WHAT MADE IT BETTER - NEW COMPETITION

respectme has teamed up with The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s Junior Conservatoire of Film to launch a new YOUNG FILMMAKER COMPETITION 2021 for Primary aged children (between P4-P7) and Secondary age young people under 18. Together, we are looking for imaginative and original anti-bullying films made by young people to be celebrated during Anti-Bullying Week (15-19 November 2021) and beyond.

Creative Brief: Thinking about the theme of our campaign ‘What Made It Better?’ What things can help make it better for people experiencing bullying? View the film Creative Brief here.

The competition offers children and young people across Scotland the chance to engage with our campaign theme by thinking creatively about the little, or the big things that can help make life better for young people experiencing bullying, which can get them back to feeling like themselves again. 

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).

Entry Categories
Primary Age Group (P4-P7)
Secondary Age Individual (under 18)
Secondary Aged Group (under 18)

-Read our competition terms and conditions here
-Parent/guardian consent form (to be completed for every young person U-17 involved)

Important information

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.

If you have any accessibility requirements in relation to participating in this competition, please also get in touch via the email address shown above to discuss how we can best support you.

Bullying can be an emotive subject that can trigger some difficult feelings. Children and young people should be encouraged to speak to the sponsoring adult if this occurs, or contact Childline Scotland on 0800 1111 to speak to someone anonymously.

Competition prizes

Primary and Secondary Group Filmmaker Prize:
Both winning groups will win their own unique filmmaker masterclass with The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland for your class. Junior Conservatoire Lecturers will come to your school and give you an immersive experience in film education where you will learn about filmmaking techniques and tips from industry experts. 

Individual Young Filmmaker Prize: (Secondary age, 14-18 year old)
Win a place on the Junior Conservatoire of Film programme term 2022/23, worth £2545 (entering at level 1). This will provide you with one year of study at the Junior Conservatoire of Scotland, taking place every Sunday. The course will take place between August 2022 - June 2023. 

The Junior Conservatoire Film Programme supports students to gain the skills, abilities and confidence to take their studies on to higher education and ultimately work in the film industry. As a student you will be taught by award-winning industry practitioners with years of experience in the sector. This is a huge prize and is one that aspiring young filmmakers could use to launch their career in film.

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.

1. Is your film under 3 minutes in length including titles?

2. Is each film entrant sponsored by a responsible adult and is their contact details included in the application?

3. Has everyone appearing in the film under age 17 given consent to be in this film entry by their parent/carer?

4. Have you read our terms and conditions of entry?

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.