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STREETS, ART, SAFE -- EDUCATION IN THE ARTS



2019's WINNERS

 
 


SEE ALL WINNING 2019 PSA's


COMPETITION REGISTRATION IS CLOSED.
Registration will open for the 2019/2020 season in October 2019


Streets, Art, SAFE
4th Annual Film Competition
2018/2019 Year
Information and Registration


 
OUR MISSION: The mission of the Streets, Art, SAFE Film Competition is to aim to improve the quality of life for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers alike by working to reduce traffic caused fatalities to zero.
 
Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE)
 
In major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, millions of drivers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians share bustling thoroughfares. Unfortunately, per the LA Department of Transportation, Los Angeles is the deadliest American city in which to walk, bike or drive. According to LA Weekly, a staggering 48 percent of crashes are hit-and-runs.
 
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 March 2015, he founded Streets Are For Everyone (SAFE), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization to accomplish that mission.
 
In the few years it has been in existence, 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 (per LAPD report). It has been responsible for legislation implemented in multiple cities 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.
 
SAFE created a contest amongst high school students to produce a PSA about traffic safety issues. The purpose of this program is two-fold:
 
  • Create awareness of traffic safety importance in the minds of young adults by encouraging them to take responsibility for teaching others about traffic safety.  
  • Foster artistic creativity and give students the opportunity to develop film and visual arts expertise.
 
This contest is called Streets, Art, SAFE.


 
Supporting Teachers and Mentoring Students
 
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 provides:
  • A list of 23 PSA topics to choose from
  • An educator's guide with lessons to help teach students how to make PSAs
  • A flow-chart on the production steps
  • Examples of professional PSAs to emulate
  • Free resources and workshops students can attend to learn more about specific aspects of filmmaking
  • Industry experts are also available to mentor students. This includes critiquing and providing constructive criticism for improvement on scripts, storyboards, rough edits and, ultimately, their finished products.  
 
 
 
Judging Criteria
 
In addition to mentoring students, film industry specialists serve as the blue ribbon panel that judge and help choose the winning PSAs. They give each PSA a score of 1 to 10 in the following six categories:
  1. Script Originality/creativity
  2. Cinematography
  3. Make-up
  4. Acting
  5. Post special effects/graphics
  6. Editing
  7. Funniest PSA (optional)
  8. Scariest PSA (optional)
Street safety experts also judge the PSAs on the following three categories:
  1. Script originality/creativity
  2. Research and accuracy of traffic safety stats and facts
  3. Effectiveness of street safety message
 
Awards, Prizes, Trophies and Acknowledgements
 
The competition culminates in a red-carpet Streets, Art, SAFE Awards Ceremony (SAS Awards). Students who submitted PSAs for final judging are presented with a certificate acknowledging their hard work and congratulating them for being a finalist in the competition. 

Winning PSAs from each of the Judging Criteria above are showcased on stage and students are awarded trophies by judges, celebrities and civic leaders.

There are three Grand Prize Winners -- Gold, Silver and Bronze -- based on the best overall scores. The student teams, including the teacher who helped to guide the students, are acknowledged with a special trophy and cash prizes awarded to each school arts department. Last year, thousands of dollars were awarded to the winning teams schools.

In addition to all of the above, there are Honorable Mention Awards for those PSAs that were in the running for a top prize and Judge's Choice Awards given by individual judges to their favorite PSAs. 

 
PSA Guidelines and Rules
 
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 4-5 second closing graphic with a SAFE logo and acknowledgement 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. 
  6. In the making of a PSA no laws can be broken and no lives can be endangered. Any PSA that violates this will be automatically disqualified.
 
Suggested Topics
SAFE’s list of recommended  PSA topics include:
  1. Drunk driving -- under-aged or adult drinking and driving
  2. Drugged driving -- driving while using recreational drugs like pot
  3. Drugged driving -- driving while on prescription medications like painkillers
  4. Distracted driving -- texting and driving 
  5. Distracted driving -- doing other things (eating, putting on makeup, adjusting the radio, watching a map, watching videos, playing games, etc.) while driving.
  6. Distracted driving -- driving tired
  7. Traffic laws -- pedestrian laws
  8. Traffic laws -- bicycling laws
  9. Traffic laws -- driving laws
  10. Traffic laws -- seat belt worn, child car seat safety
  11. Defensive techniques -- for drivers
  12. Defensive techniques -- for bicyclists
  13. Defensive techniques -- for pedestrians
  14. Speeding -- speed and pedestrian or bicycle fatalities
  15. Speeding -- street racing
  16. Safety -- for pedestrians, cyclists, skateboarders, etc.
  17. Safety -- for cyclists: wearing a helmet, reflective clothing or using lights
  18. Safety -- for pedestrians: wearing reflective clothing or lights
  19. Safe driving -- in rain, heavy winds or snow
  20. Safe driving -- near parks, schools or around road work
  21. Safe driving -- road rage
  22. Safe roads-- how roads designed for walking, riding and shared transit helps the environment
  23. Safe roads -- how roads can be designed safer for pedestrians, cyclists and cars.
 
Students are also free to propose their own topics (see Registration Form for details).

2019/2020 Schedule will be announced later on this year, Registration opens in October 2019.
 

Questions?: or (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)
 
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