"If you get in on tape, you could get it in cash." - Tom Bergeron, Host, America's Funniest Home Videos.

From laughing babies to talking dogs, the concept of cashing in with amateur video contests has been around for decades. The moments that shape our lives have gone from simple memories to potential moneymakers, as long as the cameras are rolling. From the highly acclaimed Sundance Film Festival, quick-turn-around 48-hour film festivals and screenwriting competitions, the opportunities for aspiring cinematographers and video producers to cash in is booming. The short film festival 2012,YouTube contests, and other video contests 2012 are just getting ready to roll " are you ready to ride?

From Facebook and online video contests to the Sesame Street and 11 Second Club animation contests, Almost anyone can enter" and anyone can win. The "Doritos Commercial" video contest can earn you a huge prize: a cash award of thousands of dollars and a chance for your video to be seen by millions of viewers during the grand-daddy of commercial exposure: the Super Bowl. Producer Joe Herbert won $25,000 for the first Doritos commercial contest in 2009, and eventually won $1-million from FritoLay for his work.

History of Video Competitions

Film festivals and video competitions have grown from professional screenings to opportunities for amateur producers to develop content for brands they're passionate about. One of the most recognizable video contests could be the Sundance Film Festival. According to the Sundance Institute, in the spring of 1981, Robert Redford, an accomplished Hollywood everyman, invited ten budding filmmakers to participate in the inaugural Sundance Institute's Filmmakers/Directors Lab.

Filmmakers were given access to some of the industries' best writers and directors, as well as the creative license to draw inspiration from the natural beauty of Utah's mountainous region. The result - the beginning of the Sundance Film Festival, considered to be the premier competition of its kind for aspiring producers, filmmakers and creative types.

Sundance Film Festival winners may get some the most industry recognition, but there are several major competitions that have been around longer. One of the country's more tenured video contests 2012, The Chicago International Film Festival will celebrate its' 48th year. Each fall since 1964, the festival features nearly 150 films from around the world and most recently debuted films from 40 first-time directors.

Ten years before the Windy City debuted its film competition, audiences in Columbus, Ohio celebrated the first annual Chris Awards at the Columbus International Film & Video Festival. And while Columbus boasts the longest running film competition in North America, you have to go all the way back to 1943 to find the oldest in the world - the Venice Film Festival in Italy. Other notable North American film festivals include the Telluride Film Festival, where attendees enjoy the rarefied air of the Rocky Mountains, while rubbing shoulders with Hollywood elite. This short film festival is celebrating 38 years of entertaining the masses; the Miami International Film Festival, held every March, enters its 29th year; the 20th annual Heartland Film Festival showcases cinema across theaters in Indianapolis, highlighting independent films and short works of every genre; the Cinequest Film Festival 2012 continues the long-standing tradition of amazing features - for 22 years, more than 80,000 film lovers have attended this event annually.

Small Screen Success

Like all good things, it was only a matter of time before the competitions from the silver screen made their way onto the small screen.

In November of 1989, households across the United States were introduced to what would become one of the longest-tenured broadcast video competition in the country. America's Funniest Home Videos, originally hosted by comedian/actor, Bob Saget, was intended as a one-time network special. The show made such a splash with viewers that the show became a household staple in January of 1990. However, America's Funniest Home Videos, or AFV - as the show is called today - didn't get its start in America.

According to Vin Di Bona, the Hollywood producer responsible for creating AFV, the show was based off a Japanese show called Fun TV with Kato-chan and Ken-chan. Fun TV made it's Tokyo Broadcasting System debut in the mid-1980s, airing six user-generated videos per episode.

"Those videos were a first for television and were so side-splitting funny," said Di Bona. "Back in the U.S., variety shows were just about on their last nail. By creating a solid hour of home movies, we sort of created the genesis for all of this."