Announcing the HyperSpring Monthly Video Contest!

Have you been practicing your springbending?

I'd love to see what you've been working on.

The HyperSpring Monthly Video Contest is now open! Record your best 15–60 second uncut video and enter for a chance to win your choice of one of these prizes:

• A 6-pack of Original HyperSprings (with free economy shipping to any country we currently ship to)
• The Twists, Flips, and Beyond (Part I) intermediate video course
• A 30-minute private video lesson with me, where you can learn any tricks you want

Plus, the winning video will be featured on the HyperSpring homepage, and may also be shared on my YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

We may also award additional runner-up prizes of $20 USD HyperSpring store credit at our discretion.

To enter this month's contest, fill out the July Entry Form.

Please read through the rules and judging guidelines below before submitting your video.

Rules

1. You must use The Original HyperSpring (either Opaque Rainbow or Radioactive Yellow, no previous colors). Entries using any other toy spring will not be considered. 
2. The previous month's grand prize winner is not eligible to enter this month. If you won the grand prize last month, please wait 1 month before entering again. 
3. Your submission must be an uncut video (no edits).
4. Your video should be 15-60 seconds of you doing tricks.
5. Do not attach anything (such as LEDs) to your HyperSpring.
6. You may use music in your video, but if you do, we might remove it before re-posting the video.
7. You grant us (HyperSpring Toys LLC) an irrevocable, non-exclusive license to use the video for any purpose, commercial and non-commercial, anywhere, in perpetuity, whether you win or not. By submitting your video, you agree to these terms. (Basically: we might use it on the website, in ads, or emails)
8. If you're under 18, a parent or guardian must submit this form for you.
9. Post your video publicly on Instagram, Facebook, and/or TikTok, as well as uploading here. Please tag @slinkyjosh and use hashtags #hyperspring #hyperspringvideocontest !

How to Win

1. Show us a sequence of your best springbending (slinky manipulation) tricks! These are Energy Beam- and Bounce-based tricks — the type of tricks taught in the Fundamentals of HyperSpring video course (minus the “3 Easy Kids Tricks” lesson), and Twists, Flips, and Beyond. Non-springbending “tricks” will not be considered. Examples of non-springbending "tricks": juggling compressed HyperSprings, gripping it from the middle, gripping both ends and wiggling it randomly, putting it down the stairs. 
2. Try to maintain smoothness and control. The coils should blur together and all follow the same path through the air, creating a “smooth” feeling. This is more important than doing a wider variety of tricks, but sloppily and with no control. If you're attempting difficult tricks, I highly recommend recording several takes until you get it just right!
3. Try to flow smoothly from trick to trick, rather than stopping after each trick.

VISUAL APPEAL:

1. To make your HyperSpring stand out on camera, wear dark clothing, with a dark background, but with your HyperSpring brightly lit.
2. The best forms of lighting are:
   • Directional lighting from above (think like a spotlight, not like the lights in an office that light up the whole room)
   • Blacklights or blue lights
   • Natural light from an open window
   • Outside on an overcast, cloudy day
   • Outside right at sunset or sunrise
   • Outside in the shade
3. Try to make you and your HyperSpring take up as much of the visual frame as possible, without your HyperSpring going out of the frame. Don’t put the camera too far away. You and your HyperSpring should be the focus, not the background!
4. Try to avoid the camera effect of the coils not blurring together, which can happen if you shoot outside in bright direct sunlight. Ideally, it should look the same on camera as it does to the naked eye. 
5. Shoot in at least 1080p resolution (or 4K). Lower resolution may disqualify an otherwise great video. 😕
6. Shoot in regular speed, NOT slow motion. 
7. If shooting in low light (such as dusk or dawn, or in the dark with a blacklight), for best results, use the rear camera of your phone, not the front-facing selfie camera. 
8. Show yourself! Videos which only show the HyperSpring and not the person using it will not be considered.  You may hide your face if you want, though. 
9. Remember to smile! 😀

That's it!

Have fun, and I can't wait to see your videos.