Tuesday 7 June 2011

Mini Challenges: How to Participate

Hello guys and gals,
It has been requested to make a post, explaining how to participate in the mini-challenges that will be featured as part of the blog. I hope to answer the most frequently asked questions, but if you have any more, please do not hesitate to ask.

What are the 11 second club mini-challenges?
The 11 second club monthly competition is one of the best character animation competitions in the world. With over a hundred entries every month, it celebrates the unique vision each different animator can bring when confronted with the same audio clip.

The mini-challenges are a series of exercises, less demanding than the main competition. The challenges are set to allow both beginner and the more experienced to push the task as far as they wish.

Already we have seen great diversity in the entries, with each participant being encouraged to add something of their own.

How long does each challenge last?
Most challenges will last for a fortnight, starting and finishing on a Monday.

Does the animation need to be in done in 3d? Can I enter using stop motion or 2d instead?
Absolutely. However you feel most comfortable animating your entry, then that's how you should approach it. All that's really required is that you are able to upload a quicktime movie of your work at the end of each challenge. The style and the medium is absolutely up to you!

Where can I find out about the current challenge?
The brief for each challenge will be featured both on the blog and the main 11 second site, found within the mini-challenge section.

Where can I receive critique and help upon making the animation?
During the challenge please post works in progress either within the mini-challenge section of the main site, or within the our group on facebook. The blog will only feature the finished entries at the end of each challenge.

What do I win?
Unlike the monthly animation competition, the mini-challenges are simply to practice and test your skills. There is no winner. However, as a token to those who participate, if you have an online portfolio, please provide the url together with your name and we will create a link to your work on the blog.


What framerate should I animate with?
We recommend using 24fps. Of course, any frame rate can be used as we request the work to be submitted as one whole quicktime file. However, when presented on the blog, the clips will be gathered together and viewed as compilation at 24fps.

What size should I make my submission
Similar to the 11 Second Club monthly competition, the submissions are all required to be 560 pixels in width by 316 pixels in height, or a compatible 16:9 aspect ratio, eg. 640x360 is a standard 16:9 aspect ratio.
The file should also be no bigger than 10mb in size. For a guide on encoding your file, please click here

How do I submit my animation for each challenge?
When you have completed your entry for the challenge, please upload your file in quicktime format to dropbox and post the link it provides either on the facebook site or within the mini-challenge section of the 11 second club site. If you are unfamiliar with dropbox please click here and follow the simple steps. Thank you