Official Video Contest Rules
Contest Sponsors[1]
“Moj grad, moja Bosna i Hercegovina/My home town, my Bosnia and Herzegovina” is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy Sarajevo.
Contest Objectives
What makes your hometown special? We are seeking 90-second videos that illustrate the spirit of your home town and tell people why they should come and visit. Use creativity and imagination to present your hometown in a promotional way. What makes your favorite place special? Is it the historical heritage? The culture? The nature? The summer sun? Or is it all that and more? Is there a special food or kind of music that characterizes your town? Get out your phones or video cameras and make a ninety-second video to tell us your story; why you love your home town, what makes you proud of it and why Bosnians and Herzegovinians and tourists from throughout the world should come and visit.
Ten winners will receive a GoPro HERO Session camera and certificate of achievement from U.S. Embassy Sarajevo and will also be invited to come to Sarajevo the second week of December for a four-day workshop with film professionals from the Academy of Performing Arts where they will work together to edit parts of their footage into one joint video to promote tourism to Bosnia and Herzegovina. All costs of coming to Sarajevo and participating in the workshop will be covered by the U.S. Embassy.
Eligibility
a) Contestants must be enrolled in third or fourth year of high school in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the date of entry into the contest. Parental or legal guardian consent is required for individuals under the age of 18. Contestants must be residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and may not be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
b) We will accept only one entry per person. The individual submitting the entry will be considered the contestant and will be the only individual eligible to compete for the prize. Organizations are not eligible to compete for the prize, either as an entity or through representation by an individual. In order to be eligible for the prize, the contestant must provide complete and accurate information.
c) The following individuals are not eligible to participate in the contest: Employees of the US Embassy Sarajevo, and their immediate family members (defined as spouse, recognized partner, parent, child, sibling, and spouse or “step” of each) and those living in the same household of each such individual. Also, interns, directors, and officers of the US Embassy Sarajevo, or the U.S. Government, or any employees, interns, directors, or officers of any agencies, companies or entities involved in the administration, advertising, judging, creation, development, execution, and/or fulfillment of this contest.
d) Once a submission has been accepted for entry into the contest, the contestant’s name (or User ID, if the contestant wishes to remain anonymous) and country may be publicly identified at the sole discretion of the contestant.
Platform
The contest will be conducted on the YouTube video sharing platform; however YouTube is not a partner or sponsor of the contest. Contestants are reminded that by participating in the contest and uploading content to YouTube, they are bound by YouTube’s Terms of Service and any agreements with YouTube or Google contained therein.
How to Enter
Make a creative, promotional, innovative and original video that addresses the theme “Moj grad, Moja Bosna i Hercegovina”.
You can use your personal smart phone to record the video and submit it when ready.
Rules:
- Use the best recording HD quality your smartphone offers. Videos should be recorded at least 1280 x 720 pixels in size, and “Full HD”/1,920 x 1,080 is even better.
- Use landscape orientation when recording.
- Your primary focus should be visual, but you may also use music (without lyrics) and/or captions, narration or interviews (in B/H/S) with people in your town if it helps to tell your town’s story.
- You may not use copyrighted music – we will not consider any video that uses copyrighted music. You can find royalty-free music for your video at a number of web sites, including: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/; http://www.danosongs.com/; http://www.mobygratis.com/film-music.html; http://www.pacdv.com/.
- IMPORTANT: Once you have edited your video, please make sure to keep your recorded raw footage and any additional sound effects and music tracks used in your video. If you are one of the ten winners, you’ll need it during the editing workshop!
- Once ready, upload the video to YouTube under your own username, captioning the video with the hashtag #MyHometownMyBiH. The video submission can be uploaded in any format accepted by YouTube, but should not be longer than 90 seconds.
- After uploading the video, send a link of your video submission to: videocontestsarajevo@state.gov with “MY HOMETOWN, MY BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA VIDEO SUBMISSION” in the subject line , along with the following information: (i) full name (ii) phone number (iii.) e-mail (iv.) grade (v.) school name (vi.) city.
- Once a video is uploaded to YouTube, it is considered a final submission and may not be modified, edited, or replaced. Individual contestants may submit no more than one video. Participation in this contest is automatically deemed as acceptance of these Official Contest Rules.
Tips on recording your video:
- Keep your phone steady when recording
- Keep the lens clear
- For the best quality, shoot outdoors, but out of direct sunlight
- In order to zoom in while recording without losing the quality you desire in videos, you’ll have to get closer to your subject . In general, you should always get as close as you can, especially for tight shots on faces.
