Documentary: Research and produce a documentary on an issue/topic or person of importance to the community in general or sub groups of the community (skaters, AARP members, Teens, etc.) The documentary should strive to add value to the general discussion by bringing in new information, identifying unrecognized problems, identifying unique solutions, or offering a unique perspective. If a biography, it should emphasize the central theme of the person's life. The documentary will express a distinct point of view and include narration.  (as short as you want - no more than 5 minutes maximum)
 

Advertisement:  Create an advertisement for a local business or public service announcement. Videos should be the product of a collaboration between the students and business owner or public service.  Ads should be sensitive to the purpose and targeted to specific demographic.  (submission must be exactly 30 seconds)
 

Music Videos:  In this category entrants will submit a music video based upon an original, student created song or poem or a musical piece that is either royalty free, in the public domain, or used with appropriate permission.  The video will reflect the poem's or song's sensory, affective (emotional), and cognitive content (meaning).  You must have permission to use copyrighted materials! 
 

Animation: All animated films will compete in this category.  While their purposes may be different, they will be evaluated upon their technical merit.

5-Minute Blockbuster:   Virtually all Hollywood blockbusters follow the same structure.  Students will mimic this structure by creating a 5 minute Blockbuster which includes the following elements:

• Setup ... You have approximately one minute to inform the audience what the film is about by establishing the setting, characters, and conflict.  (One page of script yields one minute of film.)
• Conflict ... This is the meat of the story.  You have approximately three minutes show the antagonist winning and on the verge of defeating the hero; the hero is about to LOSE it all...
• Resolution ... You have approximately one minute for the hero to get the upper hand, defeat the antagonist, and win what he wants.

These time limits are suggestions only. The five minutes may be allocated differently.  What matters is having the three parts and telling an exciting story. (As short as you want - 5 minutes maximum)

Foreign Film: Students studying a foreign language have an opportunity to practice that language and make a film.  Films should tell a compelling story that  captures the culture of the language.  Entries will initially be screened by foreign language teachers for correct usage, grammar, accent, and syntax.  Entries that pass this screening will then be evaluated upon their aesthetic film merit by the Slick Rock Judges.

Entries must be sub-titled in English and must contain enough dialogue to demonstrate a command of the foreign language. 
(As short as you want -5 minutes maximum)