DG’s Tips for Making a Great Video

1. Think it through. Have a plan before you begin filming. If you’re telling a story, it should have a beginning, middle, and end. Singing a song you wrote, telling a joke, or showing off a cute trick with your pet? Practice until you’re sure you’re “camera-ready”! And, remember: If you’re performing a song, it must be original! Videos of copyrighted songs will not be considered.
2. Light it right. If you’re filming outside, make sure your subjects are facing into the light. (You don’t want a bright light behind them.) Set your camera mode to match your shooting conditions (indoor, outdoor, low light, etc.). Filming indoors? Turn on all the lights.
3. Sound it out. Make sure the stars of your video are close enough to the camera and speaking loudly enough to be heard. Remember to enforce a “quiet on the set!” rule—the less background noise, the better. A separate microphone will give you better sound quality than the one that’s built into the camera.
4. Stay steady…and focused. Hold your camera as still as possible or, better yet, use a tripod. Resist the temptation to zoom in and out on your subject. Set your camera on auto-focus.
5. Ace the space. Make sure there isn’t a lot of unnecessary space around your subjects, but be careful not to cut off the tops of their heads.
6. Get it all. Begin recording several seconds before the action starts, and continue recording for several seconds after it ends.

Good luck! We can’t wait to see your video!

What you need to know

1. Video should be no more than 90 seconds.
2. All material must be original. Do not include copyrighted songs.
3. Put your video on CD or DVD as mpeg, avi, wmv, mov, or dv files.
4. You must have your parent’s permission to enter. Print out a permission slip and have your parents sign it.
5. Send by postal mail on the address on the permission slip.

DiscoveryGirls.com Video Contest Official Rules

No purchase necessary. Void wherever prohibited or restricted by law. All provincial, federal, state, and local laws apply. Contest is open to girls who are legal residents of the United States and Canada and are between the ages of 7 and 13 as of December 31, 2007. To be eligible, entries must be accompanied by a permission slip signed by entrant’s parent or legal guardian. (The permission slip may also be found on page 51 of the August/September 2006 issue of Discovery Girls magazine.) All entries must be submitted on CD or DVD as mpeg, avi, wmv, or mov files. Entries must be received via postal mail and postmarked by midnight on December 31, 2007 and received by January 7, 2008. Mail entries to: DG Video Contest, P.O. Box 110760, Campbell, CA 95011. Not responsible for lost, stolen, damaged, or undelivered entries, or entries with postage due. Entries are void if they are illegible, incomplete, or damaged. All entries become the property of Discovery Girls, Inc. and will not be acknowledged or returned. Employees and family of employees of Discovery Girls, Inc., are not eligible to enter.

Winning entries will be posted on DiscoveryGirls.com along with entrant’s likeness, first name, age, and state. Winner and the winner’s parent or legal guardian shall be required to execute an assignment transferring and assigning all of his or her rights, title, and interest, including but not limited to any copyrights or trademarks, and agree to allow use of winner’s name, image, photograph, likeness, and entries for any promotion and publicity purposes on the DiscoveryGirls.com web site, without compensation to or further permission from the entrants, except where prohibited by law. If persons other than the entrant appear in the video or if an entry is jointly submitted by two or more girls, all participants will be required to execute similar assignments if necessary, as determined by Discovery Girls, Inc. 
By participating in the contest, entrants agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the judges and the Sponsor, which are final in all matters relating to this contest. Failure to comply with these Official Rules may result in disqualification of your entry and prohibition of any further participation in this contest.

By entering, entrants release Sponsor and its affiliates, and advertising, production, and promotion agencies from any and all liability for any loss, harm, damages, costs, or expenses, including without limitation, property damages, personal injury, and /or death, arising out of participation in this contest, claims based on publicity rights, rights of privacy, intellectual property rights, or defamation.