Digital Media Competition Rules

RULES & ELIGIBILITY

Important Note! The deadline for project submission has been extended to April 23, 2009! Details here.

The NBC Universal Digital Media Competition (“Competition”) is for students in grades 5 through 12

Introduction
1. Team Make-up and Eligibility

2. Schedules and Deadlines

3. Categories

4. Judging Criteria

5. Judging and Awards

6. Disqualification

7. Finality of Sponsors’ Decisions

8. Changes

9. Choice of Laws and Resolution of Disputes

10. Responsible Party and Operator of the ThinkQuest Program

11. General

12. Conditions

Introduction and Project description:

ThinkQuest New York City in partnership with NBC Universal is sponsoring a free citywide Digital Media Competition for New York City students in grades 5-12.

The Competition offers an opportunity for New York City students to participate in this by creating an original video that addresses the vision for improving our world (“Video”).

ThinkQuest New York City programs provide highly motivating opportunities for students and educators to work collaboratively in teams to learn as they create materials and teach others. ThinkQuest New York City programs challenge learners to create high quality, innovative and content-rich Web sites and Digital Media that are made available to others via the Internet.

The Competition is managed by ThinkQuest New York City in partnership with NBC Universal Digital Media (“Sponsor”).

1. Who is Eligible to Participate?
Team Make-up and Eligibility

Student Eligibility:

A student (“Student”) is eligible if he or she is a student in Grades 5 through 12 (or equivalent) during Registration Period in:

  • Any accredited public, private or parochial school in the five boroughs of New York City

OR

  • Any home school in New York City that meets all requirements of the jurisdiction(s) having authority over the education of its student(s).

AND

  • A student may not be a member of more than one Team in this Competition.

Coach Eligibility
A coach (“Coach”) is eligible if he or she is at least 18 years of age before the end of the Registration Period and is

  • A teacher, librarian or other employee on the professional staff of a school attended by at least one of the Student Team (defined below) members and is approved by the parent or legal guardian of EACH Student on the Team

OR

  • A teacher at a home school attended by at least one of the student Team members and is approved by the parent or guardian of each student on their Team

OR

  • A professional staff member of a non profit organization whose mission is to assist in the teaching of and learning by students in grades eight through twelve (such as a Boys or Girls club, Community Technology Center, or similar organization) and is approved by the parent or guardian of each student on their Team. Sponsors may determine, in their sole discretion, that a Coach is ineligible because Coach’s organization does not meet the above referenced criteria

AND is

  • Able to give regular help and coaching assistance to the student(s) he or she has agreed to coach, and

A coach may coach more than one team.

Employees of Sponsors, their respective parent, subsidiary, affiliated and joint venture companies, or any other entity involved in the development or administration of this Competition, as well as members of such employees’ immediate families and households (including children, spouses and siblings and/or other people living in the same households as such persons, whether related or not), are not eligible to participate in this Competition.

Team Composition

In order to participate in the Competition, applicants must be members of a team. A team must consist of three (3) to six (6) eligible Student members and one (1) to two (2) adult eligible Coaches (“Team”). All Student Team members are expected to make significant contributions to the success of the Team. Coaches may help with team formation, provide guidance and encouragement, and help students establish relationships with subject experts, local industry, and/or government in support of their effort. If Sponsors determine, in their sole discretion, that a Coach has contributed in an unfair or inappropriate way to a Team Video (defined below), Sponsors may disqualify the Team.

Students must do the actual design and development of their projects, including the selection, research and development of content. One coach from each team is responsible for the timely completion and submission of forms and registering the team. At least one coach must have an active e-mail address for regular communication with the ThinkQuest New York City staff. All announcements and updates for teams will be sent via email to the teams designated email address as well as posted on the Web site.

A Team may consist of students from the same and/or different grades and/or schools.

2. Schedule and Deadlines

Registration –
To register for the Competition, Coaches must log on to between November 15, 2008 and January 29, 2009 February 24, 2009 at 11:59 pm (“Registration Period”). In order to register, Coaches must include the following:

  • Each Coach’s first name, last name, email address, telephone, position at the eligible school or organization (address) and each student team member’s first name
  • A short description of the proposed project
  • The coach’s assurance to Sponsors that:
  • The Coach has obtained a signed consent from the parent or guardian of each Student member of the Team (in accordance with the regulations or practices of the local school district),
  • The Coach and the Students and their parents or guardians, will abide, and be bound, by the NBC Universal Digital Media Competition Rules.

