- Videos should be focused on the core content of the annual project theme. The contest rules explicitly state that cinematography will not be given much weight due to the fact that many students do not have access to sophisticated editing equipment. Instead, make sure that the focus is on the weight of your ideas. Video effects, flashy graphics or sophisticated transitions will not be the reason your video wins or loses, so don't spend as much time on the effects.
- Answer the question or theme of the project with a bold idea that you explain in the opening cut of the video. Due to the brief time period allowed, communicate the idea early and touch on it throughout the clip. View the online videos about what the judges are looking for to give you a better impression about what ideas or themes might connect with the judges. Also, it won't hurt to be a little patriotic in your video.
- Try to arrange for interviews from a wide slice of your community. Teachers, family members and friends are a good place to start for initial interviews. However, you should reach out to other community members with some unique or very deep insight. For most themes, lawyers, judges, historians and museum curators will have some knowledge to share with you on the topic. You may also interview other crucial public workers such as politicians, social workers, police officers and other first responders.
- Of course, it is important to follow all of the rules to be successful in the C-SPAN contest. Entries are due in the middle of January, so it is advisable to complete your video by the end of the year to allow for final review and any technical problems uploading the video. Videos must be in one of the following formats: .AVI .MOV .MPG .MPG2 .MPEG2 .MPEG4 .MP4 .WMV. Keep within the guidelines of five to eight minute videos and ensure that all of your content is fair use and not copyrighted material.
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