Bradley Students Competing in 24-Hour Animation Challenge
For the seventh year in a row, Bradley students will be participating in the 24 Hour Animation Challenge this Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13 and 14, competing with more than 200 schools from around the world. Seven teams of five will have an opportunity to produce a 30-second animated film based on a given theme in under 24 hours.
Now celebrating its 21st year, this international competition is hosted by animation professor, Aubry Mintz, at California State University, Long Beach. “This year, industry supporters are getting behind this contest with additional prizes and funding efforts to support students in new ways,” he said.
Last year, one of Bradley’s teams tied for 9th place out of 300 teams representing 86 schools in 17 countries. “Bradley University is very competitive with highly-respected universities and art schools with well-recognized animation programs from around the world,” said Scott Cavanah, associate professor of animation.
All teams start at the same time and submit a YouTube link of their completed film before the deadline. The final films will be judged by a panel of industry experts and prizes will be awarded to the top seven teams. Winning films are revealed about three weeks after the event.
The films are completely driven by the students, but animation faculty members are on hand to provide encouragement, answer questions and provide snacks. This year’s teams represent several different majors including animation, game design, game art and marketing and the students range from freshman to one grad student. The competition commences at the Global Communications Center.
“It brings out the best in students,” said Mintz. “It pushes them to their limits but teaches them to make creative decisions in a severely limited time. Working with a team of five challenges artists to learn how to work collaboratively. Sometimes this creates tension and obstacles that the teams must work together to overcome. It’s a rapid speed lesson in animation production.”
— Emily Potts
