The Neighbor' Garbage Day-Jeff Wallace and Kevin McDonald, Rochester Mills, MI

Title: Critical Mass
Prize: Varizoom StealthZoom and Studio Style Kit ($699)
Producer: Keith Kooiman, Chaska, MN
Camcorder: Sony DCR-TRV25
Editor: Adobe Premiere
View this video: 2.7mb wmv, 10.8mb wmv
The first of two warfare-related winners this year, Critical Mass depicts two acquaintances who find themselves on different sides of a small nuclear device. A last-minute surprise seals the victory. The project was submitted as DivX, and audio was edited with GoldWave.

Title: The Road Kill Grill
Prize: Azden 500LT Wireless Microphone System ($825)
Producer: Mike Konstan, Ron Yarosh and Kathy Yarosh, Apopka, FL
Camcorder: Sony DCR-TRV900
Editor: Apple Final Cut Pro 3.0
View this video: 1.9mb wmv, 11.0mb wmv
A great cross between a Videomaker Workshop video project and a classic MAD TV skit, The Road Kill Grill marries a novel product idea and some smoothly-rendered graphics into a winning video. While the utility of a Road Kill Grill may be limited depending on whether one was in an urban, suburban or rural area, the video does a great job of 'selling' the product.

Title: The Ending
Prize: Ulead MediaStudio Pro 7 and DVD Workshop ($990)
Producer: Steve Murphy, Choudrant, LA
Camcorder: Canon XL1s
Editor: Adobe Premiere 6.0
View this video: 2.0mb wmv, 12.1mb wmv
How do you know it's time to panic? When the video that you just rented from the corner store features video of you, on the couch, witnessing some very strange goings on. The Ending depicts such a video. A second camcorder, mounted above the television, is the secret to the surreal submission.

Title: The Order
Prize: Panasonic PV-GS70 Mini DV Camcorder ($999)
Producers: Andrew Watson and Josh Camerota, West Chester, PA
Camcorders: Sony DCR-VX1000, Canon GL1
Editor: Adobe Premiere
View this video: 3.1mb wmv, 12.5mb wmv
The basis of a class project depicting a war short, The Order was shot in wintertime on Super 8 film and Mini DV. The well-executed video includes split screen editing for the climax scene, which was composited to allow one person to play the part of two brothers who are fighting on opposite sides in a combat situation. We congratulate Watson and Camerota on an outstanding and poignant video submission.

We extend a hearty congratulations to our finalists and winners and look forward to seeing what next year's contest brings. Don't forget to look for the next Call for Entries in the July and August 2004 issues of Videomaker.

Charles Fulton is an Associate Editor for Videomaker Magazine.