A short film by Brittany Ayers has earned top honours from the Saskatchewan Watershed Association.
The win gave Ayers a $1,500 scholarship.
"The guidance counsellor at school (she attends Sacred Heart High School in Yorkton) told me about it," she said adding the counsellor was aware of her interest in pursuing film at the post secondary level and thought the contest with its scholarship prize would be a good one for her.
The near four-minute film is available for viewing through links at the Assiniboine Watershed Stewardship Association's website at www.assiniboinewatershed.com or the provincial site at www.swa.ca
Ayers said she began the film in February with a pretty solid idea of what she wanted in the film, and that included footage of running water.
"We looked all over the country," she said, adding "everything was froze over."
So Ayers first idea had to be dropped.
"I'd started a video, but had to change everything around because it wasn't going to work out," she said.
While needing to change the vision of the film, Ayers said it wasn't as big a problem as it might have been.
"I had another idea in mind," she said, but then added "I really wanted it (her initial concept) to work out."
The revised film incorporates a lot of facts and information on watersheds and protecting the source water resource.
"It's information people wouldn't know much about," said Ayers, adding she " incorporated a lot of different people," in the film using a water bottle being tossed from frame-to-frame to tie the production together.
Ayers said the new film idea required her to do a lot of research because watersheds were something she didn't know much about before she started the film. She said when she initially asked about doing the film she was thinking "I can't do that. I don't even know what a watershed is."
The video was first judged within the local zone and after topping that, went on to provincials.
Ayers said she felt she had a chance going in.
"I felt good about it. The finished product I really liked how it turned out," she said, adding her CBT instructor also thought the video turned out well.
The win provincially was a big one said Ayers.
"I was excited about the scholarship. It was my first one," she said. "I was also pretty psyched about the iPod."
Ayers said she plans to use the scholarship towards a multi-media production course at Lethbridge College.
For Ayers the film will do double duty, fitting in as a school class project.
"We have to make our own video," she said, adding the teacher has said she can simply submit the watershed video.
