Animation house Brain Zoo Studios and videogame developer High Moon Studios announced their promotional trailer for the DARKWATCH videogame won two platinum Aurora Awards as well as five wins at the Davey Awards.
The Aurora Awards recognize outstanding achievements in commercials, documentaries, industrial and instructional video. The two Best of Show awards were given to the DARKWATCH trailer for the videogame released earlier this year by game publisher Capcom Ent. The trailer, a collaborative effort between High Moon and Brain Zoo, was recognized for Best of Show: Use of Animation and Best of Show: Entertainment.
The winning DARKWATCH trailer was one of the first promotional vehicles for the game, a computer-animated short designed to establish the games unique, visually stylistic Vampire-Western premise. The trailer introduces Jericho Cross, the games half-vampire gunslinger protagonist. Featuring a battle between Jericho and a legion of undead enemies in the thorough-fair of a ghost town, the action-packed trailer boasts sequences that include enemies ripped to shreds by bullets, bullet-time effects and an explosive finale.
The collaboration with High Moon Studios on this project was ideal, said Mohammad Davoudian, president/ceo of Brain Zoo Studios. From the beginning, they understood exactly what it was going to take to push the limits of what the industry has been used to seeing. Working together, we raised the bar in what the industry should expect to see more of in coming titles. Creating a visually captivating environment is a key element to drawing consumer interest for an upcoming title. We were able to accomplish that by working seamlessly in conjunction with High Moon.
This trailer was an introduction to our studios debut videogame title, which we wanted to quickly establish as a flagship property, said Emmanuel Valdez, cco, High Moon Studios. There is no better recognition for the hard work that went into it than a prestigious award like the Auroras. With DARKWATCH now on shelves, and as we pursue extending the property into other forms of entertainment, we still find ourselves using this trailer to introduce the original universe weve created.
At the 2005 International Davey Awards the trailer received wins in five categories, garnering Gold Davey Awards for Graphics and Special Effects, and Silver Awards for Animation, Art Direction and best Public Relations Video. The Davey Awards are conducted by the International Academy of Visual Arts to honor outstanding media creative, with membership in the organization representing such major companies as HBO, MTV, Yahoo!, WIRED, ADWEEK and BRANDWEEK.
The wins mark the fourth time this year that the video trailer has been recognized by award committees, with a previous win at the 2005 Telly Awards, as well as a nomination in the 6th Annual Golden Trailer Awards.
The debut title from High Moon Studios, DARKWATCH is a first-person shooter (FPS) that has players blasting through a haunted Wild West with unique weapons, powerful assault vehicles, horse-mounted gun fighting and special vampire abilities. For more information, visit the official website at www.darkwatch.com.
Founded in summer of 1995, Dream Theater Animation, a division of Dream Theater Inc. emerged as a premiere, full service Animation Studio servicing the entertainment industries. In 2001, DT Animation spun off from Dream Theater Inc. to become Brain Zoo Studios. The company has completed animation and visual effects for some of the most recognizable brands in game, feature film, television, commercial and music video industries.
High Moon Studios is an independent videogame development company. Headquartered in the coastal city of Carlsbad in San Diego County, California, High Moon employs more than 100 game developers at a state-of-the-art, fully equipped development facility. For more information, visit www.highmoonstudios.com.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
