EDINBORO STUDENTS EARN FOURTH PLACE IN GLOBAL ANIMATION CONTEST

By Christopher LaFuria

30-second video. Prizes were awarded to the top seven winning teams by a panel of industry professionals, including Alison Mann, co-president of Fourth Wall Animation; Ira Owens, cinematographer for Sucker Punch Productions; Alan Huynh, director/story artist for Netflix; Grace Babineau, background painter/color designer for Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network; Angela Abeyti, character/prop designer for Nickelodeon; Nathan Palm, artist/character designer for DreamWorks; and Ryan Stapleton, storyboard artist for 20th Century Fox Animation.

As a result of their finish, the Edinboro team earned a prize valued at $12,470, which includes $1,000 cash ($200 to each student), five premium passes to the CTN Animation Expo in California – one of the largest animation conventions in the U.S., five masterclass seats with Disney animator John Pomeroy, a one-hour session with Walt Disney Animation

Recruitment and Talent Development, and prizes from Toon Boom, Sony Pictures, Animation Magazine and DreamWorks.

The annual contest is free to participants and is funded by industry sponsorships. Past sponsors have included Bento Box, Toon Boom, Animation Magazine, Stuart NG Books, Netflix Animation, DreamWorks, Nickelodeon, Disney, Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation and others.

“Although this contest sounds crazy — it is a rapid speed lesson in animation production,” said Aubry Mintz, festival organizer and animation professor at Chapman University. “The top films are as good as completed student films that take over a year to produce. It’s a chance to set personal goals and work outside of a classroom structure.”