Video contest: open calls, entry rules and judging
A video contest asks entrants to submit a short video on a set theme by a stated deadline, and entry runs through the organiser's own page. Named calls are open now: APTA Geriatrics closes its student contest on November 15, 2026; Lights, Camera, Save! runs to December 1, 2026; WIPO's prize for Indigenous Youth closes November 6, 2026; World of 8 Billion takes entries to March 3, 2027.
By BuyVotesForContest editorial desk ยท Updated
Calls open now and into 2027
The calendar for a video contest is set organiser by organiser, and the windows rarely overlap on purpose. APTA Geriatrics keeps its student call open until November 15, 2026, and collects entries as a link to the video rather than as an uploaded file. Lights, Camera, Save! opens its period at the start of October 2026 and closes it at the end of that December, a two-month span that suits a classroom project.
The later calls stretch into the new year. World of 8 Billion holds its deadline at 11:59 pm EST on March 3, 2027, with a hard 60-second ceiling on length. WIPO's Video Prize for Indigenous Youth closed its 2026 round on November 6 at 23:59 Geneva time, entered through its own online platform. Copy both clocks: the closing date and the time zone. A submission that lands after the stated instant is out regardless of quality.
- APTA Geriatrics: a student call closing November 15, 2026, entered by submitting a link to the video.
- Lights, Camera, Save!: a bank-run call open October 1 through December 1, 2026, for videos of 30 seconds or less in English.
- WIPO Video Prize for Indigenous Youth: entries close November 6, 2026 at 23:59 Geneva time, submitted through the organiser's online platform.
- World of 8 Billion: a student call with a 60-second cap, closing at 11:59 pm EST on March 3, 2027.
Where to find one near you
Finding a video contest near you is a two-step job: discover the call, then verify it at the source. Discovery happens on lists, association newsletters and school notices. Verification happens on the organiser's own page, where the deadline, the length cap, the submission channel and the judging method appear together. A list that omits any of those four items is a pointer, not a rulebook.
The same pattern holds for online entry. Every organiser named here collects entries through a stated channel, whether that is a form, a link field or a public platform upload. If a listing cannot name the operator, it cannot be entered safely.
- The organiser's own site, which carries the rules, the deadline and the entry form in one place.
- Aggregator lists of upcoming film and video calls, useful for discovery but never for the rules themselves.
- School, library and professional-association notices, which is where student calls such as the APTA Geriatrics and World of 8 Billion rounds circulate.
Regional calls and platform names
Short film competitions in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom follow the same shape as the calls above: a theme, a length cap, a channel and a deadline. City-level searches, Hyderabad among them, mostly surface regional festival rounds, and Kerala's Malayalam and Tamil-language calls circulate through local film societies. The wording of a poster changes; the mechanics behind it do not.
Platforms and games join the category from a different direction. ZEE5 has attached short film calls to its slate, game communities such as Dota 2 have used film and video briefs to promote titles, and webtoon publishers run animated formats. Music-themed briefs appear under the same roof. Where a platform runs the call, its own rules page governs entry, and the general rules of this category are only a starting point.
- Country and city labels: India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Hyderabad and Kerala's districts.
- Language labels, with Tamil-language calls surfacing under their own heading.
- Platform and game labels, where ZEE5, Dota 2 and webtoon publishers attach a film or video brief to a release.
Poster, promotion and the vote window
A video contest poster is the organiser's promotion, not the entry. It carries the theme, the closing date and the submission channel, and little else that binds an entrant. When a call includes a public vote, the poster and the social posts around it announce the voting window; they do not cast a vote. The rules page, not the artwork, states how a public vote is counted and whether it is counted at all.
Two checks follow from that. First, read the vote terms before sharing a poster, because some calls weigh public votes lightly and some do not open a vote at all. Second, note where promotion ends: an entry that lives only on a flyer or a shared image is not an entry, and the poster itself says so in small print if it says it anywhere.
- The poster states the theme, the closing date and the submission channel.
- Social posts announce a public vote but do not cast one.
- The rules page alone states how a public vote is counted.
Themes, ideas and what judges score
Judging follows a published scorecard far more often than entrants expect. USPTO publishes criteria that cover relevance, accuracy and persuasiveness, creativity and originality, and production quality, and it runs two rounds: a panel of employees selects three finalists in each category, then a final panel picks the winners from those finalists. That two-round structure is common. Ideas and examples from past winners help most when they are read against the scorecard rather than copied as inspiration.