Coaches and Students may find Team members, form a Team, research and choose their entry topic, and begin the registration process at any time during the Registration Period. There is no required sequence for this process, but each team must complete the registration process in the Registration Period.

Submission of Entries –
In order to be eligible for prizes for the Competition,

  • The film must be uploaded to vimeo.com

The following must be submitted to TQNYC:

  • A description of the Video,
  • A list of team members, coaches and school
  • Signed consent forms from the parent or legal guardian of each Student Team Member,
  • All relevant Appearance Releases,
  • Any permissions for third party materials and a listing of the Student and Coach Team members (collectively “Submission”)

The above must be mailed to:
“NBC Universal Digital Media Competition”
ThinkQuest, Inc.
245 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1801
New York, NY 10016
and postmarked by April 2, 2009, (“Entry Deadline”)
Documentation will not be returned.

3. Categories for Video

Each Team must create an original video that addresses their vision for improving our world (“Video”). Teams may consider, but are not limited by the following topics:
1. Community
2. Culture
3. Environment/Going Green
4. Education
5. Health
6. Media and Entertainment
7. Transportation

Each team member must make significant contributions to the success of the team and be a full participant in the development of the entry.

No application or entry may report upon, or otherwise deal with, (a) live vertebrate animal experimentation by the team or (b) experiments that involve human subjects.

Videos must be original, unpublished and created solely by the submitting Team and should be in English. Videos must not infringe upon any rights of any third party and must not contain any third-party music or other third-party content or other materials (such as writing, poetry, text, graphics, artwork or logos) unless written permission has been obtained from the owner of the third party content to use their content in your Video.

Only Student Team Members and Coaches may appear in the Video or individuals who have signed the appearance release provided by Sponsors (“Appearance Release”). If an individual appearing in the Video is a minor, then the parent/legal guardian of the minor appearing in the Video must sign the Appearance Release. All entries become property of Sponsors. Sponsors shall have the right to edit and publish all Videos as Sponsors deem fit. Videos may be published and republished in whole or in part in all media now known or hereafter devised in perpetuity without additional compensation. Entries will not be acknowledged or returned.

Submission of a Video further constitutes the Team Member’s consent or in the case of a minor, the parent or legal guardian’s consent, to irrevocably assign and transfer to Sponsors any and all rights, title, and interests in the entry, including, without limitation, all copyrights, and to use entrants’ names, hometowns, or likenesses and biographies, without further compensation, for advertising or publicity purposes (except where prohibited by law). This is not an application for employment.

When a Team submits a Video each Team member, (if a Team Member is under the age of 18, Team member shall mean Team Member’s parent or legal guardian), is at such time granting Sponsors their affiliates and their licensees, successors and assigns a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, unrestricted, irrevocable and fully sub licensable right and license to consider, disclose, broadcast, use, re-use, reproduce, modify, digitize or enhance, adapt, change, edit, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, re-distribute, publicly perform and/or display their Video (in whole or in part), and the images or likenesses that appear in their Video (in whole or in part) and/or incorporate all or part of their Video in other works, all in any form, format, media or technology now known or later developed or invented anywhere in the world at any time. Each Team member grants Sponsors these rights whether or not a Team is selected as a Winner. Teams WILL NOT BE PAID FOR their Video or for granting Sponsors any of these rights. Sponsors, their affiliates, and its licensees’ successors and assigns are in no way obligated to use a Team’s Video (and have no obligation to you or any other person or entity after a Team’s Video is received). Each Team member agrees to waive all claims to and shall receive no royalties of any kind now or in the future from Sponsors, their affiliates, or its licensees, successors and assigns for use of their Video including copyright, trademark, public performance, digital sound recording, mechanical, synchronization or master use royalties, and Teams represent, warrant and agree that no other party is entitled to claim royalties from the use of the Video as set forth in these Official Rules. Please also be aware that Videos may not be acknowledged and will not be received or held “in confidence” and the submission of a Video does not create a confidential relationship or obligation of secrecy between each Team and/or Team member and the Competition or Sponsors, any of their affiliates or any of their licensees, successors or assigns. Teams and/or Team Members may not resell, assign or transfer any of their rights under these Official Rules. By entering a Video, each Team Member acknowledges that they have read and understand these Official Rules, and accept these Official Rules together and agree to abide by its terms and conditions, as they may be amended from time to time, and all other applicable rules and regulations. Additionally, each Team Member agrees that they have all rights, approvals and/or consents necessary to submit the Vide on the terms provided in these Official Rules and your Submission does not violate the rights of any other person or entity or any law.
While students are encouraged to seek guidance from parents, coaches, friends, published sources and other collaborators via the Internet, the students must do their own work on the entry and must not permit any person (other than student members of the team) to perform such work.

