Throughout the year, these budding artists and filmmakers have the chance to showcase their talent by participating in vendor-sponsored contests that award excellence in student-produced projects. Recently, several young artists were recognized during the annual Adobe Systems Design Achievement Awards, a competition that honors some of the most promising student digital filmmakers, computer artists, graphic designers, and illustrators from leading US design schools. A panel of industry professionals judged the submissions, and the winners gained not only international recognition, but also the rare opportunity to have their projects reviewed by today's leading artists and designers. In addition, the recipients received software and cash prizes.
Among the winners in the various categories were: Willy Wong of Yale School of Art, first place in Experimental Design; the team of Eric Finkelman/Evan Schoonmaker of the School of Visual Arts, first place in Digital Media; Philippe Vendrolini of the California School of Arts and Crafts, first place in Time-Based Media; Toby Kaufmann-Buhler of the Royal College of Art, second place in Time-Based Media; and Danielle Aubert of Yale University, third place in Time-Based Media. A selection of images from their projects is featured on these two pages. —Karen Moltenbrey
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Inside the Insider (Time-Based Media—first place) This motion graphics piece by Philippe Vendrolini examines elements of broadcast television through an avant-garde collage. By pulling back the camera and enlarging the frame, the artist allows viewers to see outside the frame, encouraging them to build their own narrative around the broadcast message. He captured the video footage by using Premiere, created and revised some of the elements in Photoshop, and then composited the collage in After Effects.
Dishscape (Time-Based Media—second place) This video by Toby Kaufmann-Buhler conveys a sense of domestic routine through the rhythmic repetition of imagery and sound, as well as through the static frame, which itself is continually advanced by the subtle movement within. He used Premiere for capturing the raw video and editing it to the finished piece.
Nomad Science (Time-Based Media—third place) Based on the concept Nomad Science from the book A Thousand Plateaus, this video by Danielle Aubert incorporates moving, changing text created in Illustrator, Photoshop, and After Effects.
The Weather Resort (Experimental—first place) Willy Wong created this identity segment for a conceptual hotel chain using a process book style, interactive components, and motion pieces to articulate a sense of place. He crafted the animation using Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, and InDesign.
Persistence of Memory (Digital Media—first place) Eric Finkelman, Evan Schoonmaker, Michael Banks, Martin Boksar, Ido Kalir, Mike Kazantzis, and Anatoli Sharfman used cinematic techniques of timing and narrative, along with digital effects, to create this futuristic environment. The team used Alias's Maya for modeling, Photoshop for texturing, Illustrator for labeling, and After Effects for compositing.