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STREETS, ART, SAFE -- EDUCATION IN THE ARTS


2018's WINNERS

 
 


SEE ALL WINNING 2017 PSA's



Information and Registration
High School Students Traffic Safety PSA Contest
Streets, Art, SAFE
 
Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE)
 
In major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, literally millions of drivers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians share bustling thoroughfares. Unfortunately, some lack the education or responsibility required to share those streets responsibly. Case in point, in 2012 per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Los Angeles was the deadliest city in America to walk, bike or drive in and, according to L.A. Weekly, a staggering “48 percent of crashes were hit-and- runs in 2009.”
 
This may seem unbelievable, but Damian Kevitt lived it. On a routine Sunday morning bike ride in February 2013, a driver struck him and never stopped -- dragging him nearly a quarter mile under the car, from the streets onto and down the freeway. Fortunately (and almost unbelievably), he survived. In the process, he lost his right leg and gained a new mission: to prevent future traffic safety issues through education and outreach. In January 2014, he founded Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
 
Though less than 2 years old, SAFE has accomplished much.  Through outreach and work with city officials, the organization helped to drop the incidence of hit-and-run crimes by 16 percent in a year.  It's been responsible for helping to get legislation passed in multiple cities and helping government catch and prosecute criminals who commit hit and run crimes across the entire state of California.  SAFE has also reached hundreds of millions on traffic safety issues through media, PSA billboards and direct contact.
 
Creativity and Change Through Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
 
Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are an outstanding form of outreach, especially in large, arts-focused cities like Los Angeles. In addition, they are informative and creative which makes them an excellent teaching tool for young adults.
 
Last year, SAFE created a contest amongst high school students to produce a PSA about traffic safety issues. The purpose of this program is two-fold:
 
  1. Create awareness of traffic safety importance in the minds of young adults by encouraging them to take responsibility for teaching others about traffic safety.
 
  1. Foster artistic creativity and give students the opportunity to develop film and visual arts expertise.
 
This contest is called Streets, Art, SAFE.
 
Making a PSA is no small task. This challenge is exactly what makes this competition fun and exciting! To help participating students understand the assignment, SAFE will provide:
  • a list of 23 PSA topics
  • a flow-chart on the production steps
  • suggested curricular materials (including suggested instructive videos) students can utilize to learn scriptwriting, storyboarding, shooting, action, editing and more
  • examples of professional PSAs to emulate
 
SAFE strongly encourages students to thoroughly research their topics and incorporate their findings into the production of their PSAs.
 
Industry experts will also be available to mentor students. This includes critiquing and providing constructive criticism for improvement on scripts, storyboards, rough edits and, ultimately, their finished products.  These experts serve as the blue ribbon panel that judge and help choose the winning PSAs.

 
PSA Guidelines
 
All PSAs must meet the following criteria:
  1. The treatment must be approved as part of the registration process. The topic of the PSA must be chosen from the list provided by SAFE or specially sanctioned during registration.
  2. No PSA may contain language or content that would prohibit it from being aired on national television.
  3. PSAs must be non-discriminatory. They should not portray any particular ethnicity, gender orientation or religion in a negative light.
  4. PSAs may not exceed 30 seconds in length, including a 3-second closing graphic with a SAFE logo and acknowledgment to the sponsors of the program (to be provided by SAFE).
  5. Must not use the word “accident.” Instead, these incidents should be referred to as “collisions” or “crashes” which indicates the inherent responsibility of everyone on the streets to create a safe environment.
 
Judging Criteria
 
The panel of film industry specialists will give each PSA a score of 1 to 10 in the following five categories:
  1. Originality/creativity
  2. Script/story/research
  3. Cinematography
  4. Acting
  5. Editing
 
Prizes
 
SAFE’s panel of judges will provide an award for excellence in each of the above five categories, as well as name a Grand Prize Winner to the PSA with the best overall score. The students behind the winning PSA will receive special awards from key sponsors. In addition, judges will be encouraged to write letters to the students involved in the production of their favorite PSAs. These could later serve as job references or college application recommendations.
 
The school with the Grand Prize Winner will receive a monetary grant to their institution’s art programs.
 
The top PSAs will be aired on local or national television, providing maximum exposure and educating more people about the importance of traffic safety.
 
Winning PSAs will be shown and prizes awarded at a ceremony hosted by the school with the winning PSA from the previous year.  For 2016/2017, this will be held in the Performing Arts Center at Reseda High School.
 
Suggested Topics
SAFE’s list of recommended topics include:
  • Drunk driving – under-aged drinking
  • Drunk driving – adult drinking
  • Drugged driving – driving while using recreational drugs like pot
  • Drugged driving – driving while on prescription medications like painkillers
  • Distracted driving – texting and driving
  • Distracted driving – doing other things (eating, putting on makeup, adjusting the radio, watching a map, playing Pokemon Go, etc.) while driving
  • Distracted driving – driving tired
  • Knowing and following traffic laws – understanding pedestrian laws (for drivers or pedestrians)
  • Knowing and following traffic laws – understanding bicycling laws (for drivers or bicyclists)
  • Knowing and following traffic laws – understanding driving laws
  • Knowing and following traffic laws – seatbelt or car seat safety
  • Defensive techniques – for drivers
  • Defensive techniques – for bicyclists
  • Defensive techniques – for pedestrians
  • Speeding – speed and pedestrian or bicycle fatalities
  • Speeding – street racing
  • Being safe and visible – for pedestrians, bicyclists, skateboarders, etc
  • Being safe and visible – wearing helmets and reflective clothing
  • Being safe and visible – bicycle lights at night
  • Being safe and visible – for motorcyclists
  • Safe driving – in rain, heavy winds or snow
  • Safe driving – near parks, schools or around road work
  • Safe driving – Road rage
 
Students are also free to propose their own topics (see Registration Form for details).
 

For any further questions, please email us at or call us directly at (844) 884-7233 Ext. 804.

 

SAFE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To learn more about Finish The Ride, a campaign under SAFE, click here.
Address: 4470 W. Sunset Bl, Suite 453, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Phone: (844) 88-4-SAFE (7233)
Copyright 2017 | All Rights Reserved
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