Commercial Contest Official Rules
Be sure to carefully read all of the official rules and requirements before you begin making your commercial because you will be required to agree to and follow all of the official rules and requirements.
No purchase or payment of any kind is necessary to enter or win this contest: A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL, AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
The Objective: With the release of a thrilling new book called Star People: Mystery of the Hologram, we are asking you, our readers, to create a video commercial to share information about the book. The winning commercial will be aired on TV in your area and the winners will receive a $500 prize.
There are two scripts that we provide on this website. You can use one of our scripts or you can be creative and write your own script. Extra consideration is given for creativity.Eligibility: The contest is open to legal residents, between the ages of 13-18, of 49 United States and the District of Columbia, with the exclusion of the state of Arizona, as specified in clause 3a and 3b.
3A) The Educational Category is open to all middle and high schools in the United States with the exclusion of the state of Arizona. Teachers may guide or advise, but the entry must be a product that is created by the students of the institution. Teacher or administrator signatures will be required on the entry form upon beginning the commercial project and upon completion and submission. There will be one (1) $500 (five hundred dollar) cash prize in the form of a check for the winning entry, and it will be payable to the educational institution with the understanding that the funds are to be for the benefit of the video and/or arts department which created the commercial entry. Individual students participating in the Educational Category are not eligible for any additional or individual compensation.
3B) The Individual Category can be comprised of individuals or groups of friends with the oversight of a parent or guardian. Parent or guardian signatures will be required on the entry form upon beginning the commercial project and upon completion and submission. In the event that a group of individuals are involved in the making of an entry, a single payment, in the form of one (1) $500 (five hundred dollar) check, will be made to the project lead and that individual will be responsible for the distribution of funds to other contributors to the project. The sponsors of this project bear no responsibility for distribution of funds from the project lead to other contributors to the project.Sponsors: The contest is sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Hyp. Center, LLC, 7112 W. Jefferson Ave., Suite 105, Lakewood, Colorado, 80235, U.S.A. The author is defined, for purposes of this document, as the writer of and copyright owner of Star People: Mystery of the Hologram.
Agreement to Official Rules: Participation in the contest constitutes the entrants’ full and unconditional agreement to and acceptance of these Official Rules and the decisions of the sponsor which are final and binding. Winning a prize is contingent upon being compliant with these Official Rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein.
Contest Period: The contest begins on September 1, 2024, at 12:01 a.m. (Mountain Time) and ends on October 31st, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. (Mountain Time). (The contest period.) Entries that are submitted before or after the Contest Period will be disqualified. The Sponsors of this contest will not verify receipt of entries. Entries will not be returned. Limit one entry per person. One winner per household. Incomplete entries are void. Sponsors are not responsible for entries that are lost, late, misdirected, incomplete, incomprehensible, illegible, damaged, undeliverable or delayed. Electronic and email entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the authorized account holder of the email address at the time of the entry. The authorized account holder is the person to whom the applicable internet service provider or other organization (such as a business or educational institution) has assigned the email address.
Judging: Judges of the competition will include the author, the marketing managers for the Star People Trilogy, and the assistant manager of editing and marketing. The judging criteria will include overall creativity, the tone or mood of the commercial, the images selected, the use of color and light, capturing the essence of the narrative, shot composition, editing and pace, sound quality, compelling narration, the inclusion of an image of the book cover, the inclusion of the www.starpeopletrilogy.com URL, and the overall appeal of the commercial. In order to ensure fairness, judging will be based on the merit of the commercial itself and judges will not be given personal identifying information about the entrants during the judging process. In the event of a tie, the author of Star People: Mystery of the Hologram, will make the final decision as to selecting the entry that he determines to be the first-place winner.
How to enter: To enter the contest, the entrant(s) must post their entry on YouTube and send a signed copy of the two-page entry form (as a .jpeg document) via email to contest@starpeopletrilogy.com. Be sure to include your name, email address, physical mailing address and appropriate signatures (on the entry form) when you notify us of your submission.
Entries must be posted on YouTube under the Star People Trilogy Commercial Contest category during the contest period.
In addition to posting your commercial on YouTube, the signed entry forms must be emailed to the contest organizers on or before October 31st, 2024.
