Our buddy Brett, video maker extraordinaire, winner of several assignments here at XLNTads, a devout Mainer posted a fantastic list of tips for people who want to make videos for contests.
1) Thou shalt be brief. This is one for Advertisers to bear in mind as well as Creators, and to me, it’s the most important. With the internet cultivating such short attention spans in its users, you gotta make your point, then wrap it up, especially when you’re making an ad. 60 seconds is plenty. 30 is better.
2) Thou shalt play by the rules. This one’s simple. Read the creative brief, contest rules, instructions, etc., and follow ‘em to the letter. If they ask for an .mpg, don’t send an .avi. If they say “no more than 3 minutes,” don’t submit a video that’s 3:45. Don’t give contest administrators any reason to disqualify your entry before it even gets viewed.
3) Honor thy target demo. Is the advertiser trying to reach women 35-54? Men 40+? Pet owners? Gamers? Make your video a mirror of that target viewer, so when they watch, they see themselves.
4) Remember thy deadline, and keep it holy. Don’t be late with your submission, and don’t ask for an extension. It’s not fair to the people who were on time.
5) Thou shalt not be a poor sport. Be humble when you win, and gracious when you don’t. Congratulate the winner(s) sincerely and affably, or don’t say anything. You may not agree with the judges’ decisions, but they were made for a reason. Besides, if you hit the target every time, it’s either too close or too big, right? Get ‘em next time.
6) Thou shalt get involved in the community. As creators, we all strive to be original and unique, but we do have at least one thing in common: each other. Interact. Read and subscribe to related blogs. Comment and ask questions of other creators. Learn as much as you can, and offer help to those who ask it of you. We’re at the forefront of this burgeoning advertising medium, and in a few years’ time, we’re going to be the seasoned experts, so we’re gonna have to know what the hell we’re talkin’ about.
And finally,
7) Thou shalt not enter a contest in which I am also competing. Because face it: I don’t need the competition, and neither do you.
Obviously, I’m kidding about the last one. I actually welcome the competition, and quite enjoy it. There are a TON of outstanding video creators online, and when I see a good video, it always makes me want to step up my game a little more.
The couple I would add to this list are:
8.) Thou shalt use the highest possible video production standards. I know not everyone can shoot in HD or has a pro audio guy hangin’ around, but boy some of those techy things makes video go from fun to Pro in 0.83 seconds. But you don’t have to be rich. Just holding the camera well, framing up your shots and using lights wisely will vastly improve your video.
9.) Thou shalt be creative. No one wants to watch the same ol’ tired ideas. We get so excited when we see that someone really put some time and energy into planning out their video. Really making it something witty and smart and tight. You’ll stand out. Especially when Liza and I have to go through and review 200+ videos in an assignment. 
Tags: video, contests, xlntads, brett slater, how to
July 15th, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Thanks for the props, Mark… Great additions to the list, too.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
The My Road Trip winner did not follow number 2. He won with a video at 5:17. The video’s were to be from 3-5 minutes long. An extra 17 seconds can do alot. You have people chopping up video’s trying to get them under, and then you have someone win over?
2) Thou shalt play by the rules. This one’s simple. Read the creative brief, contest rules, instructions, etc., and follow ‘em to the letter. If they ask for an .mpg, don’t send an .avi. If they say “no more than 3 minutes,” don’t submit a video that’s 3:45. Don’t give contest administrators any reason to disqualify your entry before it even gets viewed
July 15th, 2008 at 4:50 pm
@Josh T - he actually has a version that is under 5:00 that we have but we have upload/compression problems over that weekend so we haven’t yet put it up on the site.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Oh man…. nice work Brett! Muchos Kudos.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
You should also add that if the video is the one you liked the least and put the least amount of time into it will probably win. If it’s the one you put the most time into it will probably loose.