GENERAL GUIDELINES
- All entrants must be secondary school students from the York Catholic District School Board.
- Entries should represent students’ interpretation of the theme: “Challenging Stereotypes: Embracing Uniqueness in Today’s World” (click here for more on the theme).
- All entries must be submitted no later than February 22nd, 2019.
- All entries must include a fully completed and signed entry form, co-signed by a parent or legal guardian (click here).
- No work should contain any material that is libelous, defamatory, profane or obscene.
- Winning entries are based on grade-appropriate skills and creativity and will be judged on message and content. The decisions of the judges are final.
- Entrants will continue to own the rights of their works, but by entering the Creative Minds Youth Contest they agree that their works may be reproduced, printed and showcased, for non-commercial purposes, with their names and grades, by Intercultural Dialogue Institute GTA and the York Catholic District School Board.
GUIDELINES FOR ESSAY SUBMISSIONS
- Essays may be one of the following four types: persuasive essay, informative essay, narrative story or true story.
- Essays must be original, unpublished, and written by one student, and must not exceed 1000 words.
- Essays must be written on 8.5 x 11 (letter size) paper and submitted in a format editable in MS Word.
- Students may only submit one (1) essay within the Essay contest. Students who submit an essay are still permitted to enter one (1) submission in the Art category and one (1) submission in the Video category.
- Each sponsoring teacher must submit no more than ten (10) essays in total.
GUIDELINES FOR ARTWORK SUBMISSIONS
- Artworks can be submitted in any two or three-dimensional media including the following: drawing, painting, collage, photography, graphic design.
- Artwork submitted must be original, unpublished and created/authored by one person.
- Students may only submit one (1) piece of artwork (in any medium) within the Art contest. Students who submit artwork are still permitted to enter one (1) submission in the Essay category and one (1) submission in the Video category.
- All entries must include a brief (100 words maximum) explanation of the artwork.
- General art submissions (except photography and graphic design) must be two-dimensional artworks up to 36” x 36” in size.
- Photography submissions: Photography work includes colour and black & white works. Please do not frame and do not mount photography submissions.
- Graphic design submissions: Graphic design work is defined as the use of computer media and innovative computer applications in art. Please do not frame and do not mount graphic design works.
GUIDELINES FOR VIDEO SUBMISSIONS
- Entrants must submit an original video which explores the contest theme.
- People appearing in the video do not have to be youth. However, the videos must reflect the students’ opinions or reflections about the theme.
- The video should be 4 minutes or less in length including title and end credits.
- The type of video submitted is up to the discretion of the entrant. It may be a live performance, an edited piece, narrative, non-narrative or any combination thereof.
- Multiple students may work together to make one video, as long as all members of the group are high school (grades 9-12) students from the York Catholic District School Board.
- Videos should not contain any material that is libelous, defamatory, profane or obscene.
- Entrants must get the consent of everyone appearing in their videos if their faces are recognizable.
- Entrants must get the consent of everyone whose copyrighted, patented or trademarked material appears in their videos.
- Entrants must get the consent of everyone whose music is used in their videos unless consent is not needed (due to lack of copyright etc.).
- If the English language is not used in the video, English subtitles or a transcript must be provided.
Content Formatting
Videos
Motion video should be captured to or supplied in standard .MPG files meeting the following standards:
- Frame Size: 720p, 1080p, 1080i
- Actual Screen size (540px X 300px)
- Audio: Stereo Audio if required.
Images
- Please note: if the image data is line drawings, rather than photos, .png will provide the best image quality.
- Image Width: 540
- Image Height: 300
- Colour Depth: 16 bit or 24 bit
Animations
Flash files should be generated using the following details:
- Image: 720p, or 1080p
- Note: While flash content will be scaled to full screen, certain element types should be considered using the full screen size listed above. Develop content with an actual playback size of 540×300 in mind. Please do not loop.
Music
- There are many options for music to accompany your video. For this contest we are only accepting original music or royalty-free music.
- Original music: An original music score, one that you or you and your team have composed. This is a big undertaking; however you own the music and are not restricted in how you use it.
- Royalty-free music: There are many online sites that offer royalty-free music. This type of music doesn’t require you to pay a licensing fee in order to use it.
- Music that requires a licensing fee will not be accepted.
If you have further questions about submissions contact your school administration or your school board’s representative for the contest (click here).