TrueTube.co.uk is offering students the chance to record a voiceover in a professional recording studio to feature on an Easter story film, as the prize in its ‘Jesus Christ Voiceover Star’ competition.
To support teachers in engaging students with the Easter story, TrueTube is inviting submissions in the form of a poem or piece of poetic prose, to be used as a voiceover script for one or all of its three Easter story films. The films have been created using excerpts from the BBC1 documentary ‘The Story of Jesus’, and include high quality, dramatic reconstructions of the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.
With reports at the end of 2013 claiming that more than half of England’s schools are failing children in RE, the competition provides RE teachers with a chance to shine and demonstrate that their school is still focusing on the subject. It also gives RE departments the opportunity to collaborate in cross-curricular projects with other subjects; media studies and English, for example.
Students’ scripts can explain what they are seeing, comment and reflect on the action, or simply be an emotional response to the events. The panel of judges will be looking for a clear knowledge of the Easter story; an understanding of what the events of Easter mean for Christians; a voiceover that matches and creatively responds to the images on screen; and an imaginative use of language in poetry or prose.
Stuart Porter, TrueTube’s Innovation and Development Director comments, “In an increasingly secular society, it is easy to forget the true meaning of occasions such as Easter. There has been a significant amount of discussion around the importance of Biblical literacy for an appreciation of literature and British culture in general, so we’ve come up with an activity that will help young people get to grips with the story of Easter and exercise their creative muscles as well.
“An effective voiceover is essential in today’s media – we hear them on the news, in documentaries and over adverts; as viewers, they help to guide us from scene to scene, and enable us to make sense of what we seeing, or to provoke an emotional response. We wanted to do something slightly different and give students the chance to try something they may not have necessarily tried before. At TrueTube we have no doubt that we will receive some impactful and creative entries, and anticipate a difficult task for our panel of judges! “
To enter the competition, all you need to do is click on the following link and follow the simple instructions: https://www.truetube.co.uk/jesus-christ-voiceover-star. TrueTube has also prepared some Teachers’ Notes, which offer some top tips in creating your entry.
TrueTube will shortlist four entries for each film, in two categories - Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) and Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) – one overall winner will then be selected for each of the three films by a judging panel.
The winning students will be invited to TrueTube’s studio with their teachers, parents or guardians to record their winning entries as a voiceover. Recording sessions will be held in London between Monday 17 March 2014 and Friday 28 March 2014, after which the recordings will be dubbed onto the films and hosted on the TrueTube website.
For each winning entry TrueTube will cover the cost of return journeys to London by train for two people, including the student. Winners will also receive a DVD of the finished films and a certificate to display in their school.
The competition is open for entries until 5pm on Friday 28 February. Entries received after this time will not be considered.
TrueTube.co.uk is a not-for-profit website supporting discussion on topics at the heart of the PSHE, RE and Citizenship curricula at Key Stages 3 & 4. For more information visit www.truetube.co.uk.