The practical use of a criteria list is a cut order. Draft against the stated criteria first, and let the theme shape the story second. An entry that is beautiful and off-theme loses to a plain entry that answers the brief, and the scorecard is the only place the weighting is written down.
- Relevance to the theme and accuracy of the content.
- Creativity and originality of the treatment.
- Production quality, from sound to editing.
- Persuasiveness, where the brief asks the viewer to act.
Submitting: YouTube, Submittable and email
Submission channels divide into three kinds, and the rules name which one applies. Link-based calls, such as the APTA Geriatrics student round, ask for a URL of the video and nothing else. Platform-based calls require an upload: World Standards Cooperation required each entry to sit on a YouTube account set to public, and accepted the link through a social post or message carrying the round's hashtag. Form-based calls run through an entry system such as Submittable.
The edge cases matter. Where YouTube was blocked, World Standards Cooperation allowed a compressed MPEG file by email instead, which shows that organisers can name a fallback in writing. Absent such a line, submit through the stated channel only. A file sent to an address nobody published does not reach the judges, and a private video link fails the public-upload requirement outright.
- Link-based calls ask for a URL of the video and nothing else.
- Platform-based calls require a public upload on a named video site.
- Form-based calls run through an entry system such as Submittable.
Rights, length and originality
Length and originality are the two rules most often broken. Lights, Camera, Save! requires each video to be in English, no longer than 30 seconds, and the entrant's original work; World of 8 Billion caps length at 60 seconds. A montage of stills counts as a video where the rules permit one, and several briefs accept it, but the original-work clause still applies to every image and every piece of music in the cut.
Rights questions sit in the entry terms, and they differ call by call. Video contest scholarships are a related subject with their own page on this site, including the annual video contest scholarship for creative students. For the contests here, the deciding text is the rights clause of each organiser: read it before submitting, because retention, licensing and screening permissions are all written there and nowhere else.
- Length caps: 30 seconds for Lights, Camera, Save! and 60 seconds for World of 8 Billion.
- Language and original-work clauses apply to every image, clip and music track in the cut.
- Rights retention, licensing and screening permissions are written in the entry terms.
What an entry cannot promise
Nothing on an entry page guarantees a result. The result belongs to the judges, or to the judges and the public count together, and the organiser publishes which. Disqualification is a real mechanism, not a scare: a video over the length cap, a soundtrack the entrant does not own, a link that dies before judging or a submission outside the named channel can each end an entry on its own.
The scam checks are short. A call that cannot name who runs it, or that promises a win, fails the test. Consent paperwork belongs on this list too: where the entrant or anyone on camera is a minor, a parent or guardian signs, and the rules say so. Where a cited rule is silent on a point, the gap is real, and the organiser's answer in writing is the only fix.
- No entry method removes the risk of disqualification under the published rules.
- A call that collects payment outside the organiser's own channel fails the basic test.
- Where the entrant or anyone on camera is a minor, a parent or guardian signs.
| Contest | Organiser | Length rule | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student video contest | APTA Geriatrics | not published in these rules | November 15, 2026 |
| Student video brief | World of 8 Billion | 60 seconds maximum | March 3, 2027, 11:59 pm EST |
| Financial literacy video call | Lights, Camera, Save! | 30 seconds, English, original work | December 1, 2026 |
| Indigenous youth prize | WIPO | not published in these rules | November 6, 2026, 23:59 Geneva time |
Step by step
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Pick the call that fits
Match the theme, the eligibility line and the length cap to work you can actually finish before the deadline. A 60-second student brief is a different project from an open film call.
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Read the clock and the channel
Copy the closing date with its time zone, and note the exact submission channel: a form, a link field or a public upload. Both facts sit on the organiser's own page.
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Cut to the stated length
Trim to the cap with room to spare, clear the music rights, and keep every image and clip inside the original-work rule. Length overruns are the most common avoidable fault.
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Submit the way the rules require
Use the named channel only. If the rules ask for a public link, check that the video plays logged out; if they ask for a form upload, keep the confirmation.
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Track the result and the terms
Watch the published result date and the winners page, and keep the entry terms. If finalists or results are delayed, the organiser's own page is the place the update appears.
Questions
When is the Video Contest?
Each organiser sets its own window. APTA Geriatrics closes its student call on November 15, 2026. Lights, Camera, Save! runs from October 1 to December 1, 2026. WIPO's Video Prize for Indigenous Youth closes on November 6, 2026 at 23:59 Geneva time, and World of 8 Billion takes entries until 11:59 pm EST on March 3, 2027.
