Chairman's Videos: At what point do they become part of the judging process?

[dcarr]

Originally Posted by OZ_341

You can use the Chairman's Award Video as part of the judging process, if you are willing to risk using 3 out of your 5 minutes to show it. We did this when we won in 2010.

You could also use just a few segments from the longer video. The trick is to integrate the video into the presentation seamlessly, so that the kids are still having a conversation with the judges and conveying their knowledge of FIRST and the team. It can be done effectively, but it is tricky.

Many people think our video was done by professionals with high end equipment, but it was not. Our video was 100% student written, shot, edited, and narrated. But just like with FRC robots, they had dedicated mentors to guide them.

After many years of talking to judges with a basic keynote presentation, we felt strongly that we wanted to use some of the powerful footage that we had to help convey our message. It was a very different and risky approach, but it worked.

Thank you for this valuable advice. We are looking at ways to totally revamp our presentation and making the most of the five minutes. It is very interesting to know that you did in fact show the full video during the presentation - it sure is a great video, I've watched it many times! I'm even more wowed to know it was totally student-created (does the team have access to professional cameras and recording equipment?)

I very much like the idea of incorporating some footage into the presentation but still keeping largely verbally driven by the students. I'm curious - do you bring a projector and screen into the judge's room? A laptop? Do some events have display capabilities in the room?