Win a New York Trip with the B-Roll Video Challenge

The winner of our latest challenge will get to travel to New York to attend the Moment Invitational Film Festival! Here's how you can win.

In anticipation of the 2020 Moment Invitational Film Festival (aka MIFF), we decided to host a video contest of our own. MIFF is a film contest open to all videographers who shoot on mobile. The contest winners have their videos exhibited at the festival, which takes place in New York City from April 30 to May 1, 2020.

This year, Pexels is a Moment Invitational sponsor! And we're sending one lucky person to the festival for free with our B-Roll Video Challenge. That's right: free trip to New York, and the chance to attend the biggest mobile video event of the year.

For some video inspiration, we talked to Brazil-based independent filmmaker Eduardo Ohara, one of the winners of last year's Moment Invitational.

Pexels: What was it like being a finalist in last year's Moment Invitational Film Festival?

Eduardo: "Being a MIFF finalist was one of the awesome-est things that happened to me. Before the Moment contest, I really wanted to shoot something with my phone, but never did. So I saw the MIFF 2019 promo video, but I didn't have any good ideas till one week before the deadline.

"I went to a Japanese grocery store to buy some stuff, and I had the idea to shoot a how to film about how to eat Japanese food. I wrote the script, did pre-prod, shot, edited in five days. I was very happy with the result. And it's very gratifying to see your work being recognized. The trip was awesome; I met some really cool people, and seeing your film in a premiere is unique!"

What advice do you have for videographers entering the Moment Invitational?

"My tips for people will participate this year are: create a solid and interesting script, be very technically careful with your film, and the most important: shoot something that you believe in."

What are your tips for shooting great b-roll footage?

"B-roll can be very powerful for your film. Actually, I love b-roll! If you want to shoot a good b-roll, you need to make clear what your film needs. A good b-roll can improve the narrative and bring more emotions and sensations to the viewer. With this, you can drive your viewers attention."

What happens at the Moment Invitational Film festival?

The MIFF is an exciting event that includes a two-day filmmaking workshop followed by an evening premiere where all the winning films are screened and the audience gets to find out who's won $80K in prizes.

The workshop features one day of learning filmmaking from pros, followed by a fast-paced 24-hour film challenge where you make films around New York City. You'll get free meals, drinks, and even gear, as well as an amazing chance to improve your video skills and meet new connections.

If you love video and you've always wanted to visit New York, we can't think of a better way to visit! (And if you've already been to NY, the Festival is still an event not to be missed.)

So, how can you win this chance of a lifetime?

We're giving away full Festival access to the winner of the the Pexels B-Roll Video Challenge. Simply put, this challenge celebrates everyday details caught on video. B-roll is defined as extra footage shot to add texture and variety to a video project.

It's usually thought of as supplemental footage that doesn't get used by itself, only as part of a larger clip or film. But for this challenge, we want to see your best b-roll!

Time to get out there and get shooting some amazing b-roll! Enter the Pexels B-Roll Video Challenge here until March 20, 2020.

Cover photo by Jeffrey Czum.