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Ideas in Motion: A Creator Competition on The Spirit of ’76

Attention content creators!

In 1776, the American Founders advanced radical claims about human freedom and proposed self-government. Telling the story of American freedom in a way that only you can, you are invited to explore the “Spirit of 1776” as expressed by the Founders. How should that spirit inspire and guide us today? Who or what embodies that spirit now?

In your video, interpret, challenge, or reimagine the ideals of the American founding in line with your creative direction. 

For example, your video could:

  • Apply ideas from one or more Founders to contemporary policy debates or civic challenges
  • Explain where the US currently honors, or falls short of, the ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence 
  • Explore key themes in US history through the lens of the founding and its legacy, such as: taxation and property rights; limited government and tyranny; security and individual liberty; community responsibility and individual ambition
  • Place the Declaration of Independence in conversation with the Hoover Institution’s mission statement 

Creative Direction: Submitted videos can take many forms, but strong submissions may include visual storytelling through the formats below, with clear creative point of view:

  • Short documentary
  • Cinematic montage
  • Video essay combining footage, animation, and/or illustrated storytelling
  • Day- in-the-life story
  • Fictional narrative

We encourage you to incorporate dynamic elements such as B-roll footage, animations, demonstrations, location shots, graphics, multiple camera angles, or other production techniques to bring your idea to life and captivate viewers.

Important Note: Simple single-take selfie videos are unlikely to be competitive, given the weight we will place on elevated production values in the judging process. Submissions must reflect advanced planning (e.g., no stream-of-consciousness monologues) and incorporate produced elements (e.g., graphics, B-roll footage) or a discernable production style (e.g., animation, paper or clay models). 

Eligibility:

This competition has two divisions:

  • Enrolled high school and college students 
  • Adults not enrolled in high school or college

All participants must reside in the United States.

Submission Guidelines:

Submit an original piece of creative video content.

  • By original we mean, that you are the author and that no elements incorporated are subject to copyright by a third party.

Minimum Length: 90 seconds. Maximum Length: 3 minutes.

Video files shorter than 90 seconds or longer than 3:00 (three minutes exactly) will not be reviewed.

Submissions are due by 11:59pm Pacific Time on August 28, 2026. No submissions after this deadline will be accepted.

Submit your entry here

Rules on Artificial Intelligence Use

The use of AI tools is acceptable for planning, editing, and visual enhancements; but AI should not be utilized to create your video in its entirety. We will take your original ideas and creative direction heavily into consideration in the judging process; fully AI generated videos will not meet these standards for this competition. You should feel comfortable answering “Yes” to the question: Does this represent your original work?

Conditions of Participation

The Hoover Institution reserves the right to use your submitted video files for research, marketing, communications, publishing, and social media purposes.

 

If your video is selected as an award winner or runner-up, we would like to honor your achievement. This may include publishing all or a portion of your video submission. You may opt out of having your name associated with your submission if it is selected for promotion or publication. Before publishing your video content, Hoover will contact you to obtain your consent to name you publicly as the author and performer.

 

Full terms and conditions are available on the submissions form.

Awards:

One winner per division will receive $2,500 plus a trip to the Hoover Institution with travel and lodging expenses covered. One runner-up per division will receive a $1,000 prize.

Judging Criteria: 

Submissions will be judged on a holistic basis by the Hoover Institution, taking in to account the following factors: 

•    Interpretation of theme
•    Originality
•    Storytelling / narrative structure
•    Creative execution and production values
•    Alignment with the mission of the Hoover Institution

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Q) My video is longer than three minutes. What should I do?

A) You must either shorten your video script or increase the pacing of your content. Please bear in mind that rushing to show lots of material will likely impact your video in a negative way. We encourage you to plan a video short enough that you can present your ideas in a relaxed and not rushed manner—as you would see in a professional short creative video.

Q) I don’t want to appear on camera. Can I still participate?

A) Yes. You are not required to show your face in your video. However, we must be able to tell that you created your video and that it was not generated entirely or substantially by a computer program or AI service or software.

Q) Where can I learn more about creating short-form video content?

A) We encourage you to consult online resources such as YouTube. Additionally, artificial intelligence tools may be used—and could be a great resource—for learning about video compositional techniques.

Additional Questions:

If you have any questions about the rules of this competition that are not addressed on this page, you may email hoovermarketing@stanford.edu. Please note that we will not provide feedback on draft content or topic ideas and will limit replies to reasonable clarifications of the rules of this competition.

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