NEW YORK—The Opticians Association of America (OAA) has announced that the organization, in a partnership with Transitions Optical, will be hosting a video contest to help define opticianry. The contest is simple—for opticians to create their own 30 to 90 second video conveying to a consumer what opticians are and what they do.

The Video Contest is open to all students, state associations, film makers and any individual residing in the U.S. The winners of the contest will be announced at the 2014 International Vision Expo West in Las Vegas, Nevada. The winning video will receive $3,500; second place will win $2,000; and third place will receive $1,000.

The contest runs from April 17, 2014 through June 30, 2014. The creative and informative videos will be uploaded to the OAA YouTube Channel during the contest and then reviewed by a panel of celebrity judges who will ultimately pick the top three videos.

Sam Morgenstern, spokesperson for the Video Contest, had this to say about the contest. "Opticians know the important role they play in the eyecare field; however the everyday consumer does not really understand what an optician is and does. This contest is a fun way to help 'define' opticianry for the consumer. After the winners are announced in Las Vegas, I am hopeful that a short commercial segment will be created that can be seen all across America, so please put your creative thinking caps on and help us define what the Great American Optician is."

To participate, entrants must create and upload a 30 to 90 second video to YouTube that explains the role of an optician and promotes the profession to the general public. In addition to the video, the submission must include an entry form and a video consent and release form, which can be found on the OAA website. The contest opens on April 17 and runs through June 30.

"Even though opticians are at the frontline of working with patients, misunderstandings about what each of the three main types of eyecare professionals do are surprisingly common among consumers," said Cheri Guy, professional development manager, Transitions Optical. "We look forward to seeing how these video entries help give a clearer understanding of what opticians do, why they do it and how they provide superior service to enhance vision."