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Sarah Wilson - videoing the teen safety message.
The face behind the safety clip
REACHING the 16-to-twenty-somethings with a road safety message has never been easy but the US seems to be having some success with a competition designed to encourage young people to produce their own. The rules are very specific. Entrants have to be between 16 and 21, full-time students, and have the ability to put together short video clips.
Prizes include three $US5000 cheques towards college fees and a set of new car tyres from the competition's sponsor, Bridgestone. But there is another important spin-off for the winners - especially if they happen to be planning a career in films.
Bridgestone is giving the video clips nationwide promotion as well as uploading them to YouTube. Last year's winner, Sarah Wilson (pictured above) produced an intriguing 64-second video called "The Letter". The video is shot in black and white and follows the travels of a "magical" sheet of paper that carries an ever-changing safety message from a young woman to her friends.
Sarah, a mass communications student at the University of South Florida, is no stranger to film making. She had already won three awards before collecting first prize from Bridgestone.
According to the company the competition website has already received 1.3 million hits and the YouTube clips have received 24,000 viewings. The 2008 competition has just been launched.
