Computer Animation Festival

Submission Rules and Requirements
Submitters must follow the submission rules and requirements, and upload their work in the proper format(s) to be eligible for consideration. The online submission period begins in March 2010, and all entries must be completed by 15 July 2010, 23:59 UTC/GMT.

Submission Categories
We expect that works submitted to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival will have been completed on or after 1 January 2009. All submissions should be computer-generated or include certain aspects of computer-generated production for which the computer was essential to the creation of the piece.

The Computer Animation Festival invites submissions in the following categories:

• Animation Shorts (narrative, character, abstract, experimental, etc.; most animations should be in this category)
• Animated Feature Films (selections or montages)
• Commercials
• Music Videos
• Real-Time Visualization (games, mobile animations)
• Scientific Visualization or Research
• Visual Effects (short films, sequences, live-action feature films, etc.)
• Submissions for Panels & Talks: All topics are eligible including, but not limited to, "behind-the-scenes", story development, character designs, and sound designs. Please submit a proposal for a Panel (multiple presenters) or a Talk (single presenter) about your project's content and relevance.

If you are not sure which category is best for your work, please feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Chair. We will be happy to help you.

Juried Entries and Invited Entries
The festival includes two main screening programs:

• The official competition section consists of the Electronic Theater and the Animation Theater, selected by the festival jury. Work presented in the Electronic Theater is eligible for the festival awards.
• The invited section consists of special presentations of pieces invited by the festival committee, from short subjects to feature films, that represent world-class achievement.

Use the Computer Animation Festival Online Submission Form to submit your proposal before the submission deadline (15 July 2010, 23:59, UTC/GMT). All forms must be completed, and all materials must be successfully uploaded by that time. The submission deadline will be strictly enforced.

We strongly encourage starting the submission form well before the deadline. Also, please do not wait until the last minute to upload your files. See Uploading Files for complete information.

Log in to the SIGGRAPH Information System, select Begin a New Submission, and then select "create" for the Computer Animation Festival Form. The form provides detailed instructions on how to submit your entry. Before the submission deadline (15 July 2009, 23:59 GMT/UTC), the online submission system allows you to edit or correct your form as many times as necessary. At the end of the online submission process, you will be assigned a submission ID number, which will be displayed in your completed form.

Upload your movie file so the jury can evaluate your work.

• File size: under 500 MB
• File format: QuickTime (preferred), AVI or MP4 also acceptable (over 640 x 480 pixels)
• Vaild video codecs: H.264 (preferred), DivX, Wmv, Sorenson, Mpeg-4
• Still images: at least 1K pixel resolution or higher

Panels & Talks
Please upload your proposal PDF file along with your movie file. The PDF file must include the following materials and information:

• Title of the session
• A half-page abstract of your topic
• A brief summary (two or three lines) for the web site and promotional materials
• Short bios for all lecturers or panelists
• Representative images suitable for the web site and promotional materials

Other formats or submission methods will not be reviewed. If you need to ask any questions about uploading files, please feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee. We will be happy to help.

Deadline
Online submission forms must be completed no later than 15 July 2010, 23:59 UTC/GMT (Califonia, 15 July, 15:59; South Korea, 16 July, 08:59; France, 16 July, 00:59).

Important: All descriptions, captions, and notes to the jury must be in English. If your first language is not English, please consider the English Review Service. Please note that this takes time, so your submission should be sent to the English Review Service well before the final Computer Animation Festival deadline.

New requirement: All submitters must complete the Submission and Authorization Agreement (formerly the Acceptance Agreement) before the submission deadline. Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed or accepted.

Jury Review
All submissions are reviewed by a jury of experts in computer graphics, interactive techniques, and related fields. The Computer Animation Festival Chair and Committee are responsible for conducting the jury process, selecting the final works, and presenting the official competition and invited programs to the highest standards of quality.

The jury review will take place in early August 2010.

Acceptance Notification
In mid-August 2010, you will be notified by email of the status of your work. Each year, we receive far more submitted pieces than we can accept, and we are not able to accept many deserving pieces. If your work is selected for the Electronic Theater or Animation Theater, you will be expected to reply promptly to any request for information or clarification from the Computer Animation Festival Committee.

Preparation of Final Movies
If your submission is accepted by the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival, and your final piece is different from the version you provided for the jury to evaluate, you will need to provide the final piece afterwards. Especially for those pieces selected for presentation in the high-quality Electronic Theater format, we expect that you will provide a completed work at full-resolution (HD is strongly preferred).

Final Movie Submission Formats
Final screening material with proper formats must be received by the Computer Animation Festival no later than 10 September 2010.

For Electronic Theater pieces - high definition (HD):

• Accepted video resolution: 1080p (1920x1080p) strongly preferred, 1080i (1920x1080), 720p (1280x720p)
• Accepted video codecs: uncompressed (or lossless compressed) QuickTime file
• Accepted frame rate: 24fps preferred
• Audio rate: 48.000 kHz
• Presentation medium: HD-SR tape (1920x1080 resolution, 24fps) with HD-SDI projector

For Animation Theater pieces - high definition (HD) preferred, standard definition (SD):

• Accepted video resolution: over 640x480 (Please provide your animation in the highest resolution possible!)
• Accepted video codecs: uncompressed (or lossless compressed) QuickTime file
• Accepted frame rate: 24fps preferred
• Audio Rate: 48.000 kHz

There are two ways to submit a final movie:

1. Upload the completed work at full resolution to the server that we provide (strongly preferred).

2. Send a movie file via hard drive (including USB).

We do not accept individual TIFF and audio files due to potential for timing confusion.

