Philippine team showcases animation talent at the Inaugural Autodesk Panorama 2009 Asia Pacific Animation Challenge

 

RP team bags Best Team Work Award with their creation Maskara

 

Manila, Philippines, 14 January 2010 — After days of intense competition among 11 student teams, the three-person team from the Ateneo de Naga University showcased Philippines’ talent for animation and won Best Teamwork Award at the inaugural Autodesk PANORAMA Asia Pacific Animation Challenge and ANimation Bootcamp 2009. team is comprised of Alejandro Karlo Zapanta, Albert B. Brisenio and James Jerome Raneses.

 

“We are thankful for the opportunity that was given to us by joining PANORAMA 2009 Asia Pacific Animation Challenge,” says Alejandro Karlo Zapanta of the Philippine Team. “We were given the arena to demonstrate our talent in digital animation and also represent the Philippines in this competition,” he added. With Autodesk software solutions such as Autodesk Maya which enabled them to bring their ideas and concepts to life, Ateneo de Naga University came up with their digital animation entry entitled Maskara.

 

"We were very impressed by the high standard of the audition submissions for PANORAMA across the region, and by how the 11 student finalist teams were able to deliver winning animated productions under the mentorship of industry professionals and Autodesk customers,” said Teddy D. Tiu, Country Manager, Autodesk Philippines, “With this competition, we have achieved our objectives of inspiring and grooming young digital artists, and providing them with opportunities to acquire the skills and industry exposure they need to excel.”

 

The Autodesk PANORAMA Animation Challenge received 57 entries across seven countries in Asia – Hong Kong, China, Australia, India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. 11 student teams were shortlisted to compete at the Autodesk PANORAMA Animation Bootcamp held at the Hong Kong Cyberport from 11 to 14 December 2009. There, they were trained under the mentorship of industry professionals and Autodesk customers from Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, Imagi Studio, Rhythm & Hues Studio and Rising Sun Pictures, who shared their invaluable knowledge on how to leverage Autodesk software to fine-tune the animated projects that teams submitted during the qualifying stages of the competition.

 

The seven winning teams were judged on their creativity and originality, motion, technical excellence and overall design:

 

1.  PANORAMA CHAMPION AWARD

Country            : Hong Kong – Team 1

Film Title          : Tancho

Institute            : City University of Hong Kong

Participants       : Oscar Sheikh / Sin Yu Tsang

 

2.  1st RUNNER UP AWARD

Country            : Malaysia – Team 1

Film Title     : My Territory

Institute            : The One Academy

Participants       : Chin Kuan Win / Julian Chai / Yow Han Chong

 

3.  2nd RUNNER UP AWARD

Country            : Malaysia – Team 2

Film Title     : Nature’s Roar

Institute            : The One Academy

Participants       : Loh Yong Kang / Tan Guo Xiang / The Beng Eu

 

4.  THE BEST ROOKIE AWARD

Country            : Singapore Team

Film Title          : Alice
Institute            : Singapore Polytechnic

Participant        : Grace Ng Siew Mei / Owen Lim / Bavani Naidu

 

5.  THE ANIMAX EXTRAORDINARY AWARD

Country            : India – Team 2

Film Title     : The Moon

Institute            : National Institute of Design, Paldi, Ahmedabad

Participants       : Pratik Ghosh / Nikhil Bajpai

 

6.  THE BEST TEAM WORK AWARD

Country            : Philippines Team

Film Title          : Maskara

Institute            : Ateneo de Naga University

Participant        : Alejandro Karlo Zapanta / Albert B. Brisenio / James Jerome Raneses

 

7.  THE BEST V-BLOG AWARD

Country            : Australia – Team 1

Film Title     : Tweet Revenge
Institute            : Swinburne University of Technology

Participants       : Richard Osellame / Danny Masalkovski / Steven Donnet

 

Benjamin Huber from Lucasfilm Animation said: "One of the hardest things for studios globally, particularly in this region, where the industry is still relatively young is finding talent that can immediately be productive without too much additional training. I applaud Autodesk for organizing PANORAMA, as it contributes significantly towards raising the design skills of students and their awareness of industry standards and requirements."

 

“The positive feedback that we have received from educational institutions and industry professionals across Asia has been overwhelming and Autodesk looks forward to creating more of such opportunities for youth in Asia to showcase their creativity and spirit of innovation,” said Tiu

 

In addition to providing the finalist teams with regional exposure, their original animated productions were also aired as vignettes on Animax during Christmas.

 

The event was jointly organized with the Mayan Hong Kong User Group, and sponsored by Cyberport IncuTrain Centre, Hong Kong Cyberport, Malaysia’s Multimedia Development Corporation and Animax.

 

For additional information about Autodesk Panorama Animation Challenge and Animation Bootcamp, please visit www.apac-panorama.com.

 

 

About the Mayan: Hong Kong User Group

The Hong Kong Maya User Group is a passionate, non-profit organization formed by dedicated Maya users.  The primary objective of the group is to promote and cultivate professionalism in digital content creation with the focus on 3D computer graphics, animations and digital visual effects creation, especially to the education community.  The group has developed a strong network among similar user groups in the APAC region, and aim to elevate users’ skills through the exchange of ideas, programs and best practices. For additional information, visit www.mayan.hk/mayan/Welcome.html

 

About Cyberport IncuTrain Centre

Funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund, Cyberport is Hong Kong's first and only incubation and training centre for the digital entertainment industry. Dubbed as the "IncuTrain Centre", it aims to promote the commercial success of Hong Kong’s digital entertainment industry, foster entrepreneurship and competence amongst small-to-medium size businesses, and generate a pool of creative business talents for the local industry. IncuTrain also provides incubatee companies with fully equipped office spaces, advance digital production facilities, support in business development, training, legal advice, internship recruitment, and facilitates partnership matching and collaborations with local and overseas organizations. For more information, visit www.incutrain.hk.

 

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD® software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software to help customers experience their ideas digitally before they are built. Fortune 100 companies – as well as the last 14 Academy Award® winners for Best Visual Effects - use Autodesk software tools to design, visualize and simulate their ideas to save time and money, enhance quality, and foster innovation for competitive advantage.