All materials in each entry must be suitable, in the opinion of the Judges, for use in schools. These materials may also be suitable for other age groups.

4. Judging Criteria

Four criteria, weighted as indicated below, will be used to evaluate the Videos in April 2009. In order to encourage students to create high-quality entries, the judges (Employees and friends of Thinkquest New York City and NBC Universal, Inc.) will evaluate:

(30 points) - Vision and Creativity

  • The vision and innovation of the message;
  • The extent to which the video is able to communicate a message; and
  • The originality and artistic presentation of the video and its material.

(30 points) - Content Quality

  • The quality of the content of the Entry, the clarity of the message, clear presentation of the idea, and the method in which it is expressed.

(30 points) – Execution and Mechanics

  • The technical quality of the Entry, the team’s ability to take their idea and develop their video product to convey its message, including imagery, editing, sound and special effects.

(10 points) – Teamwork

  • Ability of team members to demonstrate their ability to work as a team to complete the project.

(Bonus points – up to 5 points)

  • Bonus points will be awarded for choosing special categories. Please visit our special awards page for details.

5. Judging and Awards

Immediately after the Entry Deadline each Entry will be reviewed and scored by the Judges based on the The Competition Judging Criteria. Judges will select three winning projects .

All prize details not specified herein are at the sole discretion of the Sponsors. Winners will be notified by mail or phone or in person and must return all required documents within the indicated time period. Sponsors reserve the right to award a Prize of greater or equal value. The Winners will be required to execute an Affidavit of Eligibility and Publicity/Liability Release, to be returned within two (2) weeks of date notice sent. In the event of noncompliance with the foregoing requirements or if any prize or prize notification is returned as undeliverable, the prize will be forfeited and, at Sponsors discretion, an alternate winner will be selected. All federal, state and local taxes and other expenses in connection with the cash prizes described herein as well as any other prizes not expressly described herein as being awarded, if any, are the sole responsibility of the Winners.

6. Disqualification
Disqualification of Applications, Entries, Students, Coaches or Teams

Sponsors, in their sole discretion, may decide to disqualify a Submission for the following (including but not limited to) the following:

  • There has been no timely and proper submission of the registration materials, the Submission (including all items required by the instructions and/or rules for entry into the Competition) on the Thinkquest New York City Website.
  • There is a lack of sufficient educational merit to the a Team’s Video,
  • There is a violation of any portion of the rules, or the required forms, or
  • A team has intentionally or negligently gained unauthorized access to, or misused, the ThinkQuest New York City Web site.

If an application or entry that is submitted on time contains an omission(s) or error(s) that violate(s) the Competition Rules in a relatively unimportant or non-substantive manner, Sponsors may, if it or they deem it to be appropriate, send a message to the submitting team pointing out the violation(s) and giving the submitting team a designated period of time to complete or correct such application or entry.

If an entry contains materials that appear to violate any of these rules, Sponsors may, at its discretion, disqualify the entry in its entirety.

7. Finality of Sponsor’s Decisions
All Entries will be reviewed by Judges, and will be based on the Judging Criteria. Each decision of Sponsors and any of the Judges, with respect to any matter related to this Competition shall, in all respects, be final and binding on the Student team member(s), his or her or their parents or guardian(s), the school(s), and the Coach (es), and shall not be subject to review. Sponsors reserve the right to conduct personal interviews with potential award winning Students. To the extent that Sponsors and the Judges determine that there are not enough meritorious Entries to justify making an Award or Awards, they will not make all the awards listed above.

8. Changes

Changes in Team Membership
If one or more members of a Team should be unable to continue to participate for any reason, ThinkQuest New York City and the Contest directors shall determine what, in its or their judgment, are the appropriate steps to be taken.

Sponsors shall have the right, but no obligation, to take actions they deem appropriate to prevent misuse of an entry. The team members, and their parent(s) and guardian(s), may take such steps or actions to prevent misuse of the entry, as submitted, as they deem appropriate.

