Table of Contents
Background
My brother Malesh Ponnusamy, Creative Consultant, brought this competition to my notice on 15 February 2018. The submission deadline was 18 February 2018. Hardly 3 days to ideate and execute!
We teamed up with our common friends Remy Francis-Animator and Gerard Audio Engineer to create this video for the competition
I had already connected the brief with an idea to make the video based on a piece of creative writing I had written in 1998
https://www.umeshp.com/2018/02/idea-thought-what-we-can-learn-from-the-humble-spring/
Remy suggested turning it into a song, which worked well as I could immediately connect with the style we would use – inspired by the famous “Dumb Ways to Die” video.
After a simple song was written and edited to fit into the 60 seconds format required by the brief, we tried finding a singer on Fiverr but no luck due to the short deadline. Remy filled in with her voice and Gerard quickly composed and produced it!
Below is the brief from UTURN:
The UTURN Happiness Contest Brief:
To create a film that promotes the values and themes of The National Programme for Happiness and Positivity. The overarching mission is to spread happiness and positivity, and increase wellbeing. It’s the year of Zayed and we are emphasizing the Zayed’s virtues and values that are linked to the science of happiness.
We suggest that the themes of the videos shine light on topics relevant to happiness in relation to Year of Zayed. This can include expressing what happiness means through film, or shining light on values that are based on the science of happiness. These values can include gratitude, respect, social
UTURN Competition – What it will look like?
This competition will be open to anyone living and working in the MENA region, from university student level and upwards and studying full time or working in brands and agencies. Competitors will be asked to create a Branded Content film in response to a brief. The brief will be set by UTURN & National Program for Happiness & Positivity, an initiative launched by the UAE Government. Competitors will submit their entry directly to UTURN who will then judge the work and select the shortlisted videos (approximately 10 videos in the shortlist). Dubai Lynx will then select the jury consisting of producers/directors who will decide the winning video.
Entry Process:
Competitors will submit their entries directly to: createhappiness@UTURN.me and cc sharong@dubailynx.com
Competitors:
- Must be living in the MENA region
- Any discipline / background / work history
- Must be above 18 years of age
- Individual or teams of 2 (maximum)
Rules:
The film should be no longer than 3 minutes (suggest 1 minute)
UTURN Branded Content Judging and Jury: - UTURN will judge the entries and select the shortlist (between 5 – 10 shortlists)
- Competition jury to select the winning work (top 5) and final winner
Prize from UTURN:
DHs 5k to the winner
So based on the above brief, we quickly created and submitted the below video and won the prize money of AED 5000.
The Video Script
A couple of the scenes which were written were actual commonly occurring incidents in the UAE. Rescuing cats from highways and giving water to workers toiling in the Arabian Gulf heat.
| AUDIO | VISUAL |
| UAE – Spring Country Dedicated to the resilient people of the Emirates | |
| Walk with a spring in your step The more you give the more you get Be the spring in someone’s life Your heart will feel joyful and light | Main character jumps around and helps a character falling into a puddle of water. He’s also almost pulled in, but many hands pull him out. Main character helps an old lady cross the road. |
| Anytime is spring time It’s in your DNA So why worry don’t hurry Things will turn out just fine | All the characters dancing |
| Spring a Surprise Do something nice Spring into action Do the right thing and fight the good fight | Main character gives a worker a drink Main character saves a cat from the road. |
| Anytime is spring time It’s in your DNA So why worry don’t hurry Things will turn out just fine | All the characters dancing |
Watch the video below:
THE SPRING SONG
The lyrics had to be trimmed down to fit the video into the mandatory 1 minute.
Walk with a spring in your step
The more you give the more you get
Be the spring in someone’s life
Your heart will feel joyful and light
Chorus:
Anytime is spring time
It’s in your DNA
So why worry don’t hurry
Things will turn out just fine
Spring a Surprise
Do something nice
Spring into action
Do the right thing and fight the good fight
Chorus:
Anytime is spring time
It’s in your DNA
So why worry don’t hurry
Things will turn out just fine