ORLANDO, FLA. — A video showing medical uses of plastics won first prize in the Florida Plastics Industry Video Showcase. Budding videographers from three high schools won awards in the contest, sponsored by the American Plastics Council, Florida Plastics Industry Council and Florida Institute for Film Education. Results were announced May 9 during the Society of Plastics Engineers' Antec 2000 conference in Orlando.
High school students were asked to submit a three- to five- minute video showing creative recycling, how plastics improve our lives or things around us that are made of plastics. About 40 high schools entered the contest.
The winning students at Cypress Lake Center for the Arts in Fort Myers are Ray Flowers, Meghan Meyer, Amanda Bigler and Bobby Zekowski. They used part of their spring break to complete the project.
The winning video begins with short scenes of life-threatening events, then takes the viewer into a hospital, where medical professionals talk about advantages of plastic products, including sanitation and ease of storage.
Cypress Lake won $2,000 toward the purchase of video production equipment. Each student will receive a digital electronic camera.
The other two winners used humor. Second place went to Belleview High School. In Pop-Up Video style, the video shows family members getting ready for their day, using a plastic alarm clock, toothbrush, razor, stereo, milk jug and other common items. In the final scene, plastic replaces the family dog as "man's best friend."
A Twilight Zone spoof netted third place for Bartow High School. "In a World Without Plastic," the video follows an office worker who becomes ever-more exasperated as every plastic product he touches disappears.
Second- and third-place winners will receive $1,000 and $500, respectively, toward new video equipment.