9. Choice of Laws and Resolution of Disputes
The Competition and all disputes arising out of or relating to the agreement or agreements contained in these rules shall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State of New York, USA, without reference to New York’s choice of law rules. Each such dispute shall, upon the request of a party, be submitted to and settled by arbitration to be conducted in Washington, D.C., pursuant to the rules then in effect of the American Arbitration Association (or at any other place or under any other form of arbitration mutually acceptable to the parties). Any award or other determination rendered shall be final and binding upon the parties to such dispute and a judgment thereon may be entered in the highest court of any forum in any country having jurisdiction. Each party shall pay for the costs of its own counsel, witnesses, other personal expenses, and its appropriate share of any costs agreed to be borne jointly.

10. Responsible Party and Operator of the ThinkQuest New York City Program
ThinkQuest, Inc., a Not-For-Profit corporation, is the operator of the ThinkQuest New York City Programs and has been since this program was begun. The corporation is located at 245 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1801, New York, NY 10016.

“ThinkQuest New York City” is a registered trademark of ThinkQuest, Inc. and used by permission of the Oracle “Help Us Help” Foundation that manages the ThinkQuest USA program.

11. GENERAL RULES
Sponsors, their parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, its licensees, successor and assigns, and its marketing agencies, Inc. (collectively, “Released Parties”) are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, inaccurate, stolen, misdirected, damaged, incomplete, incorrect, misrouted, undelivered, garbled, illegible or postage-due mail, entries or email; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines or technical failures or difficulties, or other errors of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Competition, including, without limitation, errors which may occur in connection with the administration of the Competition, the processing of entries, the announcement of the prizes or any Competition-related materials; or the incorrect or inaccurate capture of any entry or other such information or the failure to capture any such information. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Competition. Released parties are not responsible for injury or damage to participants’ or to any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in the Competition or downloading materials from or use of the web site. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Competition or website, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT BY ANY PERSON TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEB SITE OR VIDEO OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST IS A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW (AND TO DISQUALIFY SUCH PERSON FROM THE CONTEST, IF APPLICABLE).
Should any portion of the Competition be, in Sponsors’ sole discretion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole discretion of Sponsors, corrupt or impair the administration security, fairness or proper play, or submission of entries, Sponsors reserve the right at their sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the online portion of the Competition and accept entries solely via mail-in entry method, or to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Contest in any manner, in Sponsors’ sole discretion, and conduct judging from amongst all eligible, non-suspect entries received prior to action taken. Entrants, by participating, agree that Released Parties and their respective parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, and website providers/web masters, and all of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents will have no liability whatsoever for, and shall be held harmless by entrants against, any liability, for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind, including death, to persons or property resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from acceptance, possession, misuse or use of a prize or participation in this Competition. Each winner, by acceptance of a prize, except where legally prohibited, grants permission to Sponsors and their designees to use his/her name, address (city and state), photograph, voice, and/or other likeness and prize information for advertising, trade and promotional purposes without further compensation, in all media now known or hereafter discovered, worldwide, and on the Internet and world wide web, in perpetuity, without notice or review or approval. In the event of a dispute regarding entries received from multiple users having used the same e-mail account, the authorized subscriber of the e-mail account at the time of entry will be deemed to be the entrant and must comply with these rules. Authorized account subscriber is the natural person who is assigned the e-mail address by the Internet Service Provider (ISP), on-line service provider or other organization responsible for assigning e-mail addresses.
12. CONDITIONS
By entering a Video, entrants release and agree to hold harmless Sponsors, their parents, subsidiaries and affiliates, its licensees, successors and assigns, its promotional and advertising agencies, as well as the officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents of each of the foregoing entities, from any and all damage, loss or liability to person or property, due in whole or part, directly or indirectly, by reason of an entrant’s creation or submission of a Video and/or the Video’s contents or by reason of the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize or participation in the Competition. If any portion of these Official Rules is found to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, for any reason, that portion shall be severed from the rest and shall not affect the agreement to resolve all controversies and claims through arbitration. Claims and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Competition, or any prize awarded, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by arbitration. Claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering this Competition, but in no event attorney’s fees. These Official Rules supercede any and all agreements or communications of any kind between you and the Competition or any person or entity associated with the Competition, and cannot be modified or waived except in writing and unless properly signed.