BY MAREK KRASUSKI
for northern life
Collège Boréal has joined forces with the National Film Board and Toon Boom to launch a French-language animated short film contest. Entitled Animate Your World, the competition will enable the three winners to develop and refine their animations, thanks to the $5,000 prize offered to each finalist and the expertise by the participating partners.
The objective of the program, says Daniel Giroux, the college’s acting dean of trades and technology, is twofold.
“This provides a great opportunity to promote Collège Boréal’s 2D/3D program as well as French culture.”
The competition is open to any Ontarian fluent in French and possessing demonstrated animation skills by having produced at least one previous film. Film-making instruction will be available to the winners through the NFB, but time constraints demand that some knowledge of animation production already exists.
“We will provide some training,” adds Giroux, “but it’s important that contest winners already have a portfolio. This is a key criterion.”
Production guidelines are clear. The promotion of French culture is mandatory. But they are open enough to permit contestants to exercise a free range of creativity in meeting the objective.
Deadline for submissions is Feb. 1, 2007.
“The content of the film can cover anything from the evolution of French culture to the depiction of French-speaking individuals in the mining industry,” Giroux explains.
Similarly, a range of genres—historical, documentary, comedy—can be incorporated to achieve the stated objective. The animated films will be two to three minutes long, a deceptive length that belies the significant effort required to produce a film of this type. “Since 24 frames per second are required for production, there is a lot of work involved in a film length of three minutes,” added Patrick Breton, the college’s communications officer.
The 2D/3D three-year program offers graduates opportunities in many industries, according to Giroux. Many will look for work with animation companies such as Sudbury’s March Entertainment. But others will apply their expertise in this emerging technology to traditional industries, including mining.
Animation capabilities, for example, can be marshaled to demonstrate visually the operation of underground equipment. Creative, three dimensional images are similarly incorporated into websites for dramatic, persuasive effect.
The college’s partnership with the National Film Board and ToonBoom is one of several initiatives forged with industry to distinguish the college as an educational institution engaged with public and private partners. Co-operative programs with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Inco and others allow students opportunities for relevant, on-the-job training and employers the chance to draw on the skills of aspiring professionals.
