So according to the 09 manual, regional Chairman’s potentials now have to submit a video in addition to their regular presentation.
http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/5%20-%20The%20Awards.pdf
Anyone else have thoughts? I’m a little nervous, because we really don’t have a video camera…
Wow! Now I wish I’d listened on the FIRST Senior Mentor Phone Conference on the Chairman’s Award.
On the camera dilemma, our High School actually loans us a camera to use to document our build season and competitions. So I recommend you start there. Maybe they even have a few budding cinematographers who will take on the project!
“Although it is a requirement of submission, it is not a requirement for the judging process for 2009.”
What does that mean? It is part of the section but makes no sense.
Let the Q & A begin?:rolleyes:
But yea…our team kinda sorta doesn’t have a camera, and our school is not apt to loaning us one, we’ve tried before. So what about teams in this situation?
For an additional comment, the manual doesn’t actually mention when the DVD is submitted. It can be assumed, based on the description, that a hard copy is required, but do we hand it to the judges when we go in? Do we submit it to pit admin the first day of competition. It says that the DVD has to have the event submitted to on it. Do Michigan teams have to make a new DVD for State Championship? Do we bring just 1 copy of the DVD to competition? 1 copy per judge?
A lot of questions are left unanswered in the manual about this 
Of note: http://www.usfirst.org/uploadedFiles/Chairman%20Award%20Criteria.pdf
Color me interested. Video gear has gotten dirt cheap–you can get a Flip Mino HD for under $250, and most computers these days offer some rudimentary form of creating videos and burning DVDs. (If nothing else, network! Surely some person/business/school in your metropolitan area has a Mac with a SuperDrive they’ll let you use to edit this.) The 16:9 aspect ratio requirement might trip up teams borrowing older equipment, but even iMovie '08 can alter the format.
All in all, I think it’s a challenge any reasonable contender for the Chairman’s Award shouldn’t have much trouble with.
(Perhaps 842’s prior acts set off some light bulbs in Manchester?)
It seems to me that they’re requiring teams to submit a video that, should they win the award, will be played as part of the ceremonies. It does not appear that, unless you play your video during your scheduled interview, it will otherwise enter into the judge’s decision making process. Nothing, of course, explicitly mentions this. This is FIRST, after all.
I’m crossing my fingers for a cheapish video camera in the KOP for this very purpose. It seems reasonable to me.
With 973 switching to two robots, higher quality supplies and the cost of a 2nd control system, we are likely to be strapped for funds.
I respectfully disagree. There are a lot of teams with limited money who are doing some great things. Especially the innercity teams, the ones who are not getting STEM as much in school and really need FIRST, those teams are being put at a major disadvantage.
Madison, thank you for that interpretation, it makes a lot more sense than anything I was thinking…
Hey, didn’t Google or someone donate a camera in the KoP a few years back? Maybe … 
Actually, this can be quite an opportunity.
If nothing else, put photos in a slide show and do a music/voice over. No video camera required. The video can’t be over 3 minutes. A one minute video would qualify, wouldn’t it? Here are some examples we made for our underwater competition. Note: no video camera was used:
NURC mission 2008
NURC mission 2009
or think big…
Contact a local TV station or cameraman or producer or an ad agency or someone in the movie industry… That would be super cool and it would certainly be an example of how a Chairman’s team is involving the community!
There are tons of parents who video their kids. They may not want to “lend” the camera out, but they may be willing to “help” produce and mentor you.
How about an animated video?
Maybe piecing together some public domain videos or footage from past games?
Hmm, can we use material from FIRST promos? Since it is copyrighted by FIRST, I would think it would be OK to use their footage to make a video for their use. (I’m not a lawyer so my opinion doesn’t mean much)
The best part is that the Chairman’s video sub team has a real job to do NOW and can be finished before Christmas!
Since the DVD has to be submitted (but not judged?) have fun and be creative. Maybe we can post our videos on Youtube and we can have an unofficial FIRST Oscar award?
The aforementioned Flip camera costs less than two Victors last year; you might even fare better if you’re willing to wake up at dark:30 on Black Friday. Editing and burning software is nearly ubiquitous–if the school doesn’t have it, I’m willing to bet that teams are no more than two degrees (friend of a friend) removed from it. If that doesn’t work, get to Googling or calling down the yellow pages to see if there’s a local production outfit that would help in your efforts to create a three-minute video. If that doesn’t work, I’ve got a MacBook with iMovie '08 and iDVD. Let’s go.
Google did indeed donate a still camera in 2006. I don’t think video cameras (particularly ones capable of DVD-grade output) are down enough in cost to get donated, but the way that prices are plummeting makes me think we’ll see it before a water game.
This is a GREAT opportunity and as Allan said, you do not need a video camera.
Ken Burns produced 11 hours of a show called “The Civil War”. Back then there were no video or motion film cameras. Most of the show is static pictures brought to life. Slow zooms, pans, scrolls.
Well timed presentations, thoughtful and voiced V.O.s (voice overs). He has since produced a lot of other series using similiar techniques.
