Mining Association launches fifth installment of video competition
The Ontario Mining Association has launched season five of its province-wide high school video competition “So You Think You Know Mining.” Every year, the contest has grown in interest, number of entries and prizes. Available prize money for season five is $36,500, up from $33,500 last year.
The award for the best overall video is $5,000, and most other Oscar-type award categories carry $2,500 cash prizes.
“We strive to make SYTYKM interesting and innovative every year,” said OMA president Chris Hodgson. “The SYTYKM award prizes are like scholarships and we have been gratified at how past winners have utilized their prizes to help finance their post-secondary education and in some cases film and arts careers. We want to enable, inspire and engage the opinion makers and story tellers of tomorrow.”
The deadline for submitting two to three minute videos - or a 30-second commercial - on the benefits of mining is midnight Wednesday, March 20, 2013. To be eligible for the Early Bird prize of $500, entries need to be received by midnight Wednesday, March 6, 2013. The timetable leads up to Wednesday, June 5, 2013 and the SYTYKM awards gala at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
Public voting for the People’s Choice Award will take place between April 8 and May 31, while the OMA Academy Award will be voted on by OMA member company representatives from April 8 to May 10. Joining the distinguished judging panel this year are theatre, film and arts critic John Coulbourn, and Katarina Gligorijevic, creative consultant at REEL Canada.
The other SYTYKM judges are Jessica Grillanda from Cambrian College, Christina Blizzard from Sun Media, James Cullingham from Seneca College, Joanne Kearney from Smithcom and Peter Fuchs from Xstrata Nickel.
SYTYKM is supported by comprehensive web-based resources and a social media network that includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. Contest details, video upload instructions, production ideas and past winning entries are available on the OMA website at www.oma.on.ca.
The OMA website has been upgraded recently to improve its functionality and freshen up its look. A more contemporary appearance, much faster video streaming and other improvements will enhance the experience of site visitors, SYTYKM contestants, People’s Choice voters and members of the video evaluation team.
While these changes are pending, the site is fully functional and ready to receive videos. Entries can be submitted by individuals, or teams. The SYTYKM judges will be looking for fresh approaches, originality and a journalistic take on videos. The theme for entries is intentionally broad to allow contestants to fully unleash their creativity.
Current mining stories in the mainstream media and the OMA e-News list may help provide some ideas. Modern mining is a leader in technology and environmental innovation as well as being a producer of ingredients needed to build a greener and more sustainable economy.
The OMA seeks feedback from students, educators, judges, sponsors and others involved in SYTYKM in order to keep making it better. One survey respondent from last year said “SYTYKM is really one of the best contests for any Ontario student to get involved in and even if they don’t win, they’ll learn about what they need to do in the future to effectively deliver a strong message about not just mining but anything that is close to them.”
From a modest start in October 2008 and 23 entries originating mostly in southern Ontario, the competition has grown to attract 139 entries from across the province.
