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Nike's Chosen contest: Tips to get you noticed
Author: GrindTV.com
And Nike seems to be doing it right, from the grassroots on up. Case in point: their Chosen contest, which launched this week seeking to uncover little pockets of surf style and creativity in the form of 2- to 4-person surf crews around the world through an online film contest. Crews have two months to upload photos and videos to the Chosen site and mount a social buzz campaign to get noticed for repping the "Just Do It" ethos in their own unique way.
If you're on the path to being Chosen -- and you should be (just check the prizes) -- here are some tips for a successful campaign.
Remember the magic letters: CCP.
CCP stands for creativity, camaraderie, progression -- the three criteria used to judge your crew's radness and the keys to eventually being among the Chosen. Your videos, photos, crew names and descriptions, and social hype campaigns should all reflect the three magic letters. Know them cold: CCP. CCP. CCP...
There's music in your video, but it's not a music video.
Know why silent films died? 'Cause "talkies" came along and were a lot more interesting. Same with your crew videos. Let your voices be heard, whether in interviews or narration or just captured downtime conversation. Microphones are cheap; there's even one on your camera. Use it.
Personality trumps performance.
Chosen isn't a traditional surf contest. It's multidimensional storytelling, and your crew's the star. Make sure your videos are about the who/why/where, not just the "wow" -- as in, "Wow, those guys rip...but it looks like that's all they do." Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Spice it up with some creativity and camaraderie -- the two C's in CCP.
The filmer can be one of your crew members...
Someday you'll totally blow up and a full professional film staff will record your every move. Until then, though, it's probably just your buddy with a camera who'll be making your crew vids -- which is pretty sweet anyway. (Do you really want some outsider hanging around?) So don't be afraid to have the person filming your crew be part of your crew.
...or, you can all be the filmer.
Your crew doesn't have to be anchored by a single Kai Neville-type who always mans the cam. Certainly, a dedicated and experienced filmer will have more skills than the average dude -- but this isn't the Oscars. Don't sweat it if all you have are yourselves and some basic equipment, switching off film duties.
Tripod and mic when necessary.
Tripods are essential for shooting the surf from land, but that's about the only time you really need one. One other thing they're great for is interviews, but remember: these are short videos (2-3 minutes is ideal) -- so if you have interview footage, it'd be better used as a narrative voice-over so you don't burn screen time on a person sitting there talking into the camera. The world has Leno for that. Show something unique, with your crews' voices as background.
Keep out the riffraff.
The point of your films is to show your crew being yourselves -- so don't let non-crew "cameos" dilute your presence. Videos are best kept in the 2- to 3-minute range, so time is precious, and you'll probably want to keep them 100% crew -- no imposters. If anyone else makes the final cut, it had better be for a good reason.Keep checking the Chosen portal on Facebook to keep tabs on other crews (hit the Like button for access), and make sure to build awareness online about what your crew is up to and why (see "How to Hustle" here for tips on how to do that). Otherwise, hey -- shouldn't you be out gathering footy?
Top to bottom: Chris Kelly, Sean Santiago and Rob Kelly are just part of the Raw Jersey Crew.
The boys at Billabong have enlisted the lens of the ever-talented Victor Pakpour to craft their latest film entitled BLOW UP, not to be confused with the old Rip Curl Video "Blowing Up".
Below is the trailer and wowza. Shit looks pretty intense. Grommies blowing up everywhere.
Blow Up Trailer from Billabong USA on Vimeo.