Clean + Green Video Contest & Film Festival

Submit a digital short for a chance to win fabulous cash and clean energy prizes!

Make a 30 second to 3 minute video on your clean energy project, and enter it to win! Videos must be received by Jan. 9th.

We will have a two-week public voting period in January, and finalists will be screened at the 2009 CERTs Conference Reception on the evening of February 10th!

Spread the word! Download the Film Fest Flyer >>

Some Ideas for your Community Clean Energy Digital Video:

A dramatic, compelling (and brief) recount of your project planning process
Interviews with local leaders and others important to your project
What community energy means to you, and why it’s important
Music video featuring your own original music
Something using stop-motion animation or claymation
Promoting CERTs:
- An ad for CERTs. For example, imagine you’re trying to get as many people as possible excited about the benefits of clean energy, and CERTs resources are THE place to start.
- The benefits of joining CERTs
- The broad array of resources CERTs provides

Above all, there are no rules when it comes to creativity! Tell us a story with the camera & have fun!

Basic Contest Rules & Details:

All submissions must be accompanied by an entry form and a release form for each actor, provided by CERTs and signed by the entrant or by a parent or guardian (for entrants 18 and younger)
Your short video project should:
- Be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes—the more concise, the better!
- Promote community energy efficiency or clean energy projects, and the Clean Energy Resource Teams (When promoting CERTs, your video should tell viewers how CERTs helped your project OR Why CERTs is necessary to Minnesota’s energy future, AND tell viewers (verbally or via a subtitle) the CERTs Web site address, www.CleanEnergyResourceTeams.org)
- Also tell everyone how much energy you saved or clean energy you are producing! If you have not already done an energy related project, cover one that you know about, and tell us why it is so beneficial/unique/successful.
Video Submission & Notification:
- Submissions must be received via surface mail, personal delivery, or ftp upload no later than 5pm on January 9th, 2009
- Submissions will be judged by the public during a two-week voting period on the CERTs Web site—Plan on telling your friends to vote for your submission, and be at the conference reception to be a part of the screening! Click here to register.
- You will be notified if your video is chosen to be screened at the conference reception
- Not every video submitted will be selected to be shown at the Film Festival
Awards, Prizes & Distribution:
- There will be six awards, and all of them will receive a CERTsie:
  - First place: $500
  - Second place: Solar backpack
  - Third place: Clean energy prize
  - Most creative video: Gift
  - Most innovative project: Gift
  - Funniest video: Gift
- The winners and title of their entry will be announced on www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/events/cleangreenfilmfest and screened at the CERTs Conference Reception on February 10th, 2009
- Winning entries will be used in CERTs promotions, integrated into a CERTs documentary, distributed to major media outlets in Minnesota, and made available on www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/events/cleangreenfilmfest
Video Content & Copyright:
- All material should be your own, original material
- Videos cannot use copyrighted material, such as music or film
- Videos containing obscene language or content will be disqualified
- CERTs will be given full rights to use submitted videos in any way

Contest Timeline

Jan. 9 – Videos must be submitted by 5pm CST
Jan. 16 – Public voting begins on the CERTs Web site
Jan. 30 – Voting ends
Feb. 10 – CERTs Clean + Green Film Fest Screening & Presentation of Awards

Video Delivery

Submit your final video on a DVD along with your entry form and release forms. Submission must be postmarked (if mailed), emailed or delivered by 5pm on January 9th 2009.

There are three ways to deliver your project:

Deliver in person to 1885 University Avenue West, Suite 315, Saint Paul, MN 55104
Mail on DVD to: CERTs Green Video Contest, 1885 University Avenue West, Suite 315, Saint Paul, MN 55104
Email to MNCERTs@gmail.com

Official Forms

Entry Form (one per project)
Actor Release Form (All actors in film must fill out)

