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Skills Canada National Competition Contest Description 88- 2D Character Computer Animation / Secondary June 4-7, 2014 - Toronto
Skills Canada National Competition Contest Description
88- 2D Character Computer Animation / Secondary June 4-7, 2014 - Toronto
SCNC 2014 – Contest Description (Scope Document) 87- 2D Character Computer Animation
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1. The Importance of Essential Skills for Careers in the Skilled Trades and Technology SCC is currently working with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in order to bring awareness to the importance of Essential Skills that are absolutely crucial for success in the workforce. This is part of a new initiative that requires the integration and identification of Essential Skills in contest area descriptions and competition scopes. Essential skills are used in nearly every job and at different levels of complexity. They provide the foundation for learning all other skills and enable people to evolve with their jobs and adapt to workplace change. Good Essential Skills means you will understand and remember concepts introduced in technical training. The level of Essential Skills required for most trades is as high or higher than it is for many office jobs.
The following 9 skills have been identified and validated as key essential skills for the workplace: · 1Numeracy, 2Oral Communication, 3Working with Others, 4Continuous Learning, 5Reading Text, 6Writing, 7Thinking, 8Document Use, 9Digital These essential skills have been identified in section 2.3 and/or 3.2 of your Contest Description.
2. CONTEST INTRODUCTION In order to reflect the process used in the animation industry, the project will be structured in duration and required form. In an approach similar to the « 11 Second Club » animation competition, a soundbyte will be provided to each team. Competitors will create model sheets, storyboards, animatics and animations according to the contest description and their interpretation of the prescribed soundbyte. The soundbyte/theme of the project will be provided to the competitors on the morning of the competition. Character Animation deals with the creation and animation of characters used in storytelling. A character may take the shape of any object in response to the sound bite provided. The “main characters” should be the focus of the production. There are no limitations as to the realism of the characters; however, the ability of characters to express emotion is a major component of the competiton.
SCNC 2014 – Contest Description (Scope Document) 87- 2D Character Computer Animation
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Upon completion of the animation, teams will present their storyboard, model sheets and animation to the judges. Competitors must demonstrate strong drawing skills and captivate the audience with an engaging story.
2.1 Purpose of the Challenge. To evaluate strong traditional animation art and storytelling skills. To provide competitors with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and skill of Character Animation as they prepare for employment in the animation field.
2.2 Duration of contest. Approximately 14.5 hours (including team presentations and viewing)
2.3 Skills and Knowledge to be tested.
• Participants will be challenged to detail and plan the development of a complete animated story based on a given theme.
• The competition will focus on the participants’ ability to tell a story through expressive characters and the animation process.
• Through storyboarding the competitors outline their idea on paper, then bring their story to life by creating, animating and compositing the scenes outlined in their storyboard.
3. CONTEST DESCRIPTION 3.1 List of documents produced and timeline for when competitors have access to the
documents. DOCUMENT DATE OF DISTRIBUTION VIA WEBSITE Judging Criteria December, 2013 Storyboard sample December, 2013 Storyboard symbols December, 2013 Model Sheet December, 2013 Principles of Animation December, 2013
3.2 Tasks that may be performed during the contest
• The project will have a specific sound bite to direct the animation. The sound bite will not be released until the beginning of competition.
• Produce storyboards, animatics and character model sheets electronically and/or on paper (must be digitzed by the end of day1) that sets out their proposed animation following the sound bite provided. 9
• The final product will be compared to the animatics.
SCNC 2014 – Contest Description (Scope Document) 87- 2D Character Computer Animation
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• Competitors should note that model sheets MUST include front, profile (side), ¾, and back views of the character.
• Competitors must demonstrate their knowledge of the 12 principles of animation in their project
• Competitors are expected to create suitable environments and supporting assets. 7
• Nowhere within the presentation and supporting documents should the name of the students, their school school board appear.
• The final animation product may NOT exceed the provided audio duration. The teams will work independently3. Instructors and/or observers will give NO assistance and are not allowed in the competition area.
• Teams will prepare a presentation to the judges. The students will present animatics, character designs, and final animation(.mov).
• The presentation schedule will be as follows: o Presentation of products (animatic, model sheets, and animation) o View animation o Feedback from judges o The presentation and feedback process will take approximately 5 minutes
per team.
o During the presentation and feedback all competitors must remain with the competition group , as specified by NTC. Spectators, advisors, and or parent guardians are welcomed during the viewing.
