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MillimeterSIGGRAPH 2004 Announces Best Animated Short & Jury Award for the Computer Animation Festival
May 4, 2004 12:47 PM
Chicago, IL---ACM SIGGRAPH today announced the Computer Animation Festival's Best Animated Short and Jury Honors winners for SIGGRAPH 2004, the 31st International Conference on Computer Graphics & Interactive Techniques, being held 8-12 August 2004 in Los Angeles. The Computer Animation Festival jury selected these two award winners from 643 entries for their exemplary use of computer-generated imagery and compelling storytelling. Chris Bregler, New York University, is the SIGGRAPH 2004 Computer Animation Festival Chair.
The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival is an internationally recognized event that engages and inspires artists and technologists alike. Each year, it serves as a mirror of what is possible today and a window into what can be achieved in the future.
The winners are:
Birthday Boy (Best Animated Short)
Sejong Park
Australian Film Television and Radio School
The scene is Korea in 1951. It is little Manuk's birthday and he is playing on the village streets, imagining his father's daily life as a soldier at the frontlines. After playing, Manuk returns home to find a recently delivered parcel. Thinking it is a present for him, Manuk opens the parcel--and its contents change his life forever.
"The Jury awarded Best Animated Short to Birthday Boy because of its captivating and expert storytelling and filmmaking," Bregler explains. "This is a phenomenal film on its merits alone, but even more impressive given that Park is still a student. Every camera angle and motion transcends the screen and transports the viewer into Manuk's world to experience life as he knows it. The story is so compelling and magical that the 3D computer animation becomes secondary to the delivery of the film."
Ryan (Jury Honors)
Chris Landreth
Independent
Ryan hovers between animation and documentary, and defies easy definition. It is based on the life of Ryan Larkin, a former animator who produced some of the most influential animated films of his time 30 years ago at the National Film Board of Canada. Today, Larkin lives on welfare and panhandles for spare change in Montreal. How could such an artistic genius follow this path? In Ryan we hear the voices of Larkin and people who knew him as an animator. These voices speak through bizarre, humorous, twisted, disturbing, or disembodied 3D generated characters. The distorted appearances reflect Landreth's personal world of "psychological realism." A world encapsulated in the words of Anais Nin: "We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are."
"Ryan received this award because the jury perceived it as a milestone in using this new animation and rendering style to tell such a poignant and intimate story," said Bregler. "Utilizing lifelike action and animation, the director has created one of the most powerful and engaging films in the festival. Oscar nominee Landreth has surpassed even his other masterpieces [The End and Bingo] with this breathtaking film."
A complete list of Computer Animation Festival selections for SIGGRAPH 2004 can be found at www.siggraph.org/s2004/conference/caf/index.php.
For registration information visit www.siggraph.org/s2004/registration/ or contact SIGGRAPH 2004 Registration Management, 11212 Waples Mill Road, Suite 104, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030 USA. +1.703.449.6418 phone; +1.703.631.6288 fax; registration@siggraph.org
SIGGRAPH 2004 will bring nearly 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to Los Angeles for the week-long conference, 8-12 August. A comprehensive technical program and special events focusing on research, art, animation, games, interactivity, and the web are planned. SIGGRAPH 2004 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services for the computer graphics and interactive marketplace from 10-12 August 2004.
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