NEWS RELEASE: OMA film competition People’s Choice Award voting is now open

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.

Now is your chance to stand up and be counted for your taste in artistic integrity. The voting for the People’s Choice Award in the Ontario Mining Association’s high school video competition So You Think You Know Mining is now open and runs until May 31, 2014. Why not cast a vote to support the film production of your choice?

In order to view the videos and make your choice, go to the OMA website at www.oma.on.ca. Click on the SYTYKM box at the bottom of the page, then People’s Choice Award and follow the instructions. Voting is done through Facebook. The winner of the People’s Choice Award earns a $2,500 prize.

In past years, students have found many creative ways to attract People’s Choice Awards votes for their productions. Contestants have used Facebook pages to promote their videos and many have contacted local media for a story. We have also seen SYTYKM contestants wearing sandwich boards at busy intersections and launching bring out the vote campaigns at their high schools.

The number of people voting for the SYTYKM People’s Choice Award has been steadily increasing. Sara Johns from Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton gained 491 out of 1,807 votes cast for her film Don’t Mind If I Do and won this SYTYKM award category in its inaugural year.

Last year, The Mining Initiative by Nelani Skantharajah from Danforth Tech in Toronto attracted 3,905 votes out of 12,336 ballots. In 2013, The Story of Mining by Richard Min from Don Mills Collegiate in Toronto attracted 3,148 votes out of a total of 7,786 votes cast and won the People’s Choice Award. In 2011, Mining Man and the Power of Mining by Quentin Hall from H.B. Beal Secondary in London earned 1,013 votes out of 4,671 cast to capture this honour.

From a modest start in October 2008, the SYTYKM competition has been refined and expanded into a truly provincial film making competition for teenagers. This is now the sixth season for SYTYKM and the People’s Choice Award has been part of the package since 2010 at the second awards ceremony. The best filmmakers will get to walk down the red carpet at the awards gala on June 3, 2014 at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto to accept Oscar style trophies — and cheques.

SYTYKM is supported by comprehensive web-based resources and a social media network that includes Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest. There is also a blog. Entries can be produced in any YouTube supported format. Contest details, technical requirements for submitting videos, production ideas, past winners’ films and videos documenting award ceremonies are available on the OMA website.

Check out the creative work of this season’s high school student film producers. Make your vote count for the SYTYKM People’s Choice Award!!!