Sony Creative Software Partners With America's State Parks to Promote Nationwide Park Visits and Outdoor Recreation Through Videos of Natural Treasures in New Online Contest

MADISON, Wis., June 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- America's State Parks and Sony Creative Software, a leading developer of award-winning and easy-to-use video and audio editing applications, today announced a partnership to promote nationwide park visits and outdoor recreation.

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The partnership is designed to build awareness of America's state park system, not only by creating enhanced video content of the state parks to attract new visitors, but also encouraging visitors to document their own experiences that can be entered in an exciting new online contest. Using Sony's Vegas Movie Studio Platinum HD video editing software, park visitors can capture, edit and create video that brings a brief sample of the awe-inspiring park experience home to online viewers.

America's State Parks is hosting the America's State Parks Filmmaker Challenge to motivate visitors to create videos of their favorite park experiences. Calling for submissions beginning June through September 1, America's State Parks will host the user videos on its YouTube page. Videos will be judged based on a range of criteria including creativity and production quality. Finalists will be announced at Custer State Park in South Dakota early in September and winners will be unveiled on November 15. Winners of the competition will receive various Sony prizes including PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Sony VAIO® laptops and Sony Bloggie™ Cameras. To further encourage participation from park visitors in this exciting new contest, America's State Parks will offer a $30 discount to the public on Sony's recently released Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11, a special offer that is exclusive to America's State Parks website network. In turn, Sony will also donate $20 from each sale generated through this promotion to America's State Parks.

"Our collaboration with America's State Parks enables people to see state parks with a new perspective by putting together movies about their visits using our new multimedia production software," said Brad Reinke, senior vice president for Sony Creative Software. "Our park system is truly a national treasure and our involvement in this promotion will help spread the word and incentivize the public to connect today's technology with the majesty of the great outdoors."

Additionally, Sony's leading multimedia creation tool, Imagination Studio Suite, will be integrated in a nationwide media and marketing program designed to promote outdoor recreation, which will kick off this month. America's State Parks Youth Ambassadors – volunteer youth who are dedicated to promoting state parks – will use the software to produce compelling video essays that document stories and information about the state parks they represent or visit. These videos will be hosted on www.americasstateparks.org.

"We are very pleased to team up with Sony Creative Software for this important program," said Joe Elton, National Association of State Park Directors President and Director of Virginia State Parks. "Together, we are raising awareness for our parks in a creative way and helping our Youth Ambassadors attract the attention and support of other young Americans while they develop their own deep connection with nature."

For more information on this promotion or America's State Parks, visit www.americasstateparks.org. For the America's State Parks Filmmaker Challenge contest rules and regulations, visit www.americasstateparks.org/filmmaker.

For more information on Sony Creative Software's Imagination Studio Suite and Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum 11, visit www.sonycreativesoftware.com.

About America's State Parks

America's State Parks (www.americasstateparks.org) is an alliance of public and private organizations working to promote and enhance the collective national treasure that is the great park system found across our 50 states.  With over 7,000 units and nearly three-quarter of a billion annual visits, America's State Parks are vital to the American quality of life.  Leadership and governance for America's State Parks comes from members of the National Association of State Park Directors representing each region of the country.

About the National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD)

Comprised of fifty state park directors, the NASPD (www.naspd.org) was founded in 1962.  The mission of the Association is to promote and advance the state park systems of America for their own significance, as well as for their important contributions to the nation's environment, heritage, health and economy.

About Sony Creative Software

Sony Creative Software inspires artistic expression with its award-winning line of products for digital video, audio, and music production, as well as industry-leading technology for DVD production and Blu-ray Disc™ authoring. Sound Forge™ Pro, ACID™ Pro, and Vegas™ Pro software have defined digital content creation for a generation of creative professionals. These signature product lines continue to advance media production by providing powerful, accessible tools. Today, there is a Sony Creative Software application for every level of expertise, including a full line of consumer software based on the company's professional applications. In addition, Sony Creative Software produces the extensive Sony® Sound Series collection of royalty-free loops and samples, Sony Pictures Sound Effects Series exclusive sound effects, and Vision Series video creation assets. Further, the company provides the industry-leading tools for enterprise-level Blu-ray Disc™ authoring: Blu-code™ encoder, Dualstream 3D™ MVC encoder, Z Depth™ 3D subtitle editing application, and Blu-print® software. The company's customers span the globe and include professionals in the film, television, video game, and recording industries, as well as students, educators, and hobbyists. For more information about professional and consumer products, visit www.sonycreativesoftware.com.

Vegas is a trademark or registered trademark of Sony Creative Software Inc. in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Sony Creative Software