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For Southern California High School Student
Presented by Dr. Allen and Charlotte Ginsburg
The Aquarium of the Pacific is excited to invite Southern California high school students to participate in its fourth annual High Tide Student Film Festival. Individuals or teams of 2-4 students are challenged to create a short three-minute video (180 second maximum) on one of three ocean-themed topics (learn more about the topics):
Films can be in any style, whether it be a documentary, narrative, live action, animated, puppetry, poetry, or a silent movie. Films are recommended to be original, creative, and connect the audience to the ocean topic in a compelling way.
A distinguished group of judges will determine the High Tide Award Winners based on storytelling, content, creativity, technical and educational aspects. See Scoring Rubric 2024. Finalists are required to attend the Film Screening and Award Ceremony that will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2024, at the Aquarium to receive their awards and prizes.
Please read and carefully follow this Copyright Infographic prior to starting your film.
If the film uses any material that is not your own (including videos, photos, music/audio, art, logos, books/articles) it must be from a public domain and copyright free, or you must obtain written permission to use it and provide Proof of Written Permission. All material used must be properly documented and media sources must be cited and acknowledged in both the Materials License Agreement and the required Closing Credits of your film. This is strictly enforced.
Please read and carefully follow these Contest Rules.
This is a free contest. There is no fee to submit your application and film.
Application and Forms: All forms must be submitted by Tuesday, February 20, 2024. We will not process incomplete applications.
Each student, even if on a team, must fill out, sign and submit their own Application and Photo Release forms below with parent/guardian signature if under 18 years old. Each team should designate one Team Lead to submit the remaining required items per film on behalf of the entire group:
We recommend that you use all original work or material that is from the public domain and royalty-free (including: music, images, film clips, pictures, logos) to ensure films are not disqualified due to copyright infringement. Your sources must be appropriately cited in both the Materials License Agreement and in the film’ s closing credits.
If you use any copyrighted material that is not your own or under a creative license, then you are required to provide written permission from the copyright holder showing that you have permission to use it in your film for High Tide Film Festival.
Final Submission date for all materials: Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Former Winners
Here are examples of some former High Tide Film Festival winners that display different styles:
- Born From Waves, Sophia Le
- A Perfect Day at the Pier, Olivia Lopez
- Crustacean Conservation, Colin Das and Landon Das
- Just Jellyfish, Luke Steinman
- Help the Coral Sing, Kimberly Miller
- The Pelican: Concept to Coasts, Joana Escobar and Steven Lau-Robles
- Kelp California, Davey Schneider
Get a behind-the-scenes look at what drives us, inspires us, and be a part of it all.