Animation Students to Participate in 24-Hour Animation Contest

Fifteen students in MTSU’s Animation program will be challenging themselves in a test of skill and endurance this Friday as they participate in the 13th Annual 24 Hours Animation Contest.

Simon Idiare Jr. drawing in the wee hours in the morning during the 2014 24 Hour Animation Contest

During the contest, students in the field of animation from all over the world are given exactly 24 hours to create a thirty second short film based on an unknown topic. In the professional world, it would typically take a company three to four months to create such a feat.

Aubry Mintz, head of the animation program at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) created the event as a way to get his students to meet a strict deadline. This is MTSU’s fourth year participating in the contest.

Submitted films are judged by a panel of industry professionals. The top five teams walk away with free merchandise and licensed software from sponsors like DreamWorks Animation, Wacom, Toon Boom, and many more.
More students and schools have stepped up to the challenge this year setting a record of over 500 students and 21 schools participating. This year, MTSU has three teams comprised mostly of veterans of the contest with a few newcomers mixed in.

The event is locally sponsored by the MTSU ACM SIGGRAPH Student Chapter and Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint in Nolensville, providing quality southern BBQ for those participating to stay full and focused through the early hours in the morning and through the day Saturday. Guests are encouraged to stop by the John Bragg Mass Communication Building Room 148 throughout the day Saturday to cheer on and encourage the participants.