Student film competition 2022
Entries for 2022 are now open!
At MobileMuster we have been helping Australians recycle their mobile phones since 1998, tackling the ever-growing problem of electronic waste. Educating the next generation of environmentally conscious consumers is one of MobileMuster’s core objectives, and in 2019 we launched our national film competition for students to learn about the lifecycle of mobile phones and use creativity to encourage and motivate their local community to recycle more.
Students of all ages are invited to get creative and make a short film based on this year’s theme The Science of Recycling. Films should be no more than one minute in length. Apart from bragging rights, there are great prizes up for grabs.
Finalists’ will be announced on the week commencing October 31. Winners will be announced during Planet Ark’s National Recycling Week, 7 to 11 November 2022.
There are 5 categories with a winner from each category:
Lower Primary (Years 1-4)
Upper Primary (Years 5-6)
Lower Secondary (Years 7-9)
Upper Secondary (Years 10-12)
Tertiary (university, TAFE or College students)
In each category the winner will be awarded a JB Hi-Fi voucher valued at $3,000 and up to three finalists who will receive a $1,000 JB Hi Fi voucher.
If you have any questions about the competition, please contact us.
Guidelines
- You can enter the competition either as an individual, in groups or as a class. Home schooled children are eligible to enter. You need to specify if you are entering in the primary, secondary or tertiary category.
- The competition is open to Australian students engaged in primary, secondary or tertiary education in 2022.
- Films should be no more than one minute. This duration limit includes credits (if you want them).
- In terms of video format, high resolution MP4 is preferred. The film will need to be uploaded to a sharing platform (such as Google Drive or Dropbox) as part of the entry process.
- Ensure that all content in your film is your own. If you include any copyrighted or trademarked content, you must be able to provide written permission for its use. Entries containing any unauthorised content will be disqualified. For more information read the Terms and Conditions.
- If an entry is created by more than one person, it should be entered into the appropriate category for the oldest member of the group.
- The major proportion of the work must be done by the students and the film submission must demonstrate this.
- All subjects appearing in the film need to have consented in writing to their appearance in the film. You can download and use our template consent form.
- All entries are due by midday AEST, Friday 30 September 2022. You must submit your entry online and receive confirmation. We will check entries as they come in and contact you if there are any issues.
Judging criteria
We have updated the judging criteria for 2022! The criteria looks at:
- Relevance to the theme. How well does the film incorporate the theme the Science of Recycling.
- Creativity. How well does the film draw in the viewer and keep their attention?
- Technical Skills. What is the overall quality of production?
- Story Telling. How engaging is the story and does it provide dramatic appeal and closure?
- Environmental understanding. Does the film explain the environmental impact of mobile technology and the benefits of recycling?
You can download a copy of the assessment matrix so you can create your film to meet the criteria. MobileMuster will review the submission and a panel of film, environmental and education experts will select the finalist and winners.
Education resources
We have partnered with Cool Australia to create six lessons for Years 3-8 designed to support teachers and students to produce quality films for the competition. The lessons can be accessed by teachers, parents and students learning from home or school. Through these lessons students are given opportunities to apply their learning in real world situations, in the classroom, school, home or the local community.
We recommend the following sequence of lessons, depending on the year levels you are working with. You might also like to get technical with the Film-making Toolkit. Topics included in this toolkit cover copyright, storytelling, lighting, sound, film techniques and stop-motion animation.
Primary
This lesson students will help students gain information for their films by exploring the importance of recycling mobile phones and the environmental impact of manufacturing mobile phones. Students will examine reasons why people do not always recycle their old mobile phones.
Learn more WebsiteThis lesson contains brainstorming and planning processes to support students in developing ideas for the MobileMuster Film Competition. Students will be guided through creative processes and work with a group to refine and build out their ideas.
Learn more WebsiteThis lesson introduces students to the benefits of mobile phone recycling. Students will explore the reasons why people don’t choose to recycle their phones and will learn about behaviour change theory. They will develop ideas to encourage greater uptake of mobile phone recycling.
Learn more WebsiteSecondary
This lesson introduces students to the benefits of mobile phone recycling. Students will explore the principles of sustainable design and life-cycle assessments.
Learn more WebsiteThis lesson introduces students to some of the key barriers to mobile phone recycling. Through exploring the role of emotion in changing behaviour and applying Design Thinking processes, students will develop a film concept.
Learn more WebsiteProvides an overview of the skills and knowledge required to make great films. Topics include copyright, storytelling, lighting, sound, film techniques and stop-motion animation.
Learn more WebsiteOther resources
Expert tips
To help students with their competition entries watch the experts from Vidico share their tips on how to create a great narrative and technical elements for your film. We hope these short how to guides will help you create an impressive short film.
We have also put together a Film Making Toolkit with Cool Australia. The toolkit will help you learn about the ethics and laws of creating films. Understand the principles of effective storytelling. Learn how to use effective lighting, camera angles and how audio is used in film. Learn the function of different microphones and understand how to apply different film techniques.
Previous winners
The MobileMuster students film competition first launched in 2019, inviting students to create a one minute film. Every year sees a different theme where students showed their creative skills to encourage people to recycle their old mobile phones and accessories.
You can view previous winners’ films below:
Winners 2021
Scarlett Tander
Wandin North Primary School , VIC
Emerald Bloomflied
Springbrook State Primary School, QLD
William Wheatley
Home schooling, QLD
Winners 2020
Khristian and Kael Bacchelli-Khoo
Applecross Primary School, WA
Anikan Khandhar
St Aloysius’ College, NSW
Jasmin Scuteri-Young
Flinders University, SA
Winners 2019
Class 6P
Hurstville Public School, NSW
Isaac Busuttil
Bacchus Marsh Grammar, VIC
Ashley Clavecillas
Lidcombe Public School, NSW
Click here to find out more about the winners from 2019.