Travel safe video contest
Travel Safe Student Video Contest
Calling filmmakers of all ages and abilities. Whether you are an aspiring filmmaker, working on your stop motion skills, or you shoot videos as a hobby, this is the contest for you! The Travel Safe Student Video contest is open to Calgary students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. All the information you need to know to enter the contest is contained on this page and in the links. Win great prizes and a chance to have your work showcased! Deadline is April 30th!
Have fun!
Calling all filmmakers! Put on your director’s hat, grab your camera and help make our city’s streets safer for everyone.
You could win prizes and a chance to have your video showcased on the City’s social media accounts and on calgary.ca
We invite all Calgary students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 to create an original 30-second video to promote safety while traveling on city streets, sidewalks and/or pathways. Videos can be funny, serious, live action, stop motion, animated or a mix of styles – whatever you can imagine!
Base your video on one of five these safety topics:
- Distracted travel: Factors that divert attention away from the task of safe driving, walking, or wheeling;
- Pedestrian safety: Look out for each other, be aware, be safe and stay alert at intersections and street crossing;
- Bike safety: how to be safe, ride, cycle or wheel smart and abide by safety rules of the road; applies to kick scooters, skateboards, and rollerblades
- Back to school traffic safety: Safety tips for kids and parents when traveling around schools; things to remember when coming back to school after summer break
- Know the speed limit, drive within it: why speed matters & speed safety.
Finalists will be showcased at a public viewing party at the Calgary Central Library and the winning videos will be showcased in future safety education initiatives and published online and on social media!
Need help getting started? Check out the Helpful Tips section below
Important dates
Submissions will be accepted until April 30, 2025.
Top finalist videos will be shown at a public screening party in mid-May 2025, at the Calgary Central Library. Finalists will be notified ahead of time and may be required to upload their video online to City of Calgary via Microsoft Teams. Further instructions will be provided to the final contestants in early May on how to do this.
For inquiries about the contest please contact StreetSafeKids@calgary.ca
Enter the contest
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1. Review the rules
The full contest rules and guidelines include information such as eligibility, publication and use of videos, judging criteria, prizes, etc.
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2. Create your video
Videos must be no more than 30 seconds long and shot in landscape (16:9 aspect ratio). Videos must be uploaded to a video hosting website of your choice (like YouTube or Vimeo).
Do Not send the video file to us directly as it will be too big!
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3. Sign the form
A consent form is required for ALL group members, even if they are not shown in the video. Anyone shown in the video also requires a consent form.
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4. Submit your video!
Send an email to StreetSafeKids@calgary.ca with the following information:
• Your video’s title in the subject line
• The safety topic of choice (see Safe Travel Topics section below)
• The name(s) and grades of everyone in your group
• The name of your school (if applicable)
• The link to your uploaded video so we can watch it online
• Consent forms for everyone involved.
Do Video Checklist
- My video is no more than 30 seconds in length AND is shot in landscape format (16:9 aspect ratio)
- My video is suitable for viewing by people of all ages and does not depict gratuitous violence or gore.
- My video does not include any copyrighted material including music, audio/video clips, characters, logos, or other protected materials, offensive materials or language.
- My video explores one of the Safe Travel Topics provided. It identifies a safety concern related to the topic and the correct safe travel behaviour.
- By submitting my video, I acknowledge that I have read, understood and abided by all the Contest Rules
Safe Travel Topics for 2025
Topic 1: Eyes up, phone down
Distracted travel: Explore factors or conditions that divert attention away from the task of safe driving, walking, or wheeling.Helpful resources:
- Calgary.ca/BeSafe: distracted driving is a serious issue that puts everyone at risk
- Distracted Driving: information from the RCMP and Government of Canada
Topic 2: Cross with care
Pedestrian safety: How and where to cross the street safely; Looking out for each other; be aware, be safe and stay alert at intersections and street crossing.Helpful resources:
- Calgary.ca/StreetSafeKids: The Mobility Safety Education Toolkit is available to highlight and encourage traffic safety conversations with students.
- Pedestrians and Crosswalks: Information pertaining to pedestrian safety and right of way.
- Pedestrian Safety: Looking out for each other.
Topic 3: Be safe, ride smart
Bike safety: Be safe, ride, cycle or wheel smart and abide by safety rules of the road; topic includes safe travel practices on bikes, scooters, rollerblades, and skateboards.Helpful resources:
- Sharing the road safely: A few things you should know about safely sharing our roads and pathways with others.
