Earlier this month I announced my most ambitious competition to date, the Live The Backpacker Life Contest. It was my first travel video contest and by far the biggest prize I’ve offered on foXnoMad. As has become fairly common in my contests the final decision was a close one and I’m happy to announce the winner of a 1 week free trip (most) anywhere is Dave Brett.
The Winning Video
Dave’s video, Mr. Satoshi’s Tour Of Tokyo, Japan took us through the streets of that country’s capital city and gave us a vivid look at the Tsukiji Fish Market. Here’s another look at Dave’s winning video.
Dave wins a one week backpacking trip to the place of his choosing, including round-trip airfare and hostel accommodations. I hope Dave will keep us updated on where he decides to go and perhaps considers sending us a video from there as well.
How The Decision Was Reached – The Judge’s Decisions
The final decision came down to 5 votes – one from myself, 3 from a group of travel bloggers, and one public vote. The final results gave Dave’s video entry 3 overall votes with Barbara Weibel’s video from the Snake Temple in Penang, Malaysia coming in second with 2 votes. Here are how each of the judges determined their favorite video.
- Roni Weiss (Vote: Entry #1) – Quickly cut with vivid images, I felt like I was in the fish market, smelling the salt and seafood. The whole video transported me back to my time in Japan. Dave’s observations are genuine and based on his surroundings, allowing the viewer to feel like they are along for the ride.
Roni Weiss is a videographer, blogger, podcaster and tweeter. In addition to Roni On Location, his weekly travel web series, he can be found on Don’t Worry About The Government, a weekly political podcast.
- David Lee (Vote: Entry #2) – I picked Barbara’s entry because I felt she made good use of both the video and written summary to share her experiences and emotions touring the the Snake Temple in Penang.
David Lee is the Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking. He currently lives in Medellin, Colombia.
- Cailin O’Neil (Vote: Entry #1) – Dave’s video was full of great information with a little bit of fun thrown in on the side. I also enjoyed that he didn’t shy away from the camera and seemed to be interested in trying almost everything, from odd sushi to eating a baby squid in one bite.
Cailin O’Neil is first a traveler, then a filmmaker. She has traveled mostly solo for the past 3 years to 23 different countries blogging and filming along the way. In 2009 she fulfilled her biggest dream by producing/directing/editing/hosting and funding the filming of the first episode of her travel TV show “Travel Yourself”.
The Reader Poll Results
You (the reader!) were the 5th vote in the Live The Backpacker Life Contest and the majority of you gave your vote to Dave’s Mr. Satoshi’s Tour Video.
My Vote And Thoughts On The Entries
Finally, my vote went to Barbara’s entry #2 from the Snake Temple in Penang. While I enjoyed all of the finalist videos, I felt that hers in particular focused on the most specific topic, something I emphasized when originally announcing the contest. I thought that Dave’s video had the right amount of action accentuated by good editing and Dansk’s entry #3 brought a fresh feel to Palau’s Stone Monoliths.
- Barbara and Dansk will each receive a $30 Amazon.com gift certificate for being finalists in the contest.
I’d like to thank everyone who entered with their wonderful travel videos, giving us a unique look at several places previously not covered on this site.
Upcoming Contests And Your Feedback Appreciated
I plan on running another major video contest sometime before early next year and would love to hear your feedback about the Live The Backpacker Life Contest. What would you like to see in an upcoming contest in terms of prizes and what might entice you to enter?
Thanks again to everyone who participated, voted, watched the videos, and left comments on the contest entries and once more, congratulations to Dave for a video well done.
Don’t worry if you missed this contest, I run several throughout the year. Subscribe to foXnoMad via email or RSS so the next one doesn’t pass you by.
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[photos by: Stuck In Customs (Tokyo streets), bloomsberries (gavel), gbarr (travel art panorama), dierk schaefer (human brain)]
Congratulations to Dave for winning
Great contest Anil – touch choices, but Dave’s video is fantastic. Will be interested to see where he chooses to travel to.
I’m curious too and hoping he’ll do another video from there as well 🙂
Congrats to Dave, but I liked every video entry 🙂
One of the reasons I went with the judging as I did. It helped to give a good balance to picking the winner, which was tough in itself!
This is a deserved winner. I normally switch off at videos as long as 6 mins but this one represented a full day and kept me engaged all the way through. Very nicely shot and edited too, with a good combination of Dave talking, close ups placement shots and lots of local colour & nice choice of music. A pleasure to watch – has everything a great short travel video should include.
Wonderful to hear your feedback Heather – you’re one of the first people I think of when it comes to travel videos!