"With nearly 30 jurors from all corners of the globe, and two separate jury meetings, this year's Computer Animation Festival jury was one of the most comprehensive in the Festival's history," states Samuel Lord Black, Computer Animation Festival juried co-chair. "The varied expertise we received from our jury ensures that this year's festival is well-balanced, exciting, and a great snapshot of the industry's finest material."
Since 1999, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been an official qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Best Animated Short Film" award.
New in 2008 is the addition of the Computer Animation Festival award presentations, where winners will be revealed during the event. This year's expanded Festival also offers attendees an array of activities over a five-day period, which includes competition and showcase screenings at Los Angeles' Nokia Theater.
Attendees interested in all aspects of animation can also participate in a variety of panels, talks, and presentations, including two full days that will focus on the world of 3D stereo cinematography. These events will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
The nominees for this year's Computer Animation Festival Awards are:
Best in Show Nominees
Bolides
Supinfocom, France
From Supinfocom, this imaginative student film treats us to a chaotic, hilarious, wheelchair race through an old age home.
Carbon Footprint
Jellyfish Pictures, UK
Using computer graphics, Jellyfish Pictures drives home the point of global responsibility, presenting the decomposition of a single soda can over half a century, in a single seamless shot.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
DreamWorks Animation, USA
Hilarity, peril, romance, and zoo animals; everything expected from DreamWorks Animation, this glimpse into their upcoming film provides a whole new perspective on flying with animals.
Oktapodi
Julien Bocabeille, François-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, Emud Mokhberi, GOBELINS l'ecole de lâimage, France
GOBELINS' third-year students directed this animated short about two octopi in their comical escape from the grasps of a stubborn restaurant cook.
The Chemical Brothers "The Salmon Dance"
Framestore CFC, UK
Great music combines with hilarious animation to provide a new perspective on aquaria, as a tank filled with rapping, beatboxing, and dancing fish comes to life, featuring over 300 hand-animated fish.
Best Student Piece Nominees
893
Supinfocom, France
Once again, France's Supinfocom combines story and style in this tale of honor, tradition, and imagination.
Al Dente
Supinfocom, France
Combine opera, pasta, and a knife-wielding chef, and the result is another delicious animated short from this prolific school.
Bärenbraut
Derek Roczen - Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction, Germany
This tale of disproportionate love shows how relationships can change over time. This remarkable 2D animation illustrates a complicated subject and a complex relationship using the most limited of color palettes.
Blind Spot
Johanna Bessiere, Nicolas Chauvelot, Olivier Clert, Cecile Dubois Herry, Yvon Jardel, Simon Rouby, GOBELINS l'ecole de l'image, France
Peripheral vision is everything in this animation about a nearsighted grandmother, a clumsy robber, and a surveillance camera that doesn't quite tell the story of what's really going on in the convenience store.
Mauvais Role
Alan Barbier, Camille Campion, Dorian Fevrier, Frederic Fourier, Frederic Lafay, Min Ma, Jean-François Macem, Emanuel Reperant, Jeremie Rousseau, Olivier Sicot, École Supérieure de Réalisation Audiovisuelle, France
This little tale tells the story of getting whatever you want, as long as you know what it is. Watch as a monster constantly cast in games, finds his perfect job in a game you'd never choose for him.
Jury Award Nominees
Chump and Clump
Michael Herm, Stephan Sacher, Germany
This short shows us just how distracting your friends can be ... and just how they can lead you to miss your bus. Repeatedly.
Mauvais Role
Oktapodi
Our Wonderful Nature
Tomer Eshed, HFF Potsdam, Germany
This documentary uses time stretching, film camera work, and creative sound design to tell the story of water shrews in the wild.
The Plush Life
Timothy Heath, USA
This film, rendered entirely with NVIDIA's Gelato, shows us what happens when you pick at something that just shouldn't be picked at: you might just imperil your trip to work.