Video Requirements

Entrants may submit multiple entries.
Video must be less than 3 minutes in total length.
Submissions should promote community energy efficiency or clean energy projects.
A few seconds of footage at the end where the director or a participant (1) says their name, (2) offers a brief CERTs promotion (which can be how CERTs helped your project or Why CERTs is necessary to Minnesota’s energy future), and (3) tells viewers (verbally or via a subtitle) the CERTs Web site address (www.CleanEnergyResourceTeams.org).
Acceptable source video includes sources that are not copyrighted.
Contestant takes responsibility that all images and soundtracks are not copyrighted material. This means, do NOT use commercial copyrighted music or images.
Videos may not contain obscene language or content, including but not limited to: nudity, profanity, or graphic violence. If you have any questions on what is acceptable, please contact Dan Thiede at 651-789-3326 or at dthiede@mnproject.org to discuss.
Submit your final video on a DVD along with your entry form and release forms. Submissions should be emailed to MNCERTs@gmail.com. Your submission must be postmarked (if mailed) or delivered by 5pm on January 9th 2009, to: CERTs Green Video Contest, 1885 University Avenue West, Suite 315, Saint Paul, MN 55104.
Any entry that fails to provide the required forms will be ineligible to win. All entries become the property of CERTs and will not be returned. If entries are submitted early, there is a better chance that potential issues can be avoided.

Contest Rules

There is no cost or purchase required to enter this Contest. By entering this Contest, participants agree to accept the Contest Rules.
Entrants agree to grant to the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) and its designees license to use the video, including the film, video, stills, concepts, etc., associated with the Contest entry as part of promotional efforts. Each entrant agrees and grants CERTs and its designees permission to make available and display/perform and otherwise distribute entrant’s name and video submission in all media in perpetuity without compensation. Except where legally prohibited, submission of an entry into this Contest constitutes permission for CERTs and its designees to use the entrant’s name, photograph, likeness, voice, address (city and state only) and testimonials, in printed, broadcast media or new media, in perpetuity, in any manner they deem appropriate in connection with promoting the video submission itself or this Contest, without further compensation in connection with this Contest or the prize awarded.
All submissions must be accompanied by an entry form and a release form for each actor, provided by CERTs and signed by the entrant(s) (for all entrants 18 years of age or older) or by a parent or guardian (for all entrants younger than 18 years of age), which consents to the use by CERTs and its designees of the entrant’s name, photograph, likeness, and voice for the purposes of this Contest. The release form must include the entrant’s name and age, parent or guardian name (for all entrants younger than 18 years of age) and telephone number. Submissions without this information will not be considered. Any submissions by a group need a release form signed by all group participants. All forms are available online at www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/events/cleangreenfilmfest
Each entrant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless CERTs and its designees from any third party claims arising from or related to that entrant’s participation in the Contest. By participating, entrants agree that CERTs and its designees and those involved in the development, production, implementation and distribution of this promotion and their respective parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, and agencies, and their directors, officers, agents, employees, attorneys, and any other person or entity associated with such entities and/or promotion shall not be liable for any and all claims, damages, losses or injuries, including any third party claims, arising from or relating to, in whole or in part, this Contest, including entry and participation in this Contest and acceptance, possession, use or misuse of the prizes.
All entrants further agree that in the event of any third party claims, damages, losses or injuries, arising from or relating to this Contest, they will indemnify and hold harmless CERTs and its designees from any and all such claims, including the attorneys’ fees related thereto. CERTs shall not be responsible for any technical malfunctions of the telephone network, computer on-line system, computer equipment, software, program malfunctions or other failures, delayed computer transactions or network connections that are human, mechanical or technical in nature, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to entrant’s or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from downloading or uploading as part of this Contest. Any person attempting to defraud or in any way tamper with this Contest will be ineligible for prizes and may be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
CERTs and its designees are not liable to an entrant for acts or omissions by CERTs or its designees arising out of or related to the Contest or that entrant’s participation in the Contest.
Contestants participating in this Contest are liable for any copyright infringements caused by their videos.
Entrant is responsible to secure permission from all talent included in the video. CERTs and its designees assume no responsibility for royalties or fees associated with talent performances in the entered videos.
CERTs and its designees assume no responsibility for lost or late entries or for incomplete computer transmissions or technical failures.
CERTs and its designees reserve the right not to accept entries that are considered inappropriate for the Contest, see Video Requirements.
CERTs reserves the right (a) to suspend or cancel the Contest in its sole discretion, and (b) to select winners from among all eligible entries received prior to the cancellation date. CERTs further reserves the right to modify the rules of the Contest in any way or at any time.
The rules of this Contest may change if situations beyond the control of CERTs occur between now and the conclusion of this Contest. Any changes to the rules will be posted on the Contest webpage: www.cleanenergyresourceteams.org/events/cleangreenfilmfest.
This Contest is not open to anyone employed by CERTs and its designees or members of their immediate families.