sheets of paper. Your advisors should have the details for you very soon....so, no video, animations, dvds, cd's etc. Short , concise and to the point.

ohh boy
 

Wait till I tell our chairman teams about this.

</Sarcasam> They will be soooooo thrilled </Sarcasam>

did the email say any thing for reasoning behind this?

Does it have to be text only? Or can we submit pictures along with it? I can't even imagine trying to describe our team in four pages without some form of visual.

Well, I guess that solves the problem of my team not having anybody who likes video editing. Now we just need a group that likes writing essays.

The E-mail Attachment
 

This is the file that was attached to the e-mail Mr. Kelso referred to. It covers the changes to Chairman's.


--Jordan

wow.....
 

Drops head into hand
 

Our team's never submitted before. We've been working on preparations for months. Just today was working with our new very cool video software. Had the graphics done already, a student writing script today.

*mixed feelings*

We've got it all written out, so the 4 pages will be easily done by us, and will easily display what's chairman like about our team.

We're now prepared to make very cool video about our team.

Very disappointing...
 

I personally think that this was a bad idea. I think that making us write an essay on our team will be a major problem simply because our team will not stand out. Everything will look the same. Maybe some team will play with font colors or styles, but that's about it. And a team could easily dramatize anything or (if desperate) make things up.

Video presentations provide a unique "flavor" to your presentation. There are so many ways to do it, and really interesting video of things your team has done will make your presentation stand out.

Having to do an essay format could limit the creativity of the teams and could make the most exciting of events seem dull and ordinary. Besides, making a video is a lot more fun than writing an essay... I'm sure we all have had enough writing to do in English class ;). I really hope FIRST changes it back.

maybe other opportunities
 

Perhaps they won't change it back regarding the chairman's award, but maybe they'd make a new award for best

fundraising video
or
about our team video
or
Our community and our team video
or
about our region video

cuz

www.californiaconnected.org
for instance accepts video documentary
our cable channel is looking for video stories regarding school district activities...

Aw come on you guys, I know it's tough but you can do it!
I know that it might be really hard for some teams to express all that they need to in four pages, but it can be done. You may start off with ten pages. However, with the right editing you will be able to make a very powerful statement if you can get your point accross with fewer words.
A lot of professional writers have this problem when they make their first submissions. Their books are often several hundred pages too long. They have to cut, cut, cut, until they have a product that won't lose the interest of the reader (or the editor). (Not that I'm any kind of example with some of the log posts I've made. :D)
Once you get the hang of it, you will figure out what is really important to get accross to whomever is reading your pages.
This could really become an excellent opportunity to sharpen your communication skills.

i dont understand how they are now going to present the chairmans awards at nationals. the video's were the best way to present them, and now they wont be able to do it. this is really going to hurt our chances now because we have already gotten started on this years chairmans with makeing a video and such. there's going to be lots of unhappy people...:mad:

Re: Very disappointing...
 

Maybe that's precisely the point?

A whiz-bang "wow" video editing job doesn't do anything whatsoever to show what your team has done that's worth being considered in deciding upon a Chairman's Award recipient.

Videos, animations, and that sort just give teams the ability to dress up what they've done, gloss over things, and overwhelm judges with a false, manufactured facade.

It's a bit like some of Hollywood - All bang, no substance.

Four pages of written word, coupled with a few adeptly chosen photos, will be a better indicator of the drive, effort, and impact of a given team than any cleverly edited video tape. It puts everyone on an equal playing field - a core tenet of this program, in my mind.

I like it. It's fair to everyone, it's less time consuming for the judges to evaluate, it eliminates problems with software or hardware incompatabilities, and it allows judges to carry and easily reference your entry as they meet your team and its members.