The Videomaker/Panasonic Contest Winners 2000

Recently, our readers treated us to a video film festival. We didn't get tickets to Cannes or even to our local Cineplex, instead we received something far better - contest entries for the 2000 Videomaker/Panasonic Contest. This year's contest was for productions five minutes or less in length.

With lights down and popcorn in hand, we watched and judged each of the entries. Like your favorite film critics, we analyzed, scrutinized, rated, ranked, argued and, finally, chose the best of the best.

In addition to Grand, First and Second Prizes, we awarded winners in three other categories: Streaming Video, Senior Videomaker and Young Videomaker. It is our pleasure to announce the winners. Ladies and gentlemen: the winning entries of the 2000 Videomaker/Panasonic Contest.

Stream the winning clips from our website! Click here.

Streaming Video Award
Title: When Clients Attack
Producer: Robyne Goldstein - Brooklyn, New York
Prize: Digital Juice Jump Backs Animation Library ($249)

Reality TV gets a good dose of parody in Robyne Goldstein's spoof When Clients Attack, an amusing, comical short that has everything featured in the source material it ridicules: a semi-pompous host, grainy footage, weak dialogue, shaky camerawork and surprise attacks that come off more humorous than shocking. Set in a video post-production house, When Clients Attack shows the shocking results of a rash of client attacks during stressful situations.
Goldstein used a Panasonic PV-DV910 Mini DV camcorder to shoot this "expose" during the night shift at a New York post-production house. Because she didn't want to disturb actual clients in the building, she added sound effects in post production to create much of the screaming and loud noises needed for the attack scenes. Editing was done with iMovie software on an iMac DV Special Edition. Here's to Robyne for winning our first ever Streaming Video award.

Senior Videomaker Award
Title: Misery Bay
Producer: Jack Whyte - Gore Bay, Ontario, Canada
Prize: Azden WDR-PRO True-Diversity Receiver and WLT-PRO Bodypack Transmitter ($455)

We put down our popcorn and gripped the edges of our seats watching Misery Bay. 61-year-old paint-and-canvas artist and amateur botanist Jack Whyte makes a statement about the affect that development has had on the environment in Gore Bay, Canada with this short piece. Two years in the making, Misery Bay uses fast cuts of images in positive and negative color. To make his point, Whyte intercut handcrafted animals with construction equipment. Using ever-accelerating pacing and an original score, Misery Bay builds to a nail-biting level of tension.
Whyte shot this piece with his Sony CCD-TR600 Hi8 camcorder and edited it with Avid Cinema software on a custom-built 400MHz Pentium II. He created the music and sound effects himself on a Yamaha keyboard.
Whyte says that he isn't against development, but believes that, "they should do it right." Gore Bay, Canada has a persuasive advocate in Jack Whyte, and he may get some results using this powerful short picture. He certainly got our attention. Best of luck, Jack.

Young Videomaker Award
Title: 60w
Producer: Richard Darge - Tempe, Arizona
Prize: Photoflex Cinedome Softbox ($429)

Thumbs up to 60w, an eerie, atmospheric work by 18-year-old Richard Darge. This riveting video involves the strange relationship between a man, a woman and an oddly sinister 60-watt light bulb. The production uses creative camera angles, sound effects and music to tell the tale. Interestingly, there is not a single word of dialogue. The intense, dreamlike imagery of 60w makes for a compelling video. Richard says that the idea came to him just before drifting off to sleep one night.
Darge, (who first submitted to the contest at age 13) used his high-school graduation gift, a Canon GL1 Mini DV camcorder to shoot this surreal short. He edited it using Adobe Premiere and Canopus Raptor on a 450MHz PC.
This promising young videographer has plans to attend film school, so this is only the beginning of his career. We look forward to screening more of his pictures. Congratulations, Rich. We give 60w two thumbs up.

2nd Prize
Title: Why Won't She Dance With Me?
Producer: Andrew Maycock Scotia, New York
Prize: ADS PYRO ProDV Capture Board ($499)

High-school teacher Andrew Maycock's Why Won't She Dance With Me? will charm you with its 1950s-style portrait of innocent teen angst. Set in a diner (where else?), this fun and appealing music video features an original tune by Maycock and his friend John Smrstick. The video follows the exploits of a teenage boy desperate to get the attention of a girl he has a crush on.
Maycock shot the piece with a JVC GR-DVL305 Mini DV cam. He edited using Adobe Premiere 5.1 editing software and a Canopus DV Raptor on a Gateway computer. Getting permission for the locations was actually one of the most time-consuming elements of the shoot, says Maycock, who teaches English, Drama and Cinema.
The spirited performance of his young cast speaks highly for Maycock's strong skill as a director.
We enjoyed this fun, unpretentious music video. Hey Andrew, tell the kid in the video that he blew it. She would have danced with him if he had asked! Congrats on Second Prize, Andrew.

First Prize
Title: Nobody Loves You
Producer: Leandro Blanco - Madrid, Spain
Prize: Elite Video BVP-4 Plus Video Processor ($780)

Leandro Blanco's Nobody Loves You takes a bite out of the competition to take home our first prize. In this amusing, underwater short, a guitar-strumming scuba diver serenades sharks with a catchy original tune written and performed by Leandro himself. Beautiful underwater shots of swimming sharks are intercut with shots of shark fins and jawbones in souvenir shops. The image quality of the video in this piece truly made it stand out.
Blanco shot his footage (above and below the surface) with a Sony DCR-VX1000 Mini DV camcorder and edited linear with a JVC S-VHS editing bay. We almost didn't get a chance to screen this gem, as Leandro shot and edited this piece in Spain and had some problems converting it from PAL to NTSC for submission. Thanks for making the extra effort to send us this work, Leandro, and congratulations on winning First Prize.

Grand Prize
Title: Haunted
Producer: Kathleen Dougherty
Park City, Utah
Prize: Panasonic PV-DV800
Mini DV Camcorder ($1,400)

Writer Kathleen Dougherty's haunting Haunted wins the Grand Prize as this year's most outstanding short piece. The plot deals with the regret of a recently deceased girl who returns to apologize to her grandmother for her behavior. The clever script played well on the screen. Dougherty created several special effects for the video, including wind and self-slamming doors as the characters traveled back into the recent past. The story showcases the on-screen talents of Dougherty's mother and niece.
Dougherty shot the piece on Mini DV with a Canon GL1 camcorder and captured audio using a Radio Shack lavaliere microphone taped to a broom pole. Dougherty edited this work using EditDV with SoundForge XP on a Dell computer with a 20GB hard drive and 128MB of memory. She used Acid Loop to create music.
A professional writer, she says that unlike writing, making video is a team effort. With Haunted, she seems to have made the transition seamlessly. Kathleen says making Haunted has inspired her to work on larger scale projects. Congratulations on your success, Kathleen. You've earned top honors and take home the big prize this year.