The Harford County Public Library is giving students the opportunity to express their creativity and their love for books while having the chance to win up to $300. The Film This! Book Trailers Contest invites middle and high school students to film a short video in the style of a film trailer for any book, and JC students are taking advantage of the opportunity.

TV Production teacher Bob Schick originally brought the contest to JC and advertised it to the student body. “I think it’s awesome when we can do things that get recognized outside of the school,” he said.

As TV Production teacher, Schick hopes that students realize the perks of entering the contest. “It’s a great opportunity for people who like to make little films anyway to win money and prizes,” he said. The grand prize winner will be awarded $300, second place will get $125, and third place will receive $75.

Besides the monetary prizes from the library, the English Department is also encouraging students to enter the contest by offering extra credit. “It covers everything we talk about in English anyway … That was the deal, we would all offer extra credit,” English Department Chair Susan Fisher said.

As an English teacher, Fisher is not only pleased with the literary aspect of the contest but also the creative aspect. “I think it’s a wonderful way to give [students] recognition for their talents,” she said.

The downfall of the contest for students is that the deadline for video submission is March 1. “I really wanted to do it, and we had a bunch of ideas, but we ran out of time,” junior Margaret McGuirk said.

Despite this, Schick thinks JC students are perfectly suited to enter the contest. “We have a lot of really talented people who know how to tell a story through film and you’ve got a lot of well-read people in the school, and when you put those two together I don’t see any reason why someone couldn’t win something,” he said.

”[Filming] it is a fun process…It gets more high school students really involved in literature and film,” junior and contest participant Catey Minnis said.

Media Center Director Theresa Burlas likes the contest and thinks it gives students an opportunity to view their favorite books differently. “I think it gets students thinking about books in a different way and allows them to express their creativity about books,” she said.

In addition, Burlas believes that viewing the trailers in the end will give her insight into the kind of books that students like. “I hope there’s a good amount of participation. I think seeing what students choose to do their trailers about will help give me a good idea of what students are reading,” she said.

In general, Schick is excited for students to be able to get out of the classroom and take their work into the community. “The more you can get out of this building, out of this classroom and show it to an audience, the better.”

The winning films will premiere on March 15 at the Abingdon Branch at 6:30 p.m.

 Brianna Glase is the Online Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.