Life in a day of Corona: 
Film Challenge

Coronavirus and lockdown have altered the world we live in. We’ve had to make changes – big and small – to our everyday lives. At King’s College London, we want to know what life has been like and how you feel about it.

 

We invite you as young people aged 16-19 to pick up your cameras to help us create a documentary, ‘Life in a day of Corona’. Selected films will be woven together to tell the story of a single day in Southwark and Lambeth during these unusual times.

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The competition is open for submissions 5th-20th December. 

 

The challenge 

 

On a single day we want you to film your day.

 

For this challenge, you will shoot 3 individual 1-minute films in landscape. Each of the 1-minute films has to be a one-take shot, which means no edits within that one minute (think TikTok).

 

You can use whatever technology you have access to like a phone camera. Clear sound is more important than high quality video, so make sure there’s not too many distractions or background noise wherever you are filming.

 

Together, the three components of the film should tell a story about your everyday life is like during this pandemic. Maybe you’ll be filming from your room, your home, your block or your neighbourhood; or maybe you’re meeting with friends, reuniting with family or going for a walk. You can include conversations with your family, friends, neighbours, your computer, your dog or cat. You can talk to the camera, or you can point the camera away from you at the things that you want to show.

 

Whatever you do, show us how your relationship to your environment, the people and spaces around has changed in response to Coronavirus.

 

We have put together a resource pack to help you get started with your filming. Don’t forget to you’ll need to get permission or consent from anyone who appears in your film and you can find out how to do this here.

 

Who can enter 

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The call is open to all young people aged 16-19 who live, study or attend a library or youth centre in Lambeth and Southwark. 

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The competition is free. 

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The prizes 

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There is a first prize (a laptop), as well as second prize (a video mic) and third prizes (phone tripods).

 

Our team of judges (Utopia Now team and Ralph Pritchard) will look at all the films and create a shortlist based on our judging criteria. We will contact all those on the shortlist by Friday 11th December, and we will make sure you are still happy to have your film made public. 

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From the shortlist, 10 will be selected for the Coronavirus Time Capsule. All Time Capsule films and prize winners will be announced on Friday 18th December. 

 

We will edit together your clips, and we hope that the film that will come out of this will give viewers some insight into how young people in South London are experiencing this particular point in time.

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What you need to know

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• You must be aged between 16-19 years old when entering the challenge.

• You must live, study, or attend a young people’s centre or Library in Lambeth or Southwark. 

• You can submit up to three 1-minute videos. 

• You must obtain and submit consent/permission from anyone whose voice or face appears in their film as outlined in our guidance.

• You will be judged on originality and creativity. Find out more about what our judges are looking for here. 

• By entering the competition, you consent to Utopia Now (King’s College London) using your story as anonymised research data.  

 

How to participate 

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1. Read the information sheet to find out more about the research.

2. Complete the online entry and consent form. 

3. We will then send you an e-mail to confirm you have been registered and invite you to securely upload your films and consent recordings on to our system. 

 

Films as research data

 

This competition is part of a the Dystopia Now research project at King’s College London. All the submitted films, whether they are selected or not, will help us understand life during lockdown, and we will be working with them as research data. Because we are treating your film not only as an artistic product for the Time Capsule, but also as research data, this means we will need you to give us your consent to use your film as research data (via the form that you will need to complete when you submit your film).

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Entry Checklist  

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1. Film up to 3 individual one-minute videos on a single day. Use our guidance and resources to help you plan and practice beforehand. 

2. Shoot landscape if you are filming on a camera phone. 

3. Think about how identifiable you or your participants want to be and film your scenes accordingly. 

4. Get consent from participants whose faces or voices appear in your films by capturing them on camera. 

5. Complete the online entry and consent form to register. 

6. Once we have received your form, you will be sent a link to securely upload your films and participant consent recordings. 

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Mental health advice and support 

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If you are struggling with your mental health then there are resources and places for independent advice. Find out more. 

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