Limit one (1) entry per person or team, as tracked by email addresses. Additional entries in excess of the stated limitation will be void.Prizes: In addition to the cash prizes stated in clause 3a and 3b, winning commercials will be aired on a local television station in the general area where the winners reside. The date and time of that airing will be shared with the winners and announced on this website once the necessary arrangements have been made. Sponsors reserve the right to substitute any prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the advertised prize is not available.
Winner Notification: Each potential winner along with their parent or guardian (or teacher in the educational category) will be notified by phone and/or email on or before December 1st, 2024. Winning entrants must respond to the contest organizers before December 10th, 2024, to receive their prize. If the potential winner cannot be contacted and/or fails to respond by December 10th, 2024, they will forfeit the prize, and it will be transferred to the entry considered to be the next runner-up. Due to complexities in scheduling and airing commercials on broadcast television, there can be no exceptions to this rule. Please make sure we have your correct email, and you check that email during that time frame. The Sponsor is not responsible for incomplete, incomprehensible, illegible, or out-of-service contact information.
Organizers must receive a copy of the winning commercials, in either the MP4 or MOV format, before prize money is distributed. If a winner, for any reason, is unable or unwilling to promptly send a copy of their commercial in the proper format, they will forfeit their prize, and it will be transferred to the entry considered to be the next runner-up. If the quality of the submitted commercial does not meet Broadcast standards, the winner(s) will be required to make the appropriate corrections or else the commercial cannot be aired on Broadcast TV.
Potential winners must continue to comply with all terms and conditions of these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements. In the event that a potential winner is disqualified for any reason, Sponsor will award the applicable prize to the entry considered to be the next runner-up
Winners must execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release. If winners are unable or unwilling to do so, Sponsors have the right to award the applicable prize to the next runner-up from among the remaining eligible entries.
Prizes will be awarded in the form of cashier’s checks and mailed on or before December 31st, 2024.
Names of the winners will be posted on this website (www.starpeopletrilogy.com) by December 31st, 2024. By entering this competition, winners agree that their names and commercials can be posted on said website.Adult Supervision Requirements: Two signatures by a parent/guardian or teacher are required. The first signature, before the project begins, attests that the project will be in compliance with all rules and regulations. It also guarantees that there will be adult supervision during the entirety of the undertaking of the commercial-making project and the adult signee assumes all responsibility for the safety and well-being of the participants. The second signature, upon completion of the project, attests that the commercial was made in compliance with all of the rules and regulations.
The Sponsors cannot be held responsible for any damages to persons or property as the rules on the signature page clearly state that all commercial creation activities are undertaken while under the umbrella of adult supervision.No Professional Assistance Allowed: To maintain fairness, this contest is only open to amateur filmmakers and video creators. No part of the production can be recorded, produced, mastered, enhanced with professional special effects or utilize any professional equipment or assistance from professionals in the film or video production fields. In other words, contest entries must be constructed on home and/or school computers and may not be done by professionals or with assistance of professional special effect computers or companies.
Commercial Requirements: Entries must be submitted using the MP4 or MOV formats. If you need to convert your video, there are format converters such as Online Convert on the Internet. The aspect ratio should be 16:9 and your video should be 1080p without watermarks or advertisements.
The length of the commercial must be between 44-46 seconds, with the ideal length being 45 seconds. It is best to use a quick fade up from black at the beginning of your commercial and a quick fade to black at the end. Entries that are shorter or longer than that duration can be posted to YouTube but may not be eligible to win the grand prize because we may not be able to air those entries on broadcast TV.
The cover of the book is posted on this website. The cover image and the www.starpeopletrilogy.com URL must be included in your commercial.
There are two scripts that we provide on our website. You can use one of our scripts or you can be creative and write your own script. Extra consideration is given for creativity.
Limit one (1) entry per person, per email address, and per household and per school for the duration of the contest period. Entries received from any person, email address or household in excess of the stated limitation will be void. All physical entries become the property of the sponsor and will not be returned.The use of Computer imagery and Artificial Intelligence: The use of Computer imagery and Artificial Intelligence are allowed to be used in creating your commercial; however, all material contained in your commercial must be of your own creation and you must be allowed to use said material. Many software programs have “royalty free” images, music, and narration which they allow the subscriber to use as long as the subscriber is in compliance with the software provider’s rules. Royalty-free is a term that generally means you can use their software to create material and not have to pay additional fees to the original author or A. I company. The use of “royalty free” material is acceptable as long as the entrant has permission to use such materials to make their commercial and they have permission to air that commercial on broadcast television. It is the responsibility of the entrants to ensure that they have the legal right and permission to use any and all material that goes into the making of their commercial.
