The Second Annual Young Minds Digital Times Film Competition (YMDT) is a collaboration between KidThrive.org and Converge magazine to offer an innovative film competition for students around the world to showcase their work, compete against their peers and tackle pressing social issues. Kids have lots to say, ideas to share and talent to showcase, so we've created this competition as a learning opportunity for participants. We have a vested interest in students using their digital know how to promote social good, so while students have the chance to enter any film they create, we're extra excited to see their talents put to work in Track One: Young Filmmakers Doing Good!

How it works

Submission process

After you submit your registration through this site, within 24 hours an automated confirmation email is sent to the email address you provided, as well as to your parent and sponsoring teacher. SAVE THIS EMAIL. The email contains your personal submission passkey that you will later need to submit and upload your film. You will then receive an email inviting you to join our Young Minds Digital Times Film Site prior for video uploading from February 22, 2010 to March 19, 2010 at 12:00 midnight EST. Be sure that you use your own email address when registering, or you will not get an invitation.

Uploading process

Because these files are quite large, they can take several hours to upload on slower connections. We recommend that you do not try to upload over a wireless connection, but plug into the internet to speed up the process. Each entry is reviewed by the YMDT competition staff for appropriate content and that the submission meets all contest rules. If you have problems submitting or have misplaced your submission key, email films@youngmindsdigitaltimes.com and someone will respond within 48 hours, but probably sooner.

To upload your film first log into the Young Minds Digital Times Film Site with the password and user name sent to you in your email invite. Select UPLOAD and complete the fields: Title, Short Description,etc. To create tags for your film, include the film name, your name, and your school's name. Seperate each with a comma.

Under CATEGORIES select your grade range (6-8 or 9-12) and which track you are submitting your film. When finished, select CONTINUE Upload your film just as you would attach a document to an email. Select the BROWSE button and locate the file on your computer. Select CONTINUE and wait for your file to load.

The uploading process will take a few moments, so please wait until the process is complete before you close the window. Once uploaded, your films will be available for viewing from the MY VIDEOS page.

Upload your films only once.

Judging process

The three tiered judging system begins March 23, 2010.

• Public Voting – From March 23, 2010 until March 29, 2010 12:00 midnight EST, public voting will be open. The films with the most public votes in each category will go on to the next round. Registered competition participants will use their submission passkey to vote as well, and anyone not registered in the competition will be able to register separately to participate in voting. Each voter can place one vote per a category, per a day. Be sure that you recruit your friends, family and classmates to help you get the most votes possible! No vote counts will appear on the site, but they are being counted. No one may register to vote more than once; all voting and registration passkeys are double cross checked and duplicate passkeys are cancelled; violators may be removed from the competition.
• Professional Judging – Entries with the most votes from public voting will go on to the professional judging round where professionals in film, TV, music videos and digital media will select the first place winners for each category. Last year's Grand Prize Winners will also be asked to participate in this level of judging.
• Expert Judging – All first place category winners will go on to the expert judging round, where acclaimed industry experts will select the Grand Prize Winner from each track. A complete list of judges will be available with the winner announcement.

All winners will be announced on this site and by press release by May 21, 2010. Winning students will be notified by email before the announcement.