Digital Storytelling Challenge

And Now for the Challenge Winners...

Drumroll please...

1st Place: Flip Video Ultra U1120 Camera: "Kramden in 60 sec" by Kramden Institute

2nd place: Adobe Audition and Flickr Pro account: "Dragonfly Forest " by Dragonfly Forest:

3rd place: Adobe Production Premium: "Tabor Kalaka 2009" by The Community Foundation of Odorheiu Secuiesc
4th place: Goldmail Synergy account: “30 Ways to Create Peace” by Legacy International/Global Youth Village

Honorable Mentions: Philips MP3 player

“MBYC Youtube edition” by Mojave Basin Youth Corps
"TSDigs" by Faith In Practice
"Bridges Digital Storytelling" by Bridges for Women

Congratulations to all of the winners and to all of the Challenge entrants! We were touched to see so many of you rolling up your sleeves, some for the first time, and giving this digital storytelling thing a try. Thanks to everyone who participated in any or all of the Challenge events!

You can check out the Challenge submissions above or on YouTube and Flickr.

Special Thanks to our Esteemed Panel of Judges:

Gail Ann Williams (Salon.com Director of Communities and expert Flickr enthusiast)
Heather Champ and Tara Suan Kirchner (Flickr)
Bernhard Drax (aka Draxtor Drupres from Second Life Machinima fame)
Franziska Marks, Glenn Hirsch, Lara Franklin (TechSoup Global’s communications and marketing team)
David Neff (Founder of LightsCameraHelp!)

Want Another Challenge? Here's a Chance to win a $7000 Grant!

Did the Digital Storytelling Challenge get you excited about your cause? Are you itching for another challenge? Now that you've polished up your video skills, don't miss this opportunity to win a $7000 grant, by submitting a video illustrating how your organization can make a difference in the world using Windows 7. You can find out all the details here, so get those cameras rolling!

How it Works

The Digital Storytelling Challenge is open for submissions! This is the perfect way to showcase the work of your organization and creatively express why you are passionate about your cause.

Social benefit organizations are challenged to tell their organization's story by submitting one of the following:

• 5-panel Flickr picture story
• 60-seconds or less YouTube Video
• 60-seconds or less Goldmail audio-visual story

You do not need to enter all three. Only one format is required for the challenge, although you are welcome to submit more than one format.

You'll be in the running to win one of our many fabulous prizes including a Flip Video camera, Adobe software, mp3 players and more! The challenge culminates in a Movie Screening Awards Party live at TechSoup headquarters and in the virtual world of Second Life.

Got questions? Post them in the TechSoup forums where our expert hosts from the webinars will be available to help throughout the Challenge. If you missed the webinar sessions, you can see the archived presentations here, here, and here

Please follow directions below carefully in order to be entered in the Challenge:

Submitting to Flickr:

• Choose 5 images (no more, no less) that illustrate your story

• Upload these images to Flickr and tag it “tsdigs” and make them a set. Be sure to number your pictures so it is easy to see the order of your story.

• Add a geotag (location tag) to your story to show where your organization is located.
• Add these to the TechSoup Flickr group

You can see an example of a 5-panel image-based digital story, such as this and other examples here.

Submitting to YouTube:

• Create a video story no more than 60 seconds long
• Post video story directly to YouTube and tag it “tsdigs” and add your location to your video. If you go to "My videos" you will be able to see your uploaded video and get the URL which you will need to submit to the TSDIGS Youtube Group.
  • Upload your video to the TSDIGS Youtube group by:
    • 1) Go to http://www.youtube.com/group/tsdigs#
    • 2) Join the TSDIGS YouTube group to submit
    • 3) Click on "Submit YouTube"
    • 4) Paste the URL of the video you want to upload and leave a comment if you desire.
    • 5) Click on "Post" and you should see a thumbnail of your video come up along with the other submissions.

You can see many nonprofit video examples here.

Submitting Goldmail story:

• Create an audio-visual Goldmail story, 60 seconds or less
• Post the link to your Goldmail story to the TechSoup Digital Storytelling Discussion and it will be converted to video and uploaded to TSDIGS YouTube group with the tag "tsdigs" 
• Tell others about it in the TechSoup forums.
• Join the Google Group to receive email updates on the challenge and event

You can see an example of a Goldmail story here.

We encourage you to engage your supporter base by highlighting your involvement in this challenge.  In other words, include it in your newsletter, send out a special email, post a blog, or display one of the many event badges and widgets available to you on your homepage. 

Key Dates

• Submissions accepted: Thursday, October 1, 2009 – 9:00 a.m. Pacific time
• Submissions closed: Monday, October 19, 2009 9:00 a.m. Pacific time
• Judging: Monday, October 19 – Tuesday October 20, 2009
• Winners announced: Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Judging

A panel of expert judges, selected by TechSoup, will choose the winning submission from those entered on Flickr as well as YouTube and Goldmail entries.

Judges will score based on the following criteria:

1. Creativity: Is the story told in a way that is unique and effectively showcases your mission? Do you get a clear sense of the message/story being told? 
2. Technical merit: Is the story well-produced with quality pictures and/or audio or video content? Does the story flow smoothly in the story format submitted? Is the story within the challenge guidelines (i.e. 5 pictures or 60 seconds or less video or Goldmail)? Does it mix media and was it produced over more than one platform?
3. Impact: Does the organization tell a compelling story? Is the story engaging and lead you to want to learn more about the organization? Does it have a specific call to action?

Winners Announced – Mixed Reality Event

All submissions will be screened (and winners announced) at a screening party at the TechSoup headquarters in San Francisco and live in the virtual world of Second Life on Wednesday, October 21.  All locals are encouraged to attend the real life party!

Prizes for Winning Challenge Submissions

Prizes to be awarded to winning submissions include:

• Flip Video Ultra U1120 camera
• Flickr Pro Account
• Philips 512 MB MP3 Players
• GoldMail Synergy account
• Adobe Production Premium
• Adobe Audition 3

FAQ

Q: Can non-U.S. citizens and organizations participate?
A: Yes and yes!

Q: Can libraries participate?
A: Yes, the Challenge is open to all academic, nonprofit, and public libraries.

Q: Do I need to submit an entry on both the picture and video platforms?
A: No, one or the other is sufficient, although you are welcome to submit to both if interested. Please remember to tag all entries “tsdigs”.

Q: Help, I want to enter the challenge, but I'm stuck. Where can I get help?

A: Never fear, you can post them in the online forum event where the digital storytelling experts hosts can answer your questions.

Conflict of Interest:

Employees, independent contractors, officers, and directors of our partner as well as TechSoup Global, its affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising, promotion and fulfillment agencies, and legal advisors, and the immediate family members and persons living in the same household of such persons, are not eligible to participate in the contest.

Additional Terms

No purchase necessary.

Organizers of the challenge reserve the right to determine eligibility for the reasons stated herein or on any other reasonable basis.

Those who submit in violation of the eligibility rules will be disqualified. All decisions made by the judges are final and not subject to appeal.

The Challenge will be governed by the laws of the State of California, USA. Any claims must be brought in federal or state court in California.

Winners must sign and submit an affidavit of eligibility as a precondition to prize acceptance. Prizes are subject to availability.

TechSoup reserves the right to substitute a cash prize of comparable value at its discretion. Any taxes related to acceptance or use of the prize are the winner’s sole responsibility.

By entering the Challenge, you agree that TechSoup will not be liable for any damages, including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages, and any damages for loss of profits, savings, goodwill or other intangible losses, regardless of whether TechSoup could have foreseen any such damages.