- Keep microphone on your smartphone uncovered and clear when you’re recording video
- If recording the sound, record it in quiet spaces, and keeping the phone as close to the subject you’re taping as possible.
Professional equipment and software is available at our American Corners (see attachment) where you can sign up to use the equipment and get advice on your video.
The contest commences on Monday, October 16, 2017 at 17:00 CET. Entries may be submitted between October 16 at 17:00, and November 13, 2017 at 01:00. The finalists will be announced on November 20, 2017 on Embassy’s Facebook page.
Content Requirements
a) Submissions must not contain obscenity, explicit sexual material, nudity, profanity, graphic violence, calls or incitement to violence, commercial solicitation or commercial promotion. Submissions must conform to local law and must not contain content or images that could be considered abusive, inflammatory, denigrating, or disrespectful to any of the Contest Sponsors, or to any groups, individuals or institutions. Submissions must adhere both in appearance and in fact to the norms of civil discourse. In other words, the content of all submission must be suitable for a global, public audience.
b) Submissions must be original content created by contestant and must not contain any elements that are protected by someone else’s copyright or otherwise subject to third party intellectual property or proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights (except as expressly permitted below in (d)). Contest Sponsors recognize no allowance for “fair use” of copyrighted material, nor do Contest Sponsors recognize allowance for use of licensed materials created or owned by a third party.
c) Contest Sponsors reserve the right to disqualify, at their sole and absolute discretion, any submission that does not adhere to these criteria and to the intent and substance of these Official Contest Rules.
d) In the event of any question or difference of views regarding compliance with, interpretation, or application of these content requirements or other provisions of these Official Contest Rules, Contest Sponsors reserve the exclusive right to resolve such questions or differences of views in their sole discretion.
e) By submitting a video to the contest, the contestant affirms that he or she has obtained written consent from all individuals whose image or likeness appears in the video (or from the individuals’ parent/legal guardian if any such individuals are considered a minor in their country of residence), and that he or she has obtained the necessary rights, licenses, consents, and permissions to use all material such as music, images, text and other content in the submission. The contestant further affirms that he or she is prepared to provide reliable documentation of any and all such consents, licenses, etc., upon request. Failure to obtain such rights, license consents, and permissions may result in the disqualification of the video submission at the Contest Sponsors’ sole and absolute discretion.
f) Editing of Video: All conventional video-editing techniques are allowable. Videos may be edited through any program and in any format, but must be compressed and submitted in a format accepted by the YouTube platform.
Selection of Winners
a) All submissions are subject to pre-screening by Contest Sponsors to ensure compliance with these Official Contest Rules. Any submissions out of compliance will not be posted. Contest Sponsors reserve the right in their sole and absolute discretion to verify in the final analysis whether a potential finalist or potential winning submission has fully complied with these Official Contest Rules before posting to the contest site, awarding prize, recognizing as winner, etc.
b) Judges: The contest jury is comprised of two Foreign Service Officers of the U.S. Embassy Sarajevo and one Assistant Professor from the Academy of Performing Arts in Sarajevo.
This group will select the top 10 videos.
The criteria for judging are:
1) How well the video promotes your hometown
2) Originality/Creativity
3) Video quality
4) Not more than 90 seconds in length
Prizes
a) Each finalist will receive a GoPro HERO Session camera, certificate of achievement issued by the U.S. Embassy Sarajevo and will also be invited to come to Sarajevo the second week of December for a four-day workshop with film professionals from the Academy of Performing Arts where they will work together to edit parts of their footage into one joint video to promote tourism to Bosnia and Herzegovina. All costs of coming to Sarajevo and participating in the workshop will be covered by the U.S. Embassy.
b) Finalists will be announced on the Embassy website and/or social media pages. Finalists may choose to use an alias instead of their real name and may request other identifying information be kept private.
c) The final joint video will be promoted via media outlets, and Embassy’s social media pages.
d) Finalists must confirm the acceptance of the prize in an email reply within three calendar days of notification. If the acceptance is not confirmed by the required date, the Contest Sponsors reserve the right to select an alternative finalist. Each finalist must provide a valid physical mailing address where a prize, if any, is to be shipped. Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any problems related to the shipping of any prize, including, but not limited to, theft, delay, damage, or destruction/accidental loss by the shipping carrier.
e) Any unused portion of the prize is not transferable, convertible, or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash. All taxes on or in connection with any prize, and the reporting consequences thereof, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the winner.
