Graphics Group to Hold Animation Contest

ACM Siggraph, the graphics organization that puts on the massive computer arts conference each year by the same name, has announced it will host a second annual international animation contest at this year’s event. Called Fjorg!, the contest has 16 teams compete in a 32-hour time frame to create the most impressive character-driven animation of at least 15 seconds in length, adhering to at least one of two themes and using at least one of 16 sound bites. The 16 teams of competitors will be selected from a pool of 3D and 2D animators who apply and submit their show reels. “Given the resounding success of Fjorg! at Siggraph 2007, it was an easy decision to host it again this year,” said Patricia Beckmann-Wells, Siggraph 2008 Fjorg! chair from Walt Disney Animation Studios. “This year we are expanding the submission process to welcome all animators -- professionals and students, with teams or without, in order to showcase the brightest and best the world has to offer.” Organizers say they do not intend for professional and students to compete directly, but dividing them into two separate groups will depend on the number of applicants. New for 2008 is the addition of a submission category known as “pot luck,” which allows solo animators the opportunity to qualify for a place in the competition; animators selected from the pot luck group will then be organized into a new team. Siggraph will begin accepting applications on March 15, and the deadline to upload show reels is May 7. The contest will take place during the Siggraph 2008 conference in Los Angeles in August. For more information, visit Siggraph's web site. To learn more about last year’s Fjorg! competition, and to see the teams’ animations, see the Fjorg! 2007 web site.