We’re back with a new OVC User Spotlight, where we sit down with a member of our community and get their take on video contests, filmmaking and more!

Meet Lance. He first made it on our radar a couple months ago when he placed in the Metropolitan Galapagos Video Contest. Since then, he’s gone on to win several more video contests! Want to learn the secret of his success? Read on!

OVC: Tell us a little about yourself, where are you from, what do you do for a living?

Lance: I grew up in France and Venezuela and have been in New York for the past 25 years. I’m a French and Spanish translator and also help my wife with her dressmaking business (plug: www.patriciagambis.com).


How long have you been interested in filmmaking? When did you first start shooting your own stuff?

I first became interested in photography as a teenager and set up a little darkroom in my bedroom closet. I remember borrowing a school video VHS camera (a briefcase size apparatus and weighed a ton) and shooting my cat around the house. I really got back into shooting film after interning at Camera Planet, a small production house based in New York, right before 9/11. I worked there for free but they let me use the Macs after hours for my own projects and started teaching myself Final Cut.
 

What has been the favorite thing you have worked on so far, and why?

My favorite piece is “Apollo 10.5”, the story of a little boy who goes to the moon as a test before the Apollo 11 mission. It was entered into the Imagine Science Film festival back in 2008. I put a lot work in creative a strong narrative and listening to actual NASA recording of Apollo missions to build the soundtrack. I was lucky to have my friend Wayne do the narration in a professional recording studio. (http://www.youtube.com/user/lgambis#p/u/8/F1EG8M3AOhY). I also shot a documentary about my mother who is an artist in the south France (http://vimeo.com/25214631).
 

When did you start entering video contests? About how many contests have you entered so far?

I’ve entered about 10 contests in the past 4 years and have won three times. The first one was for Vincent Giordano (2nd prize)(http://vimeo.com/5775632). They make cold cuts. Initially the second prize was $100 in salami or something but they ended up sending me a $100 gift card. The second contest (2nd prize) was for a touring company in the Galapagos Islands. I won 3 five-day cruises on one of their ships. The third one was just this week: second prize in the “Are you the Kikkoman” video contest, and that was a $1000.

What motivates you to take part in a contest? Is it primarily that the topic interests you or that you like the prize, etc?

I look for cash prize mostly but would not mind winning an iPad. I look for cash prizes from $500 to $5000 and stay away from larger prizes because they attract too many pros. I also prefer juried contests because they’re more fair. Contests based on voting usually go to people that have the most friends on Facebook, not necessarily the best videos. Also, if you look at my videos, all of them have my son Nicolas as the sole actor, so that limits the type of stuff I can do.

What’s the best prize you’ve ever won in a contest?

Probably the cruise to the Galapagos but unfortunately it doesn’t include the airfare so I have to win some other (cash) contest before we can go!
 

Are you working on any new contest entries now? Are any of your entries up for vote or need views to win?

I submitted an entry to the TripTV but that’s a juried contest. I’m also thinking about putting something together for the USDA contest on eating your fruits and veggies because they have a kid section.


If you had to offer up some advice to other people trying to get their work out there and noticed, what would it be?

You don’t need the a lot of equipment to make a great movie or commercial. Just a good story. And pay attention to sound. In most of my projects, I use voiceover narration to get a good, clean sound.

Thanks to Lance for taking the time to speak with us!

Would you like to be featured on the blog? Drop us a line at Marissa[at]onlinevideocontests[dot]com