Shipping and Returns
Hard drives will not be returned by mail. They may be picked up at the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Conference Management Office at the COEX Center during the conference.

Submitters are responsible for all shipping and transportation costs, insurance charges, and customs fees that may be incurred in shipping materials to the festival.

If you have any questions regarding final submission formats and/or codecs, please contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee.

Screenings
Selected works will be presented in theaters during SIGGRAPH Asia 2010.

Panels & Talks
The Computer Animation Festival includes presentations by experts related to computer animation and visual effects, as well as "behind-the-scenes" or "making of" presentations by creators whose works are accepted and presented at the festival.

Awards
On the first night of the festival, the Festival Jury will present the Best of Show Award and/or Jury Special Award.

Presenter and Contributor Recognition
Please see the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Recognition Policy for a summary of what you will receive if your work and/or proposal are accepted by SIGGRAPH Asia 2010.

Permissions
You are responsible for securing the necessary permissions and licenses for visual and audio material contained in the work you submit to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival.

We encourage you to use original music or visual material for your film, but if visual or audio material is not originally made for the film, we ask you to obtain the necessary permissions or required licenses to prevent complaints or even legal action from the rights holders.

What is the qualification for entry?
Only works completed on or after 1 January 2009 can be considered. The Computer Animation Festival invites submissions in the following categories:

• Animation Shorts (narrative, character, abstract, experimental, etc.; most animations should be in this category)
• Animated Feature Films (selections or montages)
• Commercials
• Music Videos
• Real-Time Visualization (games, mobile animations)
• Scientific Visualization or Research
• Visual Effects (short films, sequences, live-action feature films, etc.)

I have submitted my work to the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival in the past. Is it OK if I submit the same work to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival again?
Yes. You can submit the same works to SIGGRAPH Asia 2010. SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia have separate juries and acceptance procedures.

Do submissions have to be 3D animations?
Absolutely not. All forms of computer-generated works are eligible including, but not limited to: 2D Flash animation, 2D abstract art, live-action visual effects integration, real-time video games and visualizations, and digitally manipulated imagery and/or video. We generally feature works in which the computer was essential to the creation of the work, but there is no specific requirement that it be 3D. If you have computer-generated work within a larger piece, please remember that it is the CG component that will be judged, so please keep any extraneous footage to an absolute minimum in your submission.

Can I submit more than one work to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival?
Yes, you can. There is no limit, and you may submit as many as you like. Make sure that you submit a separate submission form per each work. The jury will evaluate and decide on each submission separately.

I will not have my work finished by the submission deadline. Is it possible for me to submit “work in progress” for review?
Yes, a work in process may be submitted if it is almost complete. However, you should remember that the juried program will likely be highly competitive, so your chances of selection are significantly better if you submit the final piece by the deadline.

When is the submission deadline for the Computer Animation Festival?
Online submission forms must be completed no later than 15 July 2010, 23:59 UTC/GMT (Califonia, 15 July, 15:59; South Korea, 16 July, 08:59; France, 16 July, 12:59). To determine what time that is where you are, you can use a converter such as The World Clock.

Final uploads must be complete by the deadline, and submissions received after the deadlines will not be reviewed. There is no exception, so please make sure that all submissions are completed before the deadlines.

We are an art school, and we are planning to submit several student works as one submission. Is this OK?
No. Each piece must be uploaded separately to the online submission system along with its own completed and signed submission form. Each piece is judged on its own merit

What file formats are acceptable for submission?
The requirements are:

• File size: under 500 MB
• File format: QuickTime (preferred), AVI or MP4 also acceptable (over 640 x 480 pixels)
• Vaild video codecs: H.264 (preferred), DivX, Wmv, Sorenson, Mpeg-4
• Still images: at least 1K pixel resolution or higher

Other formats or submission methods will not be reviewed. If you need to ask any questions about uploading files, please feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee. We will be happy to help.

Where do I send my submission materials?
All works must be submitted only via the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 online submission system. The online submission process allows submitters easy access to the online submission system, eliminates time-consuming shipping and mailing, and provides an efficient procedure for reviewing submitted work.

Is there a submission fee for submitting to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival?
No, there is no submission fee. You only need to complete the online submission process.

What criteria dose the jury use to select works?
All entries are reviewed together, and there are no strict rules for acceptance. The jury primarily looks for a combination of innovation and excellence. A longer list of traits the jury typically looks for includes: originality, artistic achievement, technical accomplishment, technical innovation, production value, creativity, resolution, narrative quality, design, entertainment value, and advancement of visualization in the artistic and scientific fields of digital technologies. 


What is the difference between the juried program and the invited program?
The juried program presents work selected by the jury that represents the best computer-generated film and video in the world. The invited program presents new visions and inspirations on chosen topics, by special invitation only.

My animation makes use of commercially recorded music. Is this OK?
You are responsible for securing the necessary permissions and licenses for audio material that is contained in your work. If your music was not created originally for your film or video, or if you are using another person’s music, you must obtain the necessary permissions or required licenses. We will not purchase these rights for you. 


Will SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 cover the shipping expenses for the final screening format?
No. SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 does not pay for any shipping or transportation costs. Submitters are responsible for all shipping and transportation costs, insurance charges, and customs fees that may be incurred in shipping materials to the festival.

If my work is selected for the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival, will SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 pay for my accommodation and travel expenses?
Unfortunately, no. You are responsible for your accommodation and travel expenses. For details, please refer to the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Recognition Policy.

15 July 2010, 23:59 (UTC/GMT)
Submission deadline

Early August 2010
Jury reviews

Late August 2010
Acceptance notification

10 September 2010
Final movie submission

15-18 December 2010
SIGGRAPH Asia 2010