For Immediate Release May 11, 2005

For More Information Contact: Vicki Daugherty, 317-278-4636 Rich Schneider, 317-278-4564 rcschnei@iupui.edu

Animation Festival at IUPUI Draws Top Student Animators; Speakers Include Leaders in the Field

Quark is a short film that makes light of greed. The stage is set on a small planet where a small orange alien, Quark, has eaten every flower with the exception of one. Little does the creature know that the last flower holds the key to the balance of the entire planet, literally.

INDIANAPOLIS - Some of the best student animators in the world will show their work at VisonFest, a festival in Indianapolis celebrating the art of animation.

One of the only animation festivals in North America restricted to students, VisionFest will be held June 2-5, 2005 in the Informatics Complex, located at West and Michigan Streets on the campus of IUPUI. Hosted by the Indiana University School of Informatics at IUPUI, the event is free and open to the public.

Leaders in the animation industry will join students at the festival to share their experiences in the new media industries and provide insights into careers in these fields. Among the industry leaders attending are:

• John Canemaker, an Academy Award winner and director of the animation program at New York University;
• Bob Schreck, who edits Batman and Superman comics;
• Zareh Gorjian, who produces scientific animation for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory;
• Michael Stribling, an artist for Visual Concepts Entertainment, developer of the acclaimed 2K Sports line of videogames;
• Rich McKain, OddWorld animator.

Screenings of the students' work will provide audiences with a mini-film festival, bringing to life the creative imaginations of students from the Vancouver Film School, Savannah School of Art and Design, Ohio State University's Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design and Indiana University's School of Informatics. Festival entries have come from as far as England, Japan, Iceland, Australia, and Canada.

Among the 60-plus two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D) short animations that will be shown are images of flying missile fists, the quirky robot-looking last inhabitant of a planet confronting the last flower on his world, and a girl putting on makeup and trying to deal with her lush handlebar moustache and goatee.

The competition is divided into 2D animation, 3D animation, sequential art, and visualization and simulation categories. Sequential art includes storyboards and comic books, while simulation and visualization art includes educational, informational animation and special effects.

One entry from an IU School of Informatics student in the simulation and visualization category painstakingly recreates a visual tour of Notre Dame in Paris, complete with the sweeping majesty of the interior and the lights and shadows found within the interior of the world-famous cathedral.

The mission of VisonFest is to encourage, promote and support the future development of the art of animation, new media and interactivity by providing

• An environment of inspiration for students;
• The opportunity for students and other festival participants to learn from and to network with industry leaders;
• Provide insight into career opportunities;
• Develop an appreciation for animation in the general public.

Fore information about VisionFest, visit www.visionfest.org or email Vicki@visionfest.org, or call 317-278-4636.

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