The site has partnered with NASA to create the, “2012 Venus Transit Video Time Capsule” contest.
Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning skywatchers can see a once-in-a-hundred years occurrence when Venus passes in front of the sun. This won’t happen again until 2117.
“NASA wants you to take all this amazing footage and create Video Time Capsules that tell the story of this Transit to be used as a message to future citizens in 2117 as they get ready to watch the next Venus Transit,” Tongal’s website states.
There will be five winners who will be awarded up to $10,000. The video should be 60-seconds, kid friendly and apolitical. The purpose of the video contest is to tell the story of this particular event in a creative, interesting and educational way. Tongal’s site explains in more detail:
Consider this your opportunity to utilize NASA sanctioned footage in your very own trailer, mash up, animation, short, documentary, mockumentary…anything you want! Just keep in mind that the ultimate goal here is to raise awareness of the historical, educational, and scientific purpose of this last Venus Transit of our lifetime and to document, visually, this snapshot in time, in order to provide perspective on what it was like to see it on earth in 2012.
Using Tongal, brands and organizations can create a campaign calling for video ideas from the public. The winning idea usually has prize money attached to it. The company assigns judges who vote for the winner and runners-up. The winning ideas are then made into professional quality videos.
NASA used its Twitter account to direct people to information about the rare transit. Venus passed between the earth and sun in 2004 as part of this one event, concluding tonight and tomorrow. NASA will also be hosting a live webcast of the event.