We recently produced a 30 second PSA that has at its root a single picture. (no narration) here for inquiring minds
Our next video will be a short, running about 4 or 5 minutes, but composed of about 30 pictures, and a moderated VO script. No video.
I’ve become a fan of this technique because it forces students to really think about what they want to say and how they want to say it.
If you watch professional news videographers, where ever possible they work to shoot short thoughtful shots. a few seconds here, a few seconds there. 99% of the time on a tripod.
So don’t worry if you don’t have a video camera. A group of good photos, and something like moviemaker which is on most pc’s will get the job done.
Best Regards
Here again I don’t think video quality is as important as quality of the content. If you must have video, you could get this web cam for $29. I doubt that there is any team that couldn’t come up with that…
I think that the winners video will be shown during the awards ceremony. Also FIRST is asking all the teams to submit a picture of their robots in TIMS as well, probabbly for the awards ceremony.
From my interpretion of the section, the video will be turned into judges at the competition (sort of like the extra documentation turned in except this is required). However, the video will have no impact in the selection process at the regional and championship level.
GL to all teams!
This is a positive addition to the Chairman’s Award criteria, as it really helps reinforce the ideas behind the Chairman’s Award essay with concrete video proof. Any journalism major can tell you that by picking and choosing from among a select few [normally synonym] words, you can completely alter the reader’s perceptions of the content, for better or for worse. (Read an article on Fox News (or Drudge Report) then MSNBC (or Huffington Post) about the same news event and you can see this in full swing).
I also like the widescreen requirement, as the trend of the last few years has been for all video to move towards the widescreen format.
…Although it would have been a lot more helpful to teams if they announced this new criteria immediately after the Championships last year. It could have helped the “year-round” teams who could have had the advance notice to film their summer activities.
Just remember, each robotics team does not have to own a video camera to shoot video widescreen video. Chances are that at least one parent of a student on every team owns a video camera capable of shooting video in widescreen, and it’s not hard to borrow them for events.
Rememeber, if you have still pictures of your summer camp, robot demo, trade show booth, etc… you can always edit them into a video format.
Video required for Chairman’s?!?!
I’m totally psyched!
Videos are kinda my thing.
(Sorry. Film crew geek right here. haha)
As far as teams without a video camera, please do not worry!
Like others have stated, a picture slideshow with voice overs is just as effective (if not more so) than actual video.
While I was on my high school team, most of the work I completed was done through this method.
My final year I made a slideshow that recognized our mentors for being the heroes that they are. It was still shots with voice overs from students on the team.
I made most of my mentors cry, proving that stills are just as effective.
Also, another little sidenote. Many digital cameras these days come with the ability to shoot video. While it may not be the highest quality, it could help a team that wishes to shoot video but lacks the funds for a new video camera.
Alright, I’ve been reading and rereading this for a few days now and …
…color me totally stupid on this one. I think corresponding video is a GREAT idea for any team that has this inclination and/or has the time and resources to provide such a product, but making this a requirement is totally nonsense IMHO. Unless I’m reading this wrong, and I totally hope and pray I am, this will ultimately decrease the number of judged/completed CA entries submitted from FRC teams. If I’m not reading this wrong, my team will not be eligible to win a Chairman’s Award unless we submit a video in wide screen format on DVD, correct?
Please, please, please tell me I’m wrong. If I’m not I’d REALLY like an opportunity to talk to the folks who wrote this particular rule. This will only serve the purpose of having more teams say, “Well forget it, too much to bother with so we won’t do it.” Which in turn leads to fewer teams writing the actual submission, which in turn leads to fewer teams that take the time to focus on the overall program and it’s community impact, which in turn leads to more “robot-centric” teams that build a machine to win on the field and maybe they do the bigger-picture stuff and maybe they don’t.
GAH … I like seeing video stories on a big screen too, but this is NOT the way to go about getting them. Please, please, please tell me I’m reading this wrong.
And don’t think for a minute this is about “me and my team.” 1712 will put a video together because we were already working on one and we’re planning on having copies with us at the regional anyway.
…but silly me, I thought this was about changing as much of the culture as possible - not to ensure wide screen multimedia at events or elsewhere. In a year where everyone’s lives are already upside down with new control systems and the fact that we’re apparently only getting one of them - ever, I’m not too keen on adding to teams’ plates - not even a little.
Is the Q&A open for clarification? If it isn’t and there’s someone here that can explain this to me in a rational way that tells me why we all HAVE to do this as a requirement of submission, I’d appreciate it.
**Nowwwwwww… there is one way I’d see this as a net gain, if the rule had more detail. If the criteria stated that the video had to match, verbatim, the text in the actual submission, with video and/or pictures to go with the words and we all had to post to Youtube … THEN I’d do a 180 and become the biggest fan of this rule you would ever see. 
In fact, teams considering not submitting should consider this less painful approach because the last thing I want to see is fewer submissions. Simple narration over top the visual support works. **
Normally not this puzzled or flustered,
-kressly