Contests are one of the most famous television genres nowadays. Ever since we were little, we have been soaked in watching people exposing themselves in front of an audience to show their skills, soon to be assessed by a jury.
We have seen many of the professional careers that artists have managed to develop thanks to this type of event. Have you ever dreamed of being able to succeed like them by exhibiting your talents? Thanks to new technologies, we can do it from our living room. You just have to prepare or sign up for these spaces and enjoy the experience.
Summary
- Virtual talent contests mean more opportunities for people who want to show their skills to the world.
- “It’s about creating a real learning space, mimicking the making of a talent TV show.”(1)
- “Value formation is a key tool for social change.” (2)
What you should know about virtual talent contests
As we have mentioned, talent contests are for many a decisive starting point to developing a later professional life. Nowadays, the usual scenario of this type of contest has been extended to the digital world, which can be carried out through platforms such as Zoom.
The realization of Talent Shows brings great benefits for the participants, however, it also involves a great deal of planning for the event organizers. This task is somewhat complex, however, if done properly, the results can be more than advantageous for both participants and producers.
How to prepare a virtual talent show?
A talent contest must have different essential elements to be considered as such, even if it is virtual. Among them, we highlight:
| Preparations | Description |
|---|---|
| Invitations | They are essential to get participants, jurors and presenters. With these, it is possible to summon at a certain time and date, providing the link to the contest room. |
| Theme | It is important to be clear, so the guests can prepare their costumes. Apart from the prize for the best talent, there can be another prize for the best costume. |
| Voting | Selection of public and jury. The first can be through a public invitation, however, the selection of the jury must be more careful, and the jury should be professional in some fields |
| Awards | These create a greater interest in the audience. These rewards can be sent by mail (gift vouchers or subscriptions) or given certificates of recognition. |
| Duration of events | This can be pre-established, so participants should be advised of this so that they can adapt their performances. |
| Order of proceedings | The host should set up an organisation that takes into account the diversity of talent entering the competition. Monologues by the presenter or host can be added between performances. |
What are the most common talents that are usually entered in these types of virtual contests?
Therefore, the talent contest involves the display of a large number of diverse activities. Among them, the most popular ones are:
- Dance
- Singing
- Instruments
- Comic monologues
- Improvisation
- Magic
A talent is defined in the RAE, among other definitions, as: aptitude (capacity for the performance of something) (5).
How to raise money in a virtual talent contest?
As you know, this type of contest attracts a lot of audiences, so, as a rule, manages to get quite a lot of profit in the television industry.
If you want to raise funds for a charitable cause, both the audience and potential participants should be mentioned in advance. Holding talent shows for charitable causes is a great option if you are looking to help. This provides a lot of advantages when it comes to fundraising:
Advantages:
- Many participants are interested in the motive of the cause
- The audience tends to be more involved
- Solidarity is combined with exposure to the participants’ skills
Disadvantages:
- Many contests are about scams
- Requires a lot of organisation and promotion of the event
How can voting be done?
The two most common methods are voting by the audience or by a professional jury. You can choose one of them or combine both.
- Voting by audience: To do so, the audience must be engaged. It is important to generate a feeling of provocation in the audience so that they feel the need to vote. It is sought that “the audience can publicly demonstrate their aptitude, ability or patriotic pride in proposed mechanics related to their involvement
emotive.” (3) - Voting by jury: The jury should preferably be specialized in one of the most frequent disciplines in the talents: communication, music or sports. This one has the power to “comment, evaluate and save or punish the participants.” (4)
What is the best platform for virtual talent contests?
The best applications to carry out this type of conference are:
- Zoom: Up to 100 participants / 40 min. for free, however, “with 5 Zoom licences, you can have in your account 5 licensed users. In addition to the licensed users, you can add up to 9999 Basic users (free of charge)” (6). For this reason, it is rated the best
- Skype: limitations 100 people/10 h day.
- Google Meet: limitations to 150 people in 60 minutes.
- Blackboard Collaborate: “By default, each session can have between 100 and 250 attendees, depending on your licence. People attending a session include moderators, presenters and participants.” (7)
- Twitch: In this case, you can have meetings of up to 4 creators participating at the same time. For this reason, the task of displaying the different participants would be much more complex, as you would have to continuously update the broadcast settings. However, Twitch ensures that there can be many viewers.
Conclusion
Talent contests are one of the most dynamic and attractive resources for creating events in the virtual world. They provide an opportunity for many people with amazing capabilities to become known. On the other hand, these contests require quite an elaborate preparation. Both as a participant and as an event organizer, you must prepare in advance in order to get the win you want.
