Box Office Bioethics - rules and FAQs
Am I eligible to enter?
What should my film be about?
What style should my film be in?
How long should my film be?
Can I work in a group to produce the film?
How do I submit a film?
Copyright and permissions
The competition is open to individuals or groups of students in the UK and Republic of Ireland. There are three student categories:
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Year 11 and under
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Years 12 & 13
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Undergraduate
Your film can have been produced anytime, but you should fit one of the above categories at the time when you submit the film.
To be eligible, films must be related to a current issue in bioethics. Bioethics is a branch of ethics and is often defined as the study of ethical issues arising from the biological and medical sciences. You can submit a film about any bioethics topic, providing that it falls within the biological and medical sciences and the ethical dimensions of the issue are clearly presented and explored in the film.
Example topics include:
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genetic testing and screening
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reproductive and therapeutic cloning
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the use of stem cells
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embryo research
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abortion
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assisted reproduction
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prenatal screening
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end-of-life issues including euthanasia
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the use of human tissue
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organ donation
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the use of animals in research
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genetically modified crops
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research with human subjects
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the ethics of research related to healthcare in developing countries
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performance enhancing drugs in sport
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pharmacogenetics
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patient confidentiality
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neuroethics e.g. brain imaging, cognitive enhancement
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synthetic biology
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human enhancement
If you need some help getting started, you can find information on several bioethics issues on this website, including:
Care of extremely premature babies
What style should my film be in?
There are no rules on what type of format or style you can use – but we encourage you to be creative! Styles that you may wish to use include interviews, documentary, drama, scenarios, commentaries, voiceovers, vox pops.
Films should be between 3 minutes and 5 minutes long.
Can I work in a group to produce the film?
Yes – provided that the names of all members of the group are included on the submission form and all members of the group qualify for the relevant student category. There is no limit on the number of team members, but prizes are allocated per team, not per person.
All films entered into the competition must be in .wmv (Windows Media Video) or .flv (Flash Video) format. Entries must be accompanied by a completed and signed submission form. Please copy your film onto CD-Rom and send it, with the submission form, to:
Box Office Bioethics
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
28 Bedford Square
London
WC1B 3JS
Entries will be accepted from 19 September 2011 until 24 February 2012. Entries received that have a postmark dated later than 24 February 2012 will not be accepted.
Download the submission form.
All video content (material and sound) must be your own, or reproduced with written permission from the person who originally created it. You cannot use material that is copyrighted, including footage from films and TV programmes, background music or sound effects. Some (but not all) music is copyright 'free' at www.ccmixter.org or www.jamendo.com - or you may wish to make the music yourself.
Please note that by submitting your film you are giving permission for your film to be featured on the Council’s website and www.youtube.com.
Everyone who appears in the film must agree to the video being made publically available. If you conduct interviews as part of the video production then it is good practice to make sure that your interviewees are well aware of how the footage may be used in future.
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