Young filmmakers are encouraged to create fun, thoughtful or challenging content to help educate and inspire. Your film idea could help young people build resilience and feel empowered to seek support, or encourage young people to be kind to each other. You could tell the story from your perspective or from the perspective of others, or create a new vision to challenge perceptions of bullying overall. Your film could be a documentary, comedy, drama, animation, voiceover – the choice is entirely yours! Just remember that overall, we want your film to convey a positive message. All film entries must be no more than three minutes in duration (including titles and credits).
Every film entrant must be sponsored by a responsible adult, this adult will be named on the application form and be responsible for safeguarding the wellbeing of the young people involved in producing the film. If you are a young person who feels this could be a barrier to you being able to make an entry, please get in touch to discuss this with us: enquiries@respectme.org.uk.
Primary and Secondary Group Filmmaker Prize:
HOW TO ENTER
Please note that there are TWO PARTS to complete before successfully entering your film.
PART 1: Complete the Competition Submission Form here
PART 2: Share your video via WeTransfer/Vimeo, or an alternative online file sharing platform, to elaine.nixon@respectme.org.uk (Clearly name your video file with the full title of your film and date of entry). Remember to email all your consent forms at the same time.
The competition will close at 12.30pm on 15 October 2021.
JUDGING AND CRITERIA
We are looking for the most creative and engaging short films that demonstrate what young people think are the solutions to address bullying, the things that ‘make it better’.
In order to be shortlisted by the judges’, entrants must demonstrate their ability to create an awareness film that respectme would promote nationally as part of their campaign. The film would be used across respectme digital channels and there are plans to use the films during education workshops to spark conversations and learning about bullying. The films will also be showcased during a ‘What Made It Better?’ campaign roadshow next year.
Judgement criteria. Each film will be scored between 1-20 or 1-10 in the following categories:
Story/scripting: How compelling is the story you’ve created?
Originality and creativity: How original and imaginative is the film?
Technical quality: Has the film been edited well, will it sit well on digital platforms?
Cinematography: Has the film been composed well with attention paid to lighting, visual and camera angles used?
Original sound and use of music: If there is music used, does it help create mood and emotion to the film?
Overall impact of film: Does it leave viewers feeling inspired, help them think differently or encourage them to take action?
Background Information
Our vision is of a respecting, just, equal and inclusive Scotland in which all children and young people can live free from bullying and harassment and are encouraged to reach their full potential. Our work is driven by a focus on children’s rights.
respectme is funded by the Scottish Government and is managed by SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health) in partnership with LGBT Youth Scotland. It’s important to frame our work in relation to the emotional health and wellbeing of children and young people and underline our values of respect, equality and inclusion underpin every aspect of our work.
Don’t label children
In planning your film, if you’re using a script, pay attention to the language you choose. Some language is unhelpful and can even unintentionally make the problem worse. For example, try not to use labelling language like calling children ‘bullies’ or ‘bully’. Likewise, avoid using the term ‘victim’ as it can disempower and may have a lifelong impact on the person experiencing bullying. Bullying behaviour is something we do, it isn’t who we are.
What do we mean by bullying?
So what is bullying? Here’s respectme’s Director, Katie Ferguson, explaining how we define bullying in Scotland.
This approach should be reflected in each submitted film, failure to do so could result in the film entry being void.
FILMMAKING video GUIDES AND top tips
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland is the national and international centre of excellence for performing arts education. The Junior Conservatoire Film programme is for young people aged 14-19 and aims to train and develop the next generation of filmmakers. Students are taught by award-winning industry practitioners, with years of experience in the sector and go on to learn a mixture of film study, screenwriting and filmmaking, encompassing every stage of the creative screen journey.
In this section, The Junior Conservatoire of Scotland Film Lecturers offer their top tips and guidance for approaching your filmmaking process.
Filmmaking Guides:
Guide 1: Shot Size and Basic Filming
Guide 2: Visual Storytelling
Guide 3: Film Roles and Filming
Guide 4: Editing
Guide 5: Production Checklist
Video Guides: Visit our YouTube channel for the series of ‘how to’ and ‘top tips’ filmmaking videos.
Video Guides 1-4
Editing Guides 1-4
Editing Top Tips 1-5
Final Checklist
You’re nearly there. Check that your film answers the competition theme ‘What Made It Better?’ and that the film provides young people’s views on this.
Is your film under 3 minutes in length including titles?
Is each film entrant sponsored by a responsible adult and is their contact details included in the application?
Has everyone appearing in the film under age 17 given consent to be in this film entry by their parent/carer?
Have you read our terms and conditions of entry?