Essential Skills – 3Working with Others 7Thinking (Job task planning and Organizing) 9Digital
4. EQUIPMENT, MATERIAL, CLOTHING 4.1 Equipment and material provided by Skills/Compétences Canada
• 2 Workstations/Team • Hardware Requirements –
o Intel Graphics Workstation i7 Quad Core Processors o 2X4MB l2 cache minimum o 1 TB HD o 16Gb RAM o Dedicated video card (suggested 2GB) as approved by Autodesk o DVD Writer o Flat Panel Display 1920 X 1080 o Sound card with headsets; DVD ROM. o Operating System – Windows (64-bit) o Note- 2D and 3D will have the same image of applications on all
computers.
SCNC 2014 – Contest Description (Scope Document) 87- 2D Character Computer Animation
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o Software: 3D Studio Max, Maya, Blender 3D, Audacity, Quicktime, Media Player. The completion will use the most current applications as of March 2014.
Note: All applications will run on demonstration/trial mode. Any application/s requiring licensing, teams are responsible to forward license files and or dongles accordingly prior to competition to NTC chair member.
• Compositing software will be Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects,
Adobe Flash • Graphic Software Adobe Photoshop. • Animation Software will be Adobe Flash, ToonBoom Studio, ToonBoom
Animate Pro. • Viewing software will be Quicktime. • Storyboarding software- Photoshop, ToonBoom Storyboard Pro, SketchBook
Pro, ToonBoom Animate Pro • No external support programs, plug-ins, or documentation (other than those
found in the final shipped version of the software) may be used. • Standard storyboard and model sheets will be provided.
4.2 Equipment and material provided by the competitor
• Teams ARE REQUIRED to contact the technical chair by May 15, 2014 to advise the Committee what software they will be using if it is not listed above. If the committee is not contacted prior to May 15, 2014, the committee will make all efforts to have the software available to the competitors before the start of the event. Due to the nature of installing software, competitors should be prepared to use the software provided by the committee if installing their desired software is unsuccessful.
• Tablet and driver (Driver compatible with Windows 7 64 bit) • Headphones • Audio devices, including CD players, iPods, and mp3 players, or usb
devices(provided by adviser only at end of competition to make copy of work) are NOT permitted in the competition area
• Pencils and erasers.
4.3 Required clothing (Provided by competitor) • Appropriate Business-casual Attire: no school name, provincial name or
commercial logo on any visible attire. • Hats are not permitted in the competition area.
5. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS 5.1 List of required personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by competitors
• Appropriate Buisness-casual Attire: no school name, provincial name or commercial logo on any visible attire.
• Hats are not permitted in the completion area.
SCNC 2014 – Contest Description (Scope Document) 87- 2D Character Computer Animation
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6. ASSESSMENT 6.1 Point breakdown
POINT BREAKDOWN /100 Animatic 20 Character and Asset Design 20 Animation 40 Final Product 20
Please see Judging Criteria document for detailed score breakdown.
7. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 7.1 Consecutive translation
If consecutive translation is required on site, the Skills/Compétences Canada Provincial/Territorial offices must advise Skills/Compétences Canada National Secretariat a minimum of 1 month prior to the competition or this service might not be guaranteed.
7.2 Software requirements
If French software is required the Skills/Compétences Canada Provincial/Territorial offices must advise Skills/Compétences Canada National Secretariat a minimum of 1 month prior to the competition or this software might not be guaranteed.
7.3 Computer keyboard requirements
English Keyboards will be provided, if a French keyboard is required the Skills/Compétences Canada Provincial/Territorial offices must advise Skills/Compétences Canada National Secretariat a minimum of 1 month prior to the competition or this keyboard might not be guaranteed.
7.4 Tie (No ties are allowed)
In the event of a tie, one member of the NTC will be selected as an additional judge.
7.5 Competition rules Please refer to the competition rules for the Skills Canada National Competition
8. NATIONAL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Region Name Email address Ontario - Chair Alexi Balian [email protected] Atlantic Region Robert Gibson [email protected] Pacific Region Byron Kask [email protected] West Region Justin McGillivray [email protected] Worskshop Supervisor Terry Posthumus [email protected]
