International video compilation "COL 2008"

Circles of Light 2008
"Primary objective: To share our love for these arts"

• What? Send us your video clip of Staff/Poi/Glowstick/Fire Poi/Juggling etc
• When? posted to us before 30th June 2008 (we will allow 2 weeks after that for your entry to arrive)
• How?
  Please post your video/VCD/DVD/video cassette to
  Home of Poi - circles of light
  PO Box 6271
  36A Sonter Road
  Christchurch 8004
  New Zealand.
  
  You must also include a video submission form 
  and a performers release form for each performer appearing within the video
  and a music release form if your video submission includes any music.
    
• Every entry featured on the video gets one free copy.
• Only the best entries will make it on the final cut.
• Huge marketing opportunity plus gain admiration from fellow spinners
• 100% of all profits made from the sale of this video will go towards paying for the bandwidth used by the community forums, meet others, lessons, videos and images.
• A Part of COL2008 will be set aside for a competition section which you may enter if you wish
  • 1st prize is USD$2000 Cash! and USD$1000 credit to your HOP shop account
  • 2nd prize is USD$500 credit to your HOP shop account
  • 3rd prize is USD$250 credit to your HOP shop account
    
• NEW - COL 4 Kids. In 2008 we will introduce a new section - CoL4Kids.
  • entrants must be 12 years of age or under - submission forms must be countersigned by parent/guardian
  • NO FIRE ACTS will be permitted in this section.
  • not eligible for the competition section, but each entry chosen to appear on the final DVD will receive a free copy and exposure to the spinning world.
  • This section is added "for fun" and to encourage the next generation of spinners.
    The age cutoff is not meant to exclude children aged 13 years and over - we believe children in this age group should be able to feature in the "regular" COL (competition) section.
    

1. Video clips can be edited or unedited. With or without music.
   Position of clip on tape must be at beginning of the tape. Please specify if editing can/should be done to shorten your entry to fit on the final video.
2. Duration: Maximum 3 minutes (minimum 1 minute). NEW!! Clip duration is now more flexible. We believe you should be aiming for an average of 3 minutes, however up to 5 minutes is now possible. You should be aiming for Quality not Quantity...
   Entries over 3 minutes duration should be accompanied by supporting reasons for the length.
3. Home of Poi will select the entries which will make it to the final DVD. Previously we were limited to around 30 entries but this year we can have more (up to double the previous). However, we reserve the right to reject entries.
4. Must be able to see the person/s performing.
5. If music supplied. Music should be heard on the video camera microphone. Music must also be supplied as a separate digital file (WAV,AVI,MP3 etc) to ensure best quality or provided on a digital video medium (eg. DVD).
6. If music supplied then a written authorization must be given from the music artist giving permission to use their piece on the COL2008 video and/or DVD. Also required is the artists contact details to go in the cover slip of the video case. If no music supplied then we will try best to find music to put it to.
7. Full address and contact details of the person/s in the video must be supplied with completed performers release form.
8. Supply a name/s to appear on video before the clip, and contact details to be shown in the cover slip of the video case.
9. Must be doing swinging , twirling, or any of the fire arts.
10. Must not contain fire breathing.
11. Must not contain "x-rated" material.
12. Must not contain advertising material or text superimposed over and during the performance.
13. Videos can be on any tape, VCD,DVD in any format (VHS pal or NTSC formats). NTSC VCD/DVD is preferred.
14. You may enter as a group or as an individual as may times as you like. Each entry to be on a separate tape,VCD,DVD and with a completed video submission form.
15. Videos will all be returned only if requested.
16. Competition section will be Judged by Home of Poi Ltd.
17. Winners will be announced before November 2008
18. Judges decisions are final and no correspondence shall be entered unto.

Try also

1. not using"auto focus"
2. using a tripod
3. multiple camera angles
4. having some extra light so we can see you
5. filming in a nice location
6. dressing up

• The use of a tripod often makes a dramatic impact in the quality of the final movie. If you plan to move the camera during filming, you should move it very slowly and as smooth as you can. A jerking camera motion is hard to compress.
• Avoid hand-held shooting if possible. If your camera has an image-stabilization option you should turn this function on. Generally using this feature will reduce subtle changes between frames from camera motion.
• If you do not own a tripod, hold or rest the camera against the back of a chair.
• If filming fire at night you will find it better using "manual focus". This is because "auto focus" will have difficulty working out what to focus on and will make fuzzy what you want to be clear.
• Make sure you have other sources of light so that we can see you.
• If you mess up during filming. Cut the mistake out and move the camera to a new angle. That way we can not tell if a cut was made to change angle of the filming or because you cut out the part where you wrapped the poi around your legs and fall over. This is a good trick to make you look better. Cuts in filming every second may lead us to believe otherwise.
• A nice location is also good and will not detract visually from a good performance.
• Dressing up will add another dimension to your performance. Please be sure of clothing safety if using fire
• A nice location is also good and will not detract visually from a good performance.
• Our CoL e-book has some more information for your consideration.

Wishing you all the best

Malcolm Crawshay
Home of Poi Ltd