Liability and Rights
a) Contest Sponsors do not endorse any submissions or messages expressed therein, and Contest Sponsors expressly disclaim any and all liability in connection with the submitted video including disputes between collaborators related to a submission.
b) The contest and its sponsors do not permit copyright infringing activities or infringement of any other intellectual property rights, and Contest Sponsors reserve the right to remove and disqualify any submission they deem to be in violation of another party’s copyright or other intellectual property rights.
c) Contestants retain sole ownership of their original work. The submission remains the intellectual property of the contestant, and the Contest Sponsors and U.S. Government make no claim of copyright as to the work of any individual who enters the contest. Contestant specifically agrees to give the Contest Sponsors permission to use all content submitted for purposes of judging the contest. Finalists and/or winners will be required to grant Contest Sponsors, with proper attribution through whatever means they deem appropriate, a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sub-licensable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, and/or display the submission, in any media formats and through any media channels in perpetuity in connection with the activities and operations of the contest.
d) The contestant assumes sole responsibility for the contest submission and the material contained in it, and for any consequences of submitting or posting it.
e) Contest Sponsors reserve the right at any time, to verify the validity of entries and of contestants and to disqualify any contestant or entry deemed not in compliance with these Official Contest Rules. Contest Sponsors also reserve the right to request further documentation, at their sole and absolute discretion, to verify eligibility and compliance with these Official Contest Rules.
f) If a prize or any portion thereof is unavailable, Contest Sponsors, in their sole discretion, reserve the right to substitute the prize with another prize of equal or greater value and/or specification.
g) Contest Sponsors reserve the right, at any time and in their sole discretion, to disqualify and/or deem ineligible any individual who they reasonably believe (i) has violated the Official Contest Rules; (ii) has violated the terms of use of the platform, or (iii) is acting in a bad faith, or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person.
h) Contest Sponsors reserve the right to modify, suspend, terminate or cancel the contest at their discretion for any reason.
i) Contestant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Contest Sponsors, their parent, subsidiary and affiliated companies, officers, directors, employees, interns, and agents, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debts, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees) arising from (i) violation of these Official Contest Rules; (ii) violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, trademark, intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or other proprietary right in connection with the contest; or (iii) any claim that a contest submission caused any harm, including financial, to any third party. These indemnification and hold harmless obligations will survive indefinitely beyond the conclusion of the contest.
j) The conduct, judging, and awarding of prizes will be carried out in full compliance with applicable U.S. law and host country law. In the event of a conflict between U.S. law and host country law, U.S. law shall apply.
k) Contest Sponsors and the U.S. Government will take reasonable measures to protect privacy data, personally identifiable information, and other sensitive data of contestants. Contact information provided by contestants may be stored by Embassy Sarajevo and may be used to contact contestants for other purposes in the future. This information may be shared with the co-sponsors of the contest and/or be made available to third parties to the extent permitted by law.
l) Contest Sponsors assume no liability or responsibility for any loss or harm resulting from any user’s participation in or attempt to participate in the contest or ability or inability to upload, download, or otherwise access any information in connection with participating in the contest. Contest Sponsors assume no responsibility or liability for technical problems, or technical malfunctions arising in connection with the operation of the contest, including: hardware or software errors; faulty computer, telephone, cable, satellite, network, electronic, wireless or Internet connectivity, or other online communication problems; errors or limitations of any Internet service providers, servers, hosts or providers; garbled, jumbled or faulty data transmissions; failure of any email transmissions to be sent or received; lost, late, delayed or intercepted email transmissions; inaccessibility of the contest site in whole or in part for any reason; traffic congestion on the Internet or the contest site; unauthorized human or non-human intervention in the operation of the contest, including without limitation, unauthorized tampering, hacking, theft, virus, bugs, worms; or destruction of any aspect of the contest, or loss, miscount, misdirection, inaccessibility or unavailability of an email account used in connection with the contest.
m) Use of contest site is at user’s own risk. Contest Sponsors are not responsible for any personal injury, property damage, or losses of any kind which may be sustained to computer equipment resulting from participation in the contest, use of the contest site or the downloading of information from the contest site. By participating in the contest, the contestant releases Contest Sponsors from any and all claims arising from or relating to such contestant’s participation in the contest, whether directly or indirectly.
n) Contest Sponsors are not liable in the event that any portion of the contest is cancelled or delayed due to weather, fire, strike, acts of war or terrorism, or any other reason.
[1] Throughout the contest rules, the term ”sponsors” is used to represent either single or multiple sponsors, where applicable.
