Gone to Texas Video Contest

Now that you're going to The University of Texas at Austin, "The Eyes of Texas Are Upon You." At this year's Gone to Texas, we'll be showcasing videos produced by incoming students. You are invited to create a video and enter it in the first GTT video contest.

Prizes

The top five videos will be displayed at the event and win the following prizes provided by the University Co-op, sponsor of Gone to Texas:

First Prize - Flip Ultra HD video camera
Second Prize - Flip Ultra video camera
Third Prize - University Co-op gift certificate ($150)
Fourth Prize - University Co-op gift certificate ($100)
Fifth Prize - University Co-op gift certificate ($50)

Judges

A distinguished panel of students, faculty and alumni will select the top-five submissions based on their creativity, uniqueness, entertainment value and message.

How to Enter

Create a video using the following script:
"My name is ______ and I'm from ________. Now that the eyes of Texas are upon me, here's what I want them to see: _________."

Also, make sure your videos are:
*No more than 30 seconds in length
*No more than 100MB in size
*At least 320x240 in resolution
*Saved in .wmv, .mov, .h.264, or .wav format

All videos must be submitted on or before August 11, 2009.

Panel of Judges

	Alumna Betty Nguyen is an award-winning reporter and news anchor for CNN, where she can be seen anchoring the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom. She has covered major international and national events, from the Iraqi elections to Hurricane Katrina. Before joining CNN, Nguyen worked as a reporter and anchor for KTVT in Dallas, and for KWTX in Waco, Texas, where she won an Associated Press Award for breaking news coverage. In 2003, she won a regional Emmy award, was named a Great Women of Texas Honoree and won the Legacy of Women Award. In 2007, the Smithsonian Institute recognized Nguyen as the first Vietnamese-American to anchor a national television news broadcast in the United States. Nguyen is also the co-founder of Help the Hungry, a nonprofit organization that aids poverty-stricken families. Her philanthropic work earned her a spot in the Philanthropy in Texas Hall of Fame. In 2008, she received the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award.
	Alumnus Charles Ramírez Berg is a Distinguished Teaching Professor at The University of Texas at Austin and a leading authority on Latino film history of the United States and Mexico. He is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers and recipient of many teaching awards, including the Chancellor's Council Outstanding Teaching Award and Friar Centennial Teaching Fellowship. A former National Endowment for the Humanities fellow, Ramírez Berg is also the author of many scholarly books and articles, including "Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance" and "Cinema of Solitude: A Critical Study of Mexican Film." He writes screenplays, has published fiction and poetry, and co-authored a children's book, "The Gift of the Poinsettia," with poet Pat Mora. He is also a charter member of the Board of Directors of the Austin Film Society, serving as its president from 2001 to 2003.
	Ellen Spiro is an associate professor of documentary film production and the co-director of the UT Documentary Center. She is a Guggenheim fellow and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who has created innovative and socially engaged documentaries for more than two decades. Her most recent film, "Body of War," won Best Documentary from the National Board of Review and an audience award at the Toronto Film Festival. It was also short-listed for an Oscar nomination and was broadcast on the Sundance Channel to wide critical acclaim. Her other films include "Diana's Hair Ego," "Greetings From Out Here," "Roam Sweet Home," "Atomic Ed and the Black Hole," "Are the Kids Alright?" and "Troop 1500." Spiro is also a two-time Rockefeller fellow, National Endowment for the Arts fellow and winner of The Foundation of American Women in Radio and Television's Gracie Award.
	Amber Walkowiak is a fourth-year public-relations major and the director of Texas Tower PR, a student-run public relations firm affiliated with the Public Relations Student Society of America, of which she is an active member. Walkowiak has also worked for the Dean of Students and the Student Emergency Fund, and she serves on the planning committees of several student-organization events. Much of her work as a student and organizational leader has involved the use of video and new-media technologies.
	David J. Neff is an award-winning alumnus in the areas of social media and nonprofit marketing. He is director of Web, film and interactive strategies for the Central Texas office of the American Cancer Society and executive director of Lights Camera Help, the first film festival dedicated to nonprofit organizations and their causes. For the American Cancer Society, Neff developed SharingHope.tv, the nonprofit world's first Web site devoted exclusively to user-generated content. He also co-founded Social Media for Social Good, a social-action network on the micro-blogging service Twitter. He recently won the American Marketing Association's Nonprofit Marketer of the Year awards in Special Marketing Initiatives and Social Media. Also in 2009, he was named one of the "Top 20 Social Media People" in Texas by the Austin American-Statesman. Neff earned his bachelor's degree in public relations from The University of Texas at Austin in 2000.
	Dorian Walker is a public relations student at The University of Texas at Austin. He has served as an officer for the university's chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. He is also the outgoing director of Texas Tower PR, a student-run public relations firm. Under his leadership, the organization teamed with Texas Exes to develop a successful public-relations campaign using student-generated videos. Dorian has also held a number of prestigious internships with leading public relations agencies, including Edelman Digital, where he helped identify opportunities in social media for brands such as Johnson and Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Dannon and the American Heart Association. Walker will graduate from The University of Texas at Austin in December 2009 with a bachelor's degree in public relations and certificate in business foundations.
	Distinguished Alumnus Roy Spence is co-founder and chairman of GSD&M Idea City, a leading marketing-communications and advertising company. He he is also co-founder of The Purpose Institute and co-author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book, It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business is Driven by Purpose. Under Roy’s leadership, GSD&M Idea City has helped grow some of the world’s most successful brands and used its talents to make a difference in communities around the country and the world. Roy has been named Ad Man of the Year and Idea Man of the Century and been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, Esquire, Fast Company Inc. and Fortune. A popular keynote speaker, he regularly addresses audiences throughout the business, government and nonprofit communities. Roy is also a member of the board of directors of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation.