files/pictures/picture-35.jpgPress Release from GRAPHIC 2011
Sydney Opera House today announced the return of the global GRAPHIC animation competition as part of the GRAPHIC 2011 festival of storytelling, animation and music.
Illustrators, animators and storytellers of all levels – from established to up-and-coming and newcomers – are encouraged to enter. The winner will receive $20,000 prize money (to be used for professional development or to make a feature) and have their entry screened before the festival’s headline event on Sunday 21 August in the Concert Hall, Robert Crumb: In Conversation with Gary Groth.
Voted by the public with the finalists judged by a panel of industry experts, the competition takes place via three elimination rounds on the dedicated GRAPHIC YouTube Channel. Entrants are required to create a 30 second animation based on the theme “escape”, incorporating a specific element into the piece for each round and upload it. For the first round, the piece must include a sound-bite provided by ARIA-award winning musician, Gotye. Each round will be the next episode in an animated story.
The competition will be judged by Animal Logic CEO and co-founder, Zareh Nalbandian, GRAPHIC co-curator Jordan Verzar, James Hackett of Hackett Films and Gotye.
Competition is open now and entries for Round One close at 11:59pm AEST, 17 July.
Last year’s inaugural competition attracted 75 entries from animators in 13 countries and illustrated a diverse range of animation styles - from storyboard comic through to stop-motion and 3D. Judges Rob Coleman, of Dr D Studios, and illustrator Shaun Tan eventually named Canadian Dave Barton Thomas the winner for his work, Seven Year Twitch.
In its second year, GRAPHIC 2011 is a “festival of firsts” with 21 events including world exclusives, Australian premieres and specially commissioned works. GRAPHIC highlights include the first Australian appearance of seminal underground comic artist, Robert Crumb in conversation with his friend and publisher, Gary Groth of Fantagraphics; and Gotye: An Animated Album Preview, a showcase of songs from Gotye’s yet- to-be released fourth album brought to life by some of Australia's most talented animators.
Also on this line up is an exclusive screening of Shaun Tan’s Oscar-winning short, The Lost Thing with the original score performed live; the Australian premiere of cult anime Tekkon Kinkreet with live music by PLAID (WARP), FourPlay and Synergy Percussion; the Sydney premiere of Talking with Gods: A Grant Morrison Documentary; a performance and talk by Parappa the Rapper Playstation game creator, Masaya Matsuura; a screening of selected animations from some of China’s best emerging talent along with talks and masterclasses including Understanding Comics with Scott McCloud; and the Best of the Independent Games Festival exhibition. Other guests include comic book author and toy designer Jim Woodring and artist and musician, Reg Mombassa, and Nathan Jurevicius, the Australian artist best known for his Scarygirl brand.
For more information on the Graphic animation competition visit:
http://www.youtube.com/SOHCompetitions .
