OFFICIAL CONTEST PAGE

• How is a family in your community trying to go green?
• Are there any conflicts among family members about what actions are environmentally-necessary, or whether such actions are needed at all?
• Going green costs money and time (composting, for example, or buying organic foods and clothing) and can be less comfortable (smaller cars, for example). How does the family make these choices? What’s the decision process?
• What are the biggest motivators for green behaviors? The biggest deterrents?
• Where do family members get their information from about green products and actions?

What We’re Looking For

There’s little doubt the environment is in danger. But the response of individuals and families to that danger varies widely. Why is that? Perhaps individuals have other priorities, other values that trump the investment of time and effort “green” behavior entails? Perhaps some individuals feel their actions are too small to have any real impact, so they don’t do them? There are many possibilities.

We want to find families where this issue is a struggle. Perhaps some family members are committed, very committed, but others are not. Or maybe the entire family is on-board with the idea of “going green”, but the limitations of time and money mean they aren’t nearly doing all they’d like.

The most important thing is not that they are or are not green. It’s that they’re struggling over this issue. And your job, through observation with the video camera and asking questions, is to show us this struggle.

In addition to the prizes, the best videos will be shown at the Good and Green conference in Chicago November 17th and 18th. Your name will be on the video.

Eligible Families

• The families must have at least three members to them.
• While families are somewhat preferred, we are open to other living situations in a household, such as unrelated housemates sharing a house or apartment.
• There are no restrictions on ages, gender, marital status, work status, ethnicity or anything else.
• Families can be anywhere in the world.

Editing Video Requirements for This Contest

• Minimum Length: Videos must be edited to be no less than three minutes long.
• Maximum Length: Videos must be edited to be no more than five minutes long.
• Final Submission Date for Entries: October 23, 2009. Earlier submissions are encouraged!
• Additional Footage: If you are declared a potential contest winner, we’ll need at least 30 minutes of highly applicable and interesting raw footage from your shoots.

SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

About the Interview

• Observe the family, on video, lots.
• At some point conduct an interview with each family member. This could be sitting on a couch, standing in the kitchen, in the park, wherever works for her and you.
• Frame the shot “head and shoulders”, not by using the zoom but by placing the camera close. Include some visual interest in the background (a painting, a park, etc.).
• Ask questions, restate them, and probe until she tells you why, not just what, where or when. When you get to the why, there’s usually emotion present, subtle or dramatic.
• Try to get full sentence answers. “Sneakers and pants” won’t help you much in the edit stage. “I like to wear sneakers and pants” will.

The Questions

• Please introduce yourself to the camera: Tell us your first name, where you live, your age if willing, and what you do for work.
• As you probably know, we’re going to talk about “going green” in a little while. But first I’d like to step back and think more broadly.
• So my first question is, what sorts of things bring you the most happiness in life? [Note to interviewer: You can restate this if they don’t understand, i.e. “What do you look forward to most in your day?” or “Tell me about a time you were really, truly happy.” Be sure to get to the “why”, i.e. understand why “my morning coffee” makes me happy, not just that it does.]
• What sorts of things tend to bring you down, sadden you? [Interviewer Note: Again, for this and each question, get to the why.]
• What do you feel are the two or three key values that shape your thinking? In other words, if you have a big decision to make, what are the things you keep in mind when trying to make the right choice?
  • [Note to Interviewer: Values are things like, “I want to give my children every opportunity to succeed.” They are not “money.” What about money? Is the value “I want to have enough money when I retire”? Probe until you hear the value.]
• Why is this value so important to you?
  • [Note to Interviewer: Ask this for each value the subject mentions]
• Now let’s turn to going green. How do the values you’ve discussed impact your thinking about what you can or should do for the environment?
• Okay, tell us about a few ways you try to be environmentally-conscious.
• Do you always do these things or do you sometimes not?
• If you sometimes do not do these things, under what circumstances do you not do what you’d like to do?
• Do you feel you see eye to eye with everyone living in this household on what green behaviors the household should be doing?
• If not, please explain about this disagreement — with whom do you have it, what’s the disagreement about, and why do you feel you are right about this?
• How are these issues resolved in your household?
• So which way will ultimately prevail, do you think, and why?
• How important would you say environmentally-conscious behavior is in your list of priorities for how your household operates?
• Do you think the same level of priority is held by all members of the household? If not, how is it different, and why do you think they value it differently than you do?
• Where have you found out information that has had some impact on what you buy or what you with regard to helping the environment? It might be a newspaper or magazine or television show or radio program? Please be as specific as possible.
• Do those with whom you disagree about green behavior get their information from the same source? If not, please explain.
• For you, what’s the most compelling argument for acting green?
• What’s the biggest deterrent for you acting in a more environmentally-conscious manner?
• Thank you!