Portfolio April 2007

After studying digital art and animation for a number of years, many students on the cusp of graduation often wonder whether they are truly ready to begin their careers. Do they have the necessary skills, talent, and confidence? If the submissions by students at recent animation festivals are any indication, they are indeed ready to make their mark. At one such event, E-magiciens, the European gathering of young digital creators, the talent was abundant, as budding animators competed for prizes, participated in roundtable discussions and debates, attended conferences, and viewed multimedia and video projects by their peers.

Of particular interest was the two-minute chained animation event, whereby 13 teams of three students created a snippet of animation adhering to the theme The Englishmen’s Promenade. The artists then had a limited time to complete their segments on-site at E-magiciens. The animations were composited together and shown to audiences during the last evening of the event.

Another popular event was the Webjam, a “live performance” whereby teams of three students used Flash to produce a graphic work (on site at the show) based on a given theme.

The highlight of the non-commercial exhibition, held in Valenciennes, France , and organized by the local Chamber of Commerce, were the film debuts. The juried selection of 200 short films—totaling more than 17 hours of animation—ran throughout the festival. The event culminated in the E-magiciens Awards honoring submissions (shorts and others, including those from the chained animation and Webjam). A selection of still images from the film festival is shown on these pages. For a complete list of the winners, see www.cgw.com . —Karen Moltenbrey