This article was provided by the Ontario Mining Association (OMA), an organization that was established in 1920 to represent the mining industry of the province.
The suspense is building as the kick-off for the Ontario Mining Association’s fifth high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining awards gala approaches. All will be revealed tomorrow evening. Several talented teenage filmmakers will walk off the stage with SYTYKM Oscar-style statuettes and prize money. More than 300 people are expected to be on hand at the Royal Ontario Museum for the awards ceremonies on Wednesday, June 5, 2013.
This is the fifth edition of this video production competition and $33,500 in prize money is available. “We started SYTYKM as a way to encourage arts oriented students to learn something about the importance of mining to society,” said OMA President Chris Hodgson. “It has been gratifying to see the growth in interest of SYTYKM by students and teachers and the creative quality of the videos we look forward to seeing every year. Since it started, the OMA has provided $133,000 in scholarship support for high school filmmakers.”
The producer of the Best Overall video wins $5,000 and his, or her, high school receives $500 to support filmmaking. First and Second Runners-Up for the Best Overall will receive prizes of $2,500 each. Winners in other categories including Best Writing, Best Music, Best Directing, Best Comedy, Best Animation, Best video in a language other than English, Best 30-Second Commercial, People’s Choice Award and the Award from the OMA Academy will also receive $2,500.
In addition, Laura Heidenheim from H.B. Beal Secondary in London will be on hand to film the awards ceremony for future viewing on the OMA website. Her production “Kill the Bad Will (About Mining)” also earned her a $500 prize, which is matched with a contribution to her high school. Numerous high schools, which provided three or more entries, are in the running through a random draw for a $2,000 prize for film equipment and software.
SYTYKM entries this year came from Ontario high schools in Clinton, London, Toronto, Timmins, Barrie, Collingwood, Kitchener-Waterloo, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Windsor, Woodstock and other centres. Virtually every region of the province is represented through SYTYKM entries including several videos this year from First Nations communities in Northern Ontario.
There are seven members of the independent SYTYKM judging panel for 2013. Christina Blizzard is a columnist for Sun Media; Katarina Gligorijevic, creative consultant for REEL Canada and an independent film maker; James Cullingham is an independent move producer and professor of film and media at Seneca College; Peter Fuchs is Director of Corporate Affairs at Xstrata Nickel; Jessica Grillanda is a Professor of Broadcast Journalism and New Media at Cambrian College in Sudbury; John Coulbourn is a film, arts and theatre critic; and, Joanne Kearney is Vice President at the communications company Smithcom.
The Royal Ontario Museum is home to industry-supported mineral and gem galleries and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. The awards gala is attracting strong support from the mining industry, government, media and the education sector.
For more information on the SYTYKM competition see the OMA website www.oma.on.ca. Come back tomorrow and see who the big winners are and watch for the launch of the sixth SYTYKM competition in the Fall of 2013.