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EmPower Silicon Valley Short-Video Competition

Our climate is changing, but a clean energy future is on the horizon. By working together, we can help ensure that our future is a clean and climate-friendly one. We gathered student stories to energize positive change.

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The 2024 EmPower Silicon Valley Short-Video Competition

Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE) is proud to announce our fourth annual EmPowerSV Short Video competition! Local middle and high school students can participate in creating their clean energy-themed video shorts and win up to $3,000.

SVCE invites students to share their stories and solutions to climate change for scholarship awards. Students will have two months to create and submit a film that creatively showcases clean energy appliances.

Launch Event

The EmPowerSV Kickoff Webinar was held March 12, 2024

Passcode: vc5=gZr^

See below for more information and last year’s winning films.

What should my video be about?

This year, our competition has three prompts for competitors to respond to:

Induction Cooktops for President

Create a campaign video to elect induction cooktops as the superior way to cook

It’s election season for sustainable electric appliances. As the manager of Induction Cooktops’ campaign for presidency, it’s your responsibility to make a compelling argument about why induction cooking is better for the position than traditional gas stovetops.

For this prompt, you must research the benefits of induction cooking, the drawbacks of gas stoves, and prepare a rebuttal for what you anticipate gas supporters might see as a downside to induction cooktops. Be creative, original, and have fun! Never heard of induction cooking? Learn more here.

Pump Up the Jams!

Remix a song into a hit about heat pump water heaters

Want to be the next Heat Pump Pop Star? SVCE is looking for an electric song parody all about heat pump water heater technology and what it can do for you and me!

For this prompt, you need to choose a song, write original lyrics featuring the efficient heat pump water heater, and record. Songs can be about the benefits of heat pump technology, their efficiency, functionality, and more. Never heard of heat pump water heaters? Learn more here.

Got Charge?

Create an iconic commercial showcasing EV chargers

It’s your chance to create the iconic commercial advertisement of the generation! You only have 60 seconds to wow the audience with electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment.

For this prompt, you must focus on the selling points of EV chargers, emphasizing their convenience and aiming to capture the audience with catchy language and emotional appeals while demonstrating the accessibility of EV charging in your community. The commercial advertisement should engage viewers and inspire action among EV drivers. Don’t know the first thing about EV charging? Learn more here.

How to Participate in EmPower Silicon Valley

  1. Learn
    • Read the EmPower Silicon Valley prompt
    • Review the competition rules
    • Attend/watch the Empower Silicon Valley kick-off webinar on Tuesday, March 12 at 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. PST. Click this link to join the meeting or input the Zoom meeting ID: 811 3575 6794

     

  2. Sign Up
    • Register for the competition here. If participating in EmpowerSV as a team, your team will register together under your team name. All team members must submit a EmPower Silicon Valley Waiver Form on their registration. If you are under 18 years old, an adult must also sign the waiver.

     

  3. Create

     

  4. Submit
    • Once you complete your registration form, instructions on how to submit your short-video will be sent to you
    • The deadline to submit is May 3, 2024

Rules and Guidelines

Competition Rules
  • May compete as an individual or in a team of up to four participants
  • Each individual or team of participants must complete the registration form
  • For teams of participants, each team member must upload an application form to their registration
  • Videos must be submitted by the deadline to qualify. Teams may request an extension from SVCE for late submissions. All late submissions will receive a penalty commensurate to the number of days extended.
Eligibility
  • Must be currently enrolled in a middle/junior high or high school
  • Must live in a household/residence that receives electric service from SVCE and/or attend a school in Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Saratoga, Sunnyvale, or unincorporated Santa Clara County communities
Short-Video Guidelines
    • Must be no longer than sixty (60) in duration.
    • Is in a digital format (live-action or animated)
    • Does not include copyrighted images, video, or music
    • PowerPoint presentations will not be accepted
    • Must respond to one (1) of the three (3) prompts

Ready to Share Your Short-Video?

EmPower Silicon Valley will accept submissions until May 3, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Follow the steps below to enter the competition.

Prepare Release Waivers
  1. If your short-video includes the audio and video of people who are not on your team, these individuals must sign the EmPower Silicon Valley Waiver Form
  2. Have the waiver ready to upload when you submit your short-video
Upload Your Short-Video
  1. Upload your short-video to a video hosting platform
  2. This year, we will accept short videos uploaded to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube
    • Your video submission must comply with the Terms of Service of the platform you are using
Retrieve the Link to Your Short-Video
  1. Save a link to share your short-video
  2. Send the link to a family member or friend to check that it works
Complete the Submission Form
  1. Send the link to your short-video using the submission form
    • You will receive the submission form after registering for the competition
  2. Complete one form per team

Scholarship Awards

A panel of judges will award scholarship funds across five award categories. Award amounts will be divided equally between team members.

Presidential Induction Award ($3,000)

Best campaign video depicting a clear, concise and original argument for induction cooktops as a leader in electric innovative cooking technology.

Heat Pump Hit Award ($3,000)

Best music video showcasing heat pump water heater technology with catchy and original lyrics.

Iconic Commercial Award ($3,000)

Best commercial video advertising the functionality of EV chargers, compelling the audience with a memorable and persuasive message.

Nobel Technology Award ($3,000)

Short video from any prompt that best explains the chosen electric technology and accurately describes their benefits and features.

Creative Presentation Awards (Four at $2,000):

Short videos from any prompt that demonstrate strong visions of a clean energy future and/or creative communications. We will give creative presentation awards to each of these categories:

    • Foreign language short
    • Animated short
    • Comedy short
    • Narrative/storytelling

Get Inspired

Check out these resources to learn about electric appliances, video styles and more!

Inspiration

recording

Clean Energy and Community Solution Awards

Energy Impact Award

The Energetic Spirits
of Wit

Ava Hwang,
Sam H. Lawson Middle School

Community Enthusiasm Award

One Community, One Future

April Beyersdorf and Valerie Wong,
St. Francis High School

Energy Innovation Award

Powering the Future: Go Electric

Calvin Cha,
Prospect High School

Creative Presentation Awards

Best Music
Video

The Clean Energy Song

Allison Cheng,
Mountain View High School

Best Narrative or Storytelling

Stronger Together

Kelly Tung,
Monta Vista High School

Best Social Media
Short

Go Electric

Jessica Arganoza,
homeschool

Best Documentary Short

Our Skies

Reena Boddukuri,
Prospect High School

Best
Skit

Electrification 101

Aaditya Karnataki,
Cupertino High School

SVCE Scholarship Opportunities

If you are interested in future SVCE scholarship opportunities or youth education initiatives, please sign up on our interest form to stay updated.