With over 150 entries, "How to Make Olive Bread" impressed voters and jurors with its clever use of stop-motion animation. Narrated by a loaf of talking olive bread, Heyward's video presented a unique approach to the traditional cooking how-to video. As the grand-prize winner, Heyward received $2,000 from Howcast, and his video will be featured across the Howcast Distribution Network, which includes outlets such as Hulu, YouTube, MySpace, Verizon FiOS, iTunes, TiVO, and Boxee. Filmmaker Anthony Redendo took home second prize -- a Sony Webbie HD Camera and accessories -- for "How to Stage a Hit-and-Run Using Special Effects." Meghan Mathes won third place, an 8GB iPod Nano, and a $50 iTunes gift card for "How to Spoon".
"Stop-motion animation is a very slow process, but putting it all together in the end, and seeing the individual photos become a video was awesome. The prize money was a nice surprise on top of it all," said Heyward "I'm looking forward to making more winning topics starring talking inanimate objects."
"It was really exciting for us to see the variety of creative approaches to how-to video and the amount of innovative filmmakers we were introduced to through the How-to Video Challenge," said Heather Menicucci, Managing Producer of the Howcast Emerging Filmmakers Program. "We are looking forward to continuing to work with these talented filmmakers, helping to provide them a platform to develop their craft and gain exposure to a wider audience."
The top 10 finalists were selected by a public vote, and winners by the contest jury consisting of industry experts:
* Peter Baxter, Cofounder/President, Slamdance; Filmmaker
* Jeff Cooperman, Managing Producer, The Colbert Report
* Justin Johnson, Promotions Director, Next New Networks
* Darlene Liebman, Vice President of Production, Howcast Media
* Charles Merzbacher, Chair, Department of Film and Television, Boston University
* Tim Sullivan, Director of Development, Magical Elves
* Katherine Sharpe, Online Editor, ReadyMade Magazine
* Hunter Walk, Director Product Management, YouTube
To view the top 10 finalists including the winning submissions, visit: www.howcast.com/
To watch the winning submissions and all the great entries from the How-to Video Challenge visit: www.howcast.com/
