Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Poster for the 2009 Ottawa International Animation Festival (bonus: 2007 and 2008 OIAF posters)

This is the poster for the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), the largest of its kind in North America, attracting film buffs, art lovers, filmmakers, and cartoon fans from around the world to the nation’s capital. Apparently, not everyone likes it (Blecchh!), and some people are critical of that dislike (Sheridan Instructor Attempts Art Criticism (and Fails)). The poster was designed by Montreal-based artist Theodore Ushev and here’s what he has to say about the controversy.

And here are the posters for the Ottawa International Animation Festival in 2008 and 2007. Posters for past animation festivals from around the world can be found at Affiches de Festivals D’animation


Sweet Nothingness - a Film by Phil “Overman” Rice

Xan has a titillating first conversation with his secret admirer. Written, Directed and Scored by Phil “Overman” Rice. An Official Selection for the 2009 Animatu Festival. Created with ZenCub3d. Movie downloads (various formats).

HairLoss.com Video Contest

HairLoss.com, the world’s largest online social network community dedicated to all things hair loss has announced its first annual video contest organized to help raise public awareness about hair loss issues.

“This is a call out to all filmmakers — amateur or professional — for a highly worthy cause,” said Michael Garcia, spokesman for HairLoss.com. Not that this is a charitable contest. We will be offering some substantial prizes.”

The contest, which runs from September 1st to December 31st, asks that filmmakers create a 60 second original video that is both “compelling and dramatic”, while illustrating a compassionate and positive message informing the public about issues faced by “hair loss sufferers”. Filmmakers are encouraged to use any style — animation, comedy, documentary or drama — in illustrating the ideas and concepts approved by the contest organizers.

“This is an idea whose time has come,” stated Garcia. “As public awareness and consciousness about hair loss is raised, the public will begin to understand that hair loss and baldness isn’t something to be laughed at or joked about. Hair loss is about just that: loss. There are all sorts of sensitive issues surrounding hair loss that we hope some talented film artist can help us articulate and bring to light.”

Filmmakers are urged to create a film that captures one or more of the following ideas: Hair Loss is no Laughing Matter; Restoring Hair is about Restoring Life; Hair is Important; Accept your Hair Loss (I am more than my hair); or any other compassionate, positive message. Participants can submit up to three entries during the contest period.

Complete rules and instructions on how to enter the contest are outlined on the website. Besides being reviewed by a panel of judges on the criteria of creativity, concept, originality, use of information and overall presentation, registered members of the social network community will also have a chance to vote on the best-submitted videos and to make comments.

The Contest begins on September 1, 2009, and the entry deadline is 11:59pm PST on December 31, 2009. You may enter up to three video submissions during the contest period. Unfortunately: “Only legal U.S. residents at least 18 years of age who reside in and who are physically located in the U.S.”

Prizes:
Grand Prize: JVC GZ-HD30 Everio High Definition Compact Camera
First Prize: $750.00
Second Prize: $500.00
Third Prize: $250.00

Official Video Contest Rules and How To Submit Your Video. View submissions and keep an eye on competitors on the official YouTube page.

A Time-Lapse Video of David Revoy Creating His Lezard Digital Painting

Watch a time-lapse video of illustrator, digital painter and concept Artist David Revoy (currently working on Durian the new Blender Open Movie Project) creating this amazing digital painting entirely with free and open source software: MyPaint, Alchemy and Gimp.

The video was “recorded in August 2009 as a technology demo for the 2D open source industry, done with Blender Video sequence editor as well as VLC/Mencoder and (gtk)Recordmydesktop”.


See bigger here (1428×890).

Blue Mars Machinima by Skribe Productions

A passing mention in the digipendence twitter feed lead me to this gorgeous-looking ‘proof of concept’ machinima video filmed entirely in Blue Mars (currently in closed beta testing) by Skribe Productions.

Now, what is Blue Mars?

Blue Mars is a free to play massively multiplayer virtual world featuring stunning graphics, realistic characters, and endless social bonding activities. The Blue Mars virtual world is made up of an expanding set of independently operated cities that feature unique themes, activities, and attractions such as shopping, avatar customization, unique personal spaces, and games like dancing, racing, and golf. Cites on Blue Mars are tied together with a unified login system, persistent global Avatar ID, and platform wide participation based reward system that encourages users to explore, play, and make new friends.

Here is a Blue Mars preview by Skribe Productions:

Also from Skribe Productions is this tutorial on the interface and some of the features of Blue Mars:

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