Animation’s future found at CCAD

Congrats to this year’s participants in this year’s world-wide, completely virtual 24 HOURS Animation Competition for Students. The teams of five students each were charged with creating a fully realized half-minute short within 24 hours based on this year’s theme: “How this pandemic has affected you.”

Columbus College of Art & Design Animation students on the team L̸̋̇Ẽ̸̎S̵͗̕O̶̊̉Ú̴̓E̴͛͒F̵͊̈́D̷͑̈́U̸͂̄R̶̂̅S̶̏̉  (French for “hard-boiled eggs”) received a recognition in the category of “Best Behind the Scenes Material,” which netted them a prize package valued at $4,910, including:

• $500 in cash for the team
• A ToonBoom software package valued at $7,250
• Industrial Light & Magic prize pack
• Five small Wacom tablets
• A 2-year digital subscription for each team member to Animation magazine
• Tickets for each team member to the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International

Almost $170,000 in prizes was awarded in this year’s contest, which is in its 18th year. This year, 188 teams of students from colleges and high schools around the world submitted their entries to the animation contest and 52 teams sent in behind-the-scenes video and photos. Entries were judged by industry professionals and teams were awarded sponsorship prizes.

“This was all student-led and -powered. The Animation faculty made a discord page for students to find team members and stay connected. The students deserve all the credit,” says Animation Chair and Professor Charlotte Belland.

L̸̋̇Ẽ̸̎S̵͗̕O̶̊̉Ú̴̓E̴͛͒F̵͊̈́D̷͑̈́U̸͂̄R̶̂̅S̶̏̉’ members (Madison, Meera, Ryan, Oliver, and Aubrey) worked from their homes in Akron, Galloway, and Springboro, Ohio, as well as Orlando, Florida and Darien, Connecticut on their project, Essen-tails, a short that reflected on the important role pets play in our lives, particularly during times of upheaval. Watch Essen-tails here.

The team “did a really really great job documenting the real experience, being real with your emotions,” says Christina Mott, one of the 24-hour competition’s organizers. The team provided heartfelt, emotional material, as well as silly moments, she says. The entry also distinguished itself in “the whole story of you guys coming together in spite of not being super experienced animators, making the distance thing work,” says Mott. See their behind-the-scenes entry here.

Another CCAD team, Gen Zoom, came in 40th in the worldwide competition. Gen Zoom’s members are Ari, Brooke, Violet, Thomas, and West. Watch their short, also called Gen Zoom, here. 

Also participating was the CCAD team Red Hot Strawberries (Lucky, Abbey, Abby, Mollie, and Ronnie). Watch their short, Hazard Pay, here.

Click here for more information on the 24 HOURS Animation Contest.

Learn more about the Animation program at CCAD or apply here.