Copyrighted material is not allowed. Entrants may not incorporate any third-party materials, copyrights, trademarks, or likenesses in their commercial: This includes video material, graphic material, music, audio, photos and special effects. If you have permission to use something that is “royalty free,” then that is acceptable in your submission, but if a visual, musical or auditory excerpt comes from another copyrighted source, it cannot be used in your entry and will be cause for disqualification. This includes things such as images of spaceships from popular TV shows and/or movies or even a few notes from your favorite song. Any entries that have material that is copyrighted by someone else cannot be used and will be considered ineligible for prizes.
Use of copyrighted or protected material can open the unlicensed borrower to legal action by the owner of said copyright. By requesting signatures of entrants, parents, teachers and guardians, Sponsors of this contest are making every effort to ensure that copyright laws have not been violated and copywritten material will not been used. Makers/creators of commercials, per these rules and guidelines, have been clearly informed that they may not in any way use copywritten material without permission. The sponsors, the author and his agents assume no responsibility if an entrant should plagiarize or violate copyright law in any part of their commercial. Instead, the entrant, parent, guardian and/or teacher will be 100% responsible for all legal costs and consequences for their actions. Entrant shall indemnify and hold harmless Sponsors for all damages, fees, and costs associated with any claims or legal action made against Sponsors in connection with copyright infringement, trademark infringement, invasion of privacy, or violation of publicity rights related to any artwork submitted as part of the Contest.
Entrants who violate these copyright policies will be held liable to reimburse the Sponsors, the author and all parties connected with this contest for all fines, legal fees and expenses if a lawsuit is brought as a result of any misconduct, including copyright infringement, by a third party.Permission to Broadcast: The signature(s) of entrants, project leads, teachers, parents and/or guardians on the release form will be considered the act of legally granting the Sponsors of this contests, and their agents, the right to use your commercial on the Star People Trilogy website and to broadcast your commercial on broadcast television for a period of two (2) years. The creators of each entry retain ownership of said commercial, but they are granting the sponsors, the author, and his agents, permission to air or broadcast or use your commercial production without any compensation for a period of two years from the date the entry form was received.
No Entrants Allowed with Personal Relationships to The Sponsors: No one may enter this contest who has a relationship with the sponsor, the author, book publisher, marketing or publicity personnel involved in this project.
Personal Information: Contest entrants agree to receive emails regarding this contest and the Star People Trilogy. No personal information will be shared or distributed, and emails will not be shared or sold. Please notify us with your entry email if you would prefer to opt out and not receive any email information about the contest or book. See our Privacy Practices at www.starpeopletrilogy.com for details.
No Association with Social Media Outlets: While this promotion includes posting on YouTube and/or other social media outlets, this contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with YouTube or any other media outlets. Winning commercials will be aired on broadcast media, but those media companies are in no way sponsoring, endorsing, administering or associated with this competition.
Additionally, no social media outlets are liable for any legal actions connected to this contest.
Sponsors of this contest bear no responsibility or liability if YouTube flags, removes, alters or takes any action in regard to an entrant’s video entry.General Conditions: In the event that the operation, security, or administration of the Contest is impaired in any way for any reason, including, but not limited to fraud, virus, unauthorized human intervention or other technical problem, or in the event the Contest is unable to run as planned for any other reason, as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion, the Sponsor may, in its sole discretion, either (a) suspend the Contest to address the impairment and then resume the Contest in a manner that best conforms to the spirit of these Official Rules or (b) terminate the Contest and, in the event of a termination, award the prize at random from among eligible, non-suspect entries received up to the time of the impairment. The Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any individual it finds to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Contest or to be acting in violation of these Official Rules or in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner. Any attempt by any person to damage the website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and should such an attempt be made, the Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages (including attorney’s fees) and any other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Failure by the Sponsor to enforce any provision of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision.
