Hey all.  Exciting news in from Animation 10.  The judging over, the awards have been given and it is a privilege to give readers an insight into one of the most prestigious Animation competitions across the world.

Credit to Manchester University for driving this great initiative in the UK.  Underpinning this competition is the desire to ensure that school children gain confidence with using computers and essentially learn how to have fun with technology.  Of course, the end product is the creation of compelling animated shorts.  Due to these great aims, EA is proud to be a title Sponsor, (thanks to EA’s Kate Booth of the Outreach team for driving EA participation). 

So what is Animation 10 all about?   UK schoolchildren aged 7-19 are invited to create an animated film using their computer, and submit it to the competition.  Entries can be from individuals, or groups (of up to 4 members) and should be about a minute long.  Animation 10 only accepts animations created using one of the following approved packages: Alice, Scratch, Greenfoot, Flash(includes pre-Adobe Macromedia Flash), or Serif.

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You can sense the excited tension at Animation 09 as schoolchildren wait to see if they are a winner

Hey all.

Just back from judging Animation 10.  Wow the standard is high this year.  There is no shortage of animation talent lining up for jobs in the years ahead.

As EA are title sponsors again, we are very proud of this event and the effort that Manchester University goes to in ensuring it is a great success. 

596 schools registered from all  across the UK – from Cornwall to Shetland, with 1234 entries. A total of 36 prizes awarded to 28 winners.

As a reminder of what Animation 10 is all about:

-   UK schoolchildren aged 7-19 are invited to create an animated film using their computer, and submit it to the competition.

-   Entries can be from individuals, or groups (of up to 4 members).

-   All entrants receive certificates, and winners will receive prizes ranging from laptops to gift vouchers.

-   Winners will be invited to the exciting Animation Festival and Prize Giving day at The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester.

-   Entries are submitted in 4 age categories (KS2, KS3, KS4 and 16-plus).

-   The maximum duration of an entry is one minute.

-   Animations must not be interactive – they must run as standalone animations.

-   Entries must be created using one of the following programs: Alice, Scratch, Adobe Flash, Serif, and Greenfoot.

As you can see the goal is to ensure that schoolchildren see that using computers can be fun.  Manchester University has the vision that capturing children’s imagination through competitions like this, will result in more children wanting to study Computer Science at University in the years head.  This is a primary reason for EA’s involvement in this great competition. 

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EArl is a passionate believer in developing new talent and helping them get noticed and recognised for the potential they have, that’s why it’s a delight that EA is a key partner for Manchester University’s ‘Animation 09′ competition. 

Manchester University has identified that a growing number of students have been shying away from studying key subjects like Computer Science at Degree level and decided to help encourage children from the ages of 7-19, get excited about using computers and gain enthusiasm for subjects like ICT at School.  Manchester hence put put together a nationwide competition…focused on Animation and drawing upon a number of key skills to help in a student’s development.  School teachers have embraced this competition as it has been designed to compliment the National Curriculum and hence provides coursework, which is both fun and yet highly educational, yet sits alongside the curriculum.

UK Government statistics show that, year on year, key subjects like Maths, Physics and Computer  Science are seeing on average 10-15% less applicants, as students apply for a wider brevity of degree subjects offered by the Universities.  EA is a firm believer in the value of traditional ‘core’ subjects as a great basis of understanding and hence is proud to support Manchester University in ensuring that schoolchildren do not fear core subjects but also enthusiastically opt for them at A’Level and onto Degree Level.

Animation 09, follows the highly successful Animation 08.  This second year has succeeded the wildest dreams of Manchester University.  Over 775 UK schools registered for this competition and judges sifted through 812 entries, (which as you can imagine, takes some time to weigh up quality and shortlist).  Take a look at their site:  http://tiny.cc/ywKYg

Animation 09, seeks schoolchildren to put together an animated story, lasting around 60 seconds, using one of 3 software packages: 

Alice:         Which is available as a free download from www.alice.org

Scratch:     Which is again available as a free download from :  http://scratch.mit.edu/

Flash:         Flash is available as a download as a free 1 month trial from Adobe.  Click here for more details:  http://tiny.cc/6YuzY

The rules surrounding submitting state that a students animated entry:  ‘can be about anything you want, with one constraint: it must be inspired by material from the taught curriculum. It might tell a story, or explain or demonstrate something – the only limit is your imagination! ‘

Overall the competition has 8 categories including:

• Age 7-11 (Key Stage 2) – individual or team
• Age 11-14 (Key Stage 3) – individual or team
• Age 14-16 (Key Stage 4) – individual or team
• Age 16-19 (studying in sixth form/college) – individual or team

EArl loves the concept of encouraging schoolchildren at a range of ages getting involved.  Particularly exciting is seeing a nationwide competition for Key Stage 2 children, aged between 7-11.

EArl was fortunate to tag along with EA nominated judges yesterday and view the final judging and was EXTREMELY IMPRESSED by the overall quality.  For those that talk about a crisis in talent or in creativity in the UK, competitions like Animation 09 really do renew your faith in what school children can achieve.

Whilst I am sure entrants would love me to reveal the winners, (and hence winners of prizes including a laptop, ipod and Playstation3′s from EA), I will have to ask you to be patient and wait.  EA has two awards on the night.  The EA Overall Winner and the EA Recognition Award, both of which we will seek to publish on this blog.  Both are great examples of brilliant animation and storytelling. 

To give you a flavour of the judging criteria…..the following were key determining factors steering the judges marks, (as well as the quality of the Animation):

1. Originality
2. Creativity
3. Technical quality, use of animation software features
4. Relevance to the taught curriculum
5. Overall directorial quality as a movie

A great day judging was had by all and again, it is so motivating and touching to see the quality of animators coming through in the UK, from such young ages.  EArl looks forward to revealing photos and winning videos from the Awards Ceremony on Friday 26th June.

EA & Manchester University have a great affiliation.  Numerous Manchester Graduates have gone on to work at the EA UK Offices, where Burnout Paradise is developed by Criterion Games.

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