How is the contest judged?
A judging panel scores most of the named calls. USPTO judges entries on relevance, accuracy and persuasiveness, creativity and originality, and production quality; a panel of its employees selects three finalists per category, and a final panel names the winners from those finalists. Other contests add a public vote alongside the panel, and the rules state the split.
May I submit my video if it is on another website/YouTube channel?
Yes, and several organisers require it. APTA Geriatrics asks entrants to submit a link to the video rather than a file, and World Standards Cooperation required a public upload to a YouTube account. Hosting on a video platform is fine when the rules ask for a link; what matters is that the link stays live through judging.
Can I submit via email/outside of Submittable?
The organiser's stated channel decides, not the entrant's preference. World Standards Cooperation accepted a compressed MPEG file by email where YouTube was blocked, and APTA Geriatrics collects a video link through its own entry page. Read the submission section of the rules, because a submission outside the named channel can miss the window entirely.
Do I retain rights to my submitted video(s)?
No single rule covers every organiser; the rights clause in each entry terms page is the deciding text. Some calls leave rights with the entrant and ask only for a licence to show the work, while others claim wider use. Read that clause before you submit, because a rights grant you did not notice still binds the work.
Can my video be a montage of images rather than/in addition to me performing?
Yes, where the rules allow it. The format rules that always apply are length, language and original work: Lights, Camera, Save! caps entries at 30 seconds in English and requires the entrant's original creation, and World of 8 Billion caps length at 60 seconds. Some briefs expect the entrant on camera, so read the theme line before you cut.
Can students in the video be from other schools?
The published rules of the contests cited here do not address that point. Eligibility generally tracks the submitting entrant and the entrant's school, and everyone appearing on camera may need consent from a parent or guardian where the entrant is a minor. Ask the organiser in writing before filming if the cast crosses school lines.
Do short film competitions near me charge an entry fee?
Both kinds exist. Some calls carry an entry fee and others are free to enter, and the organiser states which beside the deadline on its own page. Treat any request for payment through a channel that is not the organiser's own as a warning sign, and treat a promise of a win the same way.
Sources
- aptageriatrics.org. aptageriatrics.org/for-students/.
- worldstandardscooperation.org. worldstandardscooperation.org/what-we-do/world-standards-day/world-standards-day-2017/video-contest-rules/.
- uspto.gov. uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USPTO%202018%20Video%20Contest%20Rules_2.pdf.
- worldof8billion.org. worldof8billion.org/video-contest/rules-and-guidelines/.
- aba.com. aba.com/advocacy/community-programs/lights-camera-save/lights-camera-save-official-rules.
This page covers entry mechanics only. It does not sell votes, does not name vote sellers, and cannot promise any result. Organisers can disqualify entries that break their published rules on length, rights, consent or submission channel, and no entry method removes that risk. Where the cited rules are silent, this page says so instead of guessing.
A contest vote sits under two rulebooks, the platform's and the organiser's. On CuteBaby, voters get ten free daily votes that expire at midnight, and an account needs a South African mobile number. Organisers then enforce their own terms: Darley may disqualify and replace a potential winner who does not follow its rules, and the Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition disqualifies over-length entries automatically. An order for contest votes changes none of that.
Contest voting has a rhythm of its own. The Arizona State Fair includes live audience voting on every qualifying night, and the Ernie Ball contest measures online activity throughout its contest period. A count that builds across the window, from separate voters, matches that rhythm. None of this is a method for passing an organiser's checks, and an organiser can still disqualify an entry it doubts.
In the United States, the FTC says a real sweepstakes is free and decided by chance, and that a skills contest can ask you to pay to play. Canada's Competition Bureau says a purchase requirement should be prominently disclosed. Those rules govern entry to a sweepstakes or promotion, and whether paying for votes in a contest is lawful where you live is a question for a lawyer. No order is taken for a sweepstakes or other chance draw, for a political ballot, or for a contest whose rules bar outside votes.
The part of an order that never reaches the contest's own count is refunded once the organiser's voting has closed. America's Favorite Pet calls its dates approximate and lets its operator extend deadlines, so that moment is the organiser's to set. A result, a disqualification and a voided vote are never refunded. At IODC, public votes and engagement do not by themselves decide the winners, and no refund changes how a contest weighs them.