Non-suspect entries are those entries found to be one hundred percent free of fraud, virus, unauthorized human intervention, technical problems, or any other issues that in any way cause the Contest to be unable to run as planned for any other reason.Release and Limitations of Liability: By participating in the Contest, entrants agree to release, discharge, hold harmless and indemnify the Sponsor, their employees, agents and representatives, officers and directors and their immediate families, successors and assigns, subsidiaries, shareholders, affiliates, advertising and promotional agencies, other companies associated with the Contest and all others associated with the development and execution of this Contest, (the Released Parties), from and against any claim or cause of action arising out of participation in the Contest, participating in any Contest-related or prize-related activity or receipt or use of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto), from any and all tax liability that may be imposed or associated with receipt or use of the prizes, and from and against any and all claims, actions, proceedings, and liability for any damages, expenses, fees, injury or losses (INCLUDING PERSONAL INJURY OR DEATH) including, but not limited to: (a) any technical errors associated with the Contest, including lost, interrupted or unavailable Internet Service Provider (ISP), network, server, wireless service provider, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone, cellular tower or cable transmission, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambles, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (b) unauthorized human intervention in the Contest; (c) mechanical, network, electronic, computer, human, printing or typographical errors; (d) lost, late, incomplete, garbled, illegible, undelivered, stolen, damaged, delayed, postage-due or misdirected mail, entries, any other errors or problems in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors that may occur in the administration of the Contest, the announcement of the winner, the cancellation or postponement of the event and/or, if applicable, or any Contest-related materials; or injury, death, losses or damages of any kind, to persons or property which may be caused, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, from entrants participation in the Contest or acceptance, receipt or misuse of the prize (including any travel or activity related thereto). Entrant further agrees that in any cause of action, the Released Parties liability will be limited to the cost of entering and participating in the Contest, and in no event shall the entrant be entitled to receive attorney’s fees. Released parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Entrant waves the right to claim any damages whatsoever, including, but not limited to, punitive, consequential, direct, or indirect damages.
Terms and Conditions; Limitation of Liability: Participants are responsible for complying with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and with these Contest Rules, and by entering, participants agree to be bound to these Contest Rules. Any security breach or other attempt by an entrant or other party to tamper with the proper administration of the Contest will disqualify the entrant and may result in civil or criminal action against the entrant or other party and may result in the discontinuation, suspension, or cancellation of the Contest. By entering the Contest or by winning, participants grant to the Sponsor the right to publicize the participant’s name, likeness, voice, statements, and biographical information for advertising, trade, and promotion purposes without compensation and without opportunity for review, except where prohibited by law. Winners must execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release. A parent or legal guardian of winners under the age of 18 will also be required to execute an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release on behalf of the minor child. Winners under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to participate in all Contest-related activities, including claiming the prize. The Sponsors retain the discretion to make all decisions regarding the interpretation and application of these rules. All decisions of the Sponsors are final and discretionary. In the event the selected winner(s) of the prize are/is ineligible or refuse(s) the prize or in the event the prize is forfeited for any other reason, they will forfeit the prize and it will be transferred to the entry considered to be the next runner-up. Prizes may be considered income, and any and all taxes associated with prizes are the responsibility of winner.
Disputes: Except where prohibited, each entrant agrees that any and all disputes, claims and causes of action arising out of, or connected with, the Contest or any prize awarded shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, and exclusively by the appropriate court located in Jefferson County, Colorado. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, entrant’s rights and obligations, or the rights and obligations of the Sponsor in connection with the contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of Colorado, without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules, which would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than Colorado. The Sponsors of this contest reserve the right to change, alter, or amend these Contest rules as necessary, in their sole discretion, to ensure the fair administration of the Contest or to comply with applicable law.
In Cases of Unforeseen Circumstances: In the event of any unforeseen circumstances such as a natural disaster, act of God, war, terrorism, government regulation, disaster, fire, strikes, civil disorder, or other similar causes beyond the control of the Sponsors that might create the inability and/or impracticality of airing the winning commercials, the contest Sponsors retain the right to discontinue or delay the Contest and only air the commercials on local television if it is reasonable to do so. In such cases, if possible, the contest organizers will, instead, make a good faith effort to air said winning commercials on an Internet media site.
Official Rules and List of Winners: To receive a copy of these official Contest Rules or a list of the winners, go to www.starpeopletrilogy.com. Entrants may also request this information by mailing a request to the address given in clause number four.
Sponsors Right To Cancel: Sponsors maintain the right to cancel, suspend, or modify this promotion if, in the unlikely event, that any problem prevents the promotion from running as planned.