- Cycling Bylaws & Safety Tips: City of Calgary Bylaws related to cycling on city streets and pathways and best safety practices.
- Cycling Education: Know the laws and best practices for sharing travel spaces.
Topic 4: Why speed matters
Know the speed limit, drive within it: why speed matters; dangerous of speeding; speeding in playground zonesHelpful resources:
- Neighbourhood speed limits Did you know that in Calgary, the standard unposted speed limit changed on May 31, 2021?
- Speeding Risks of Driving: Speeding safety messages from AMA.
A general overview of Calgary traffic safety rules can be found in the Calgary Traffic Safety Tips Booklet
Topic 5: Back to school traffic safety
Back to school traffic safety: Safety tips for kids and parents as they navigate around schools; traffic safety issues around back to school time.Helpful resources:
- Neighbourhood speed limits Did you know that in Calgary, the standard unposted speed limit changed on May 31, 2021?
- Safety tips for back to school: traffic and pedestrian safety
- Back to school safety: RCMP
Contest details
Prizes
There are nine prizes in total to be won! Each video submitted will be scored based on their Division and Topic; each winning video will win a prize valued at $200. A video may only win one prize.
| Division: Best Overall Video (Four prizes to be won) | Topic: Outstanding Video (Five prizes to be won) |
|---|---|
| Division I (Gr. K-3) | Distracted Driving |
| Division II (Gr. 4-6) | Speed |
| Junior High (Gr. 7-9) | Bike Safety |
| High School (Gr. 10-12) | Back to School |
| Pedestrian Safety |
Eligibility
The contest is open to residents of Calgary who are students in Kindergarten to Grade 12. Participants may enter as individuals or as a group. Consent forms are required for ALL group members, even if they are not shown in the video. Consent forms are required for all people shown in the video. All contest entrants are expected to have read the full Contest Terms and Conditions.
Technical Requirements
The following requirements must be met for videos to be eligible for contest submission:
| Criteria | Weight % | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Technical requirements | Pass/Fail | The video does not exceed 30 seconds in length, identifies one safety topic, & abides by all entry rules. |
| Topic knowledge & content clarity | 30 | The video identifies and describes a travel safety issue, presents it in a way that is easy to understand and is accessible to viewers. |
| Critical thinking | 30 | The video demonstrates the student(s)’s understanding of the topic, why it is important, and how to address it. |
| Creativity & originality | 20 | The video is creative and engaging and shows evidence of student effort. |
| Production quality | 20 | The video’s overall quality of production, including editing, visuals and sound elements. |
Helpful Tips
- Get creative! Videos can be funny, serious, live action, animated, stop motion or a mix of styles.
- Not everyone in your group is required to be “on screen” – there are many roles that go into creating a video including script writing, directing, videography, etc.
- Each Travel Topic has several different sub-topics you can explore. For example, Back to School Traffic Safety could explore congestion issues, encouraging parents/drivers to park safely, blocking crosswalks, speeding OR reminding people of the dangers of jaywalking. Be sure to pick just one safety concern to explore.
- Storyboarding your scenes and writing down dialogue can help keep your message on track. Note that 60-75 spoken words takes about 30 seconds of film.
- Make sure you slow down and speak clearly (if using audio) and try not to rush through messaging. Ask your friends to view and provide feedback.
- Focus on the most essential information. It is better to have a single, simple and clear message rather than try to cram too much into one video.
- Avoid using statistics, if possible.
- Plan it out: what are the images, sounds and locations you might want to use to create your video? Remember, you cannot use any copyrighted music, audio/video clips, characters, logos, or other protected materials. (If your clothing or accessories have a label on them, they must be covered, blurred out or removed.)
- You do not need fancy equipment to make a video – it can easily be done with a smart phone, tablet, or laptop; the Calgary Public Library offers public access to audio & video recording equipment and post-production studios.
- Ask your friends or family to view your video and provide feedback.
For inspiration, take a look at the 2024 contest winners
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Word on the Street
Grand prize winnerFinn Lee-Epp from St. Francis High School.
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Ride Smart * Stay Safe.
Runner-up #1Ayush Pant from Dr. EP Scarlett High School.
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What a nightmare!
Runner-up #2Ngoc Minh Pham & Linh Dan Pham from Varsity Acres School and Sir Winston Churchill High School.
