PSA Competition

Who: For current San Francisco Bay Area high school students graduating in 2008 and 2009. 

What:  For entry into the competition students are invited to develop and submit a script for a public service announcement contributing to the public understanding of Dr. King's life and the movements inspired by his message of peace through social justice.   Five finalists will be invited to meet with local film producers and representatives from the MLK Institute to share the inspiration behind their PSA.  Of the finalists, one team will be chosen to shoot their PSA with professional film producers, which will be aired on the Yahoo! website and on local TV stations on Martin Luther King Day 2008.  Members of the winning team will also receive a $2500 scholarship.

• Scripts should be submitted in two-column format (see example script below)
• The proposed script should be 30 seconds long.
• Students may work individually or in small groups and should use resources provided by The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/index.htm
• Applicants must choose an adult sponsor such as a teacher, college counselor, school administrator or parent.  The adult sponsor may assist in research and editing of your written proposal, but the written proposal must be the work of the students. 
• Check out last year's winners: http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=136769&fr=yfp-t-501. If the link does not work, copy and paste it into another window in your browser.

When:
TIMELINE

• Deadline to submit proposals online: September 21, 2007. 
• Finalists announced: early October 2007
• Winner shoots PSA under the mentorship of professional film producers: Oct and Nov 2007
• Winning PSA broadcast on Yahoo!: MLK Day- January 21, 2008

Why: To enhance your community’s understanding of the life and legacy of Dr. King, to get the experience of shooting a PSA with an industry professional, and to financially jump-start your college career. 

PSA’s will be judged by representatives of the Martin Luther King Research and Education Institute, All Stars Helping Kids, and Yahoo! They will be evaluated on the basis of alignment with the topic, original artistic creation, and historical accuracy. 

Two-Column Script Sample        Suggested Resources         Submit Entry