We are pleased to announce that the first Video Matsuri Contest has been a great success!

We received 95 entries across the four divisions of Primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary and Tertiary – a great response for the first year of the contest. The judges were very impressed by the variety and creativity of the entries, and found the task of judging very enjoyable. As well as language, students displayed a wealth of skills, including performance skills and use of technology. There were videos of different types, including dramas, comedies, demonstrations and documentaries, and techniques included claymation and photostories.

The Primary Division was particularly impressive, with 38 entries. The students used language at their level to great effect, and incorporated a variety of skills including props, script writing, music and editing, not to mention some memorable performances! The 31 Junior Secondary entries displayed some bold attempts at using various filming techniques, and added comedic and musical skills to their performances The 16 Senior Secondary entries again displayed language skills and technical skills combined with props and costumes. Some videos were parodies of TV shows, popular in both Australian and Japanese culture, which included some delightful black humour.

There were 19 entries in the Tertiary Division, but all but one came from the same university, and those entries were in the form of speeches. Hopefully, there will be more entries of a greater variety from tertiary students as their institutions become aware of the contest. In all divisions, many entertaining videos enabling creative use of Japanese were produced. Some teachers seem to have made a class project of the video making, as there were a number of entries from the same school. If such class projects increase, schools could run their own contest at a school variety event and send in their winners.