Quarterly Narrative Series Competition Rules

Photo by David Kadlubowski, Grand Canyon University
 

About
The Quarterly Narrative Series Competition is designed to allow our members to enter videos and projects using Exposure, Adobe Spark and other platforms that host photo essays or multimedia stories to be judged by their peers.

Rules

• Full Members only are eligible to enter this competition.
• The primary producer on any of the entries must be the person to submit the entry into the competition.
• Awards will be given to the university, as more than one staff member may have contributed to the entry.
• Your entries are not required to have been published or displayed by your academic institution. 
• When entering, do not add your identity/production credit in the title or caption field. (See Entering section for further instruction)
• Submitted entries must have been produced according to the schedule below.

Categories

1. Video/Cine- These are university and college productions used in marketing or promotion of the institution, individual colleges, or departments. These could also be traditional commercials aired on cable, TV or as digital ads. 
2. Online Photo Essay- Photo essays have found new life with sites like Exposure,  Adobe Spark, or custom websites. Entries in this category are stories about the university, individual colleges, or departments. They can contain still photos, written essays, or short video clips. 
3. Social Media- These are short videos originally published on services such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or Reels. 

Schedule

• First Quarter Competition
  • Content published in June, July, and August
  • Enter beginning 9/1 to 9/15
  • Voting 9/18 to 9/30
• Second Quarter Competition
  • Content published in September, October, and November
  • Enter beginning 12/1 to 12/15
  • Voting 12/18 to 12/31
• Third Quarter Competition
  • Content published in December, January, and February
  • Enter beginning 3/1 to 3/15
  • Voting 3/18 to 3/31
• Fourth Quarter Competition
  • Content published in March, April, and May
  • Enter beginning 6/1 to 6/10
  • Voting 6/12 to 6/20

Entering

• Dates and Times for entry are displayed on your member dashboard and based on the timezone set in your member profile. Check that your timezone is set correctly by choosing "Edit My Profile" at the very bottom is the timezone option. Click "Save" when finished.
• Each member can submit 3 entries. Those 3 entries may be entered into any combination of categories, including all in one.
• To enter, navigate to your dashboard (MY ACCOUNT in the dropdown menu), scroll down, select Enter Contest Now. Use a screen grab or appropriate image (JPG or PNG) from the production for the image requirement.
• Add a brief description and a link to your entry in the description field. YouTube and Vimeo work best for video. Do not add your identity/production credit in the title or caption field.
• You must click on the “Submit Another Entry” button to register your entry in the competition.
• Changes / Deletions to submissions can be made up until the closing of the submission phase, noted on your member dashboard; the system automatically submits at that hour the last edit you applied to your entry.
• Keep in mind that you will be judged by a diverse group of people who may deduct points if they believe your entry is in the wrong category.

Viewing and Judging

Voting with integrity and without bias is vital for the feedback and growth of the UPAA membership. Please vote in a way that best reflects the score you feel an entry deserves. Be aware of your potential favoritism, conscious or unconscious. This helps this and other competitions be a reliable tool to measure our success and areas of potential growth.

• Full, student, and associate members are eligible to vote.
• When judging, unless you feel an entry is blatantly in the wrong place, the entrant should be given the benefit of the doubt. 
• Entries will be available for voting according to the dates listed in the Schedule section above.
• Depending on how you choose to view the entries, the entries will “disappear” after you’ve voted. To view entries you’ve already voted on, select the “View all entries” from the viewing options dropdown. 
• Your vote can be changed at any time up till the end of the voting phase, and you do not need to vote for every entry entered for your votes to count. That said, please do your best to vote on every entry. 
• Voting members will rate EACH image in each category on a star scale of 1 to 7, with seven being the highest score. Members will not be required to complete the voting in one session, and can return multiple times prior to the end of the month to complete their voting.
• Your vote can be changed at any time up till the end of the voting phase, and you do not need to vote for every entry submitted for your votes to count. That said, please do your best to vote on every entry. 
• Dates and Times for voting are displayed on your member dashboard and based on the timezone set in your member profile. Check that this is set correctly by choosing "Edit My Profile" at the very bottom is the timezone option. Click "Save" when finished.

Awards

• The database will calculate the scoring and determine 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and honorable mention in each category.
• Once tabulated, the winning entries will be published on Depth in Field and linked from the COMPETITIONS page’s QNS WINNERS GALLERY.
• Video/Cine will be the only category used to determine Videographer of the Year. Personal Vision, which exists only in the Annual Narrative Competition, will be used as a tiebreaker. If PV is not applicable, Video Chairs will work with the Board to choose the VOY. For details about how VOY is determined, visit the AWARDS page.