The last exhibitor was being hustled out of Sydney's Darling Harbour exhibition hall by pushy security guards as I wrote this, and Digital Media World was finished for 1997. It felt good to be there, and there seemed to be enough people walking around the stands to suggest that it might have proven profitable for the exhibitors. Many were attending the demonstrations of software and hardware that had been 'promoted' in the conference sessions, but no one seemed to mind when the speakers slipped in plugs for themselves or their tools. It's what these sort of shows are about, and when you've got people from ILM, Digital Pictures and the best of the local companies, you shut up and listen. It's the insight into process and the way others work that help you gauge your own skill levels and methods. Valuable information.
This year the trade show and Australian Effects & Animation Festival double, was joined by TV Australia, a conference and trade event that had it's own Hall doorway that lead ... surprise, to Digital Media World.
The confusion also seemed to apply to the TV Australia conference program which was business oriented aimed at producers and film-makers. Friends I spoke to would have loved to drop in on some of the Effects & Animation sessions and vice versa, but with back to back speakers even I didn't get a chance to visit. So, forgive the fact that there's no coverage here of TV Australia. (If anyone cares to contribute a report it would be great!).
The highlight for me was the Awards screening on Monday night, when local content had some great overseas competition, and like all good competitive events polarised the audience on almost every category. The judges cut the hundreds of entries down to four finalists in each category that were shown on the night. Not being able to see some of the longer entries in full made some of the judges selections seem strange, but they seemed to be playing very fair, rewarding local content while still handing out some gongs to overseas.
The Winners were...
Short Films
Tug Wilson, John Francis
Opening the night, were four short films that promised great things to come, and the programme didn't dissapoint. John Francis's Softimage animated talking bulldog was technically terrific but attached to a slight storyline (as far I could tell from what we were shown) that involved dogs shitting on the doorsteps of a property developer who excluded dogs from his buildings. Strange and surreal, the short grabs shown on the night were tantalising. (Maybe next year there could be a screening of the finalist entries in full, perhaps even on the last day, in parrallel to the workshops?)
Feature Films
The Frighteners, Weata Ltd
On Day 2, Matthew Aitkin and Christian Rivers from Auckland NZ film company Weata Ltd showed
some of the 570 digital effects (50 mins of screen time!) that they produced for The Frighteners. On Monday night, they walked away with the award against Pacific Data (The Arrival), ILM (Dragonheart), and Complete Post (Romeo & Juliet).
Titles, idents and stings
Arena, Garner MacLennan Design.
Diana Rayson and Natasha Rand who directed the dense and beautifully designed series of Foxtel 'Arena' idents, accepted the award, that had competition from some inspired BBC 1 & BBC 2 spots and a surreal MTV spot from Partizan Midi Minuit in France. Jeff Oliver, GMD's MD, roused the audience with his speech the next day, talking of his vision of next year's show being an event supported by the whole industry, and attracting the South East Asian market he believes has strong financial possiblities for us.
Commercials
Electrolux 'Jungle'. Buf Compagnie.
Garner MacLennan featured again in the commercials section with the great Dr.Pepper Statue of Liberty TVC, but it was for French Pierre Buffin's Buf Compagnie animation of fleas trying to escape the vacuum cleaner that had the audience cheering and making whoops of delight. Brilliantly staged 3D animation.
Education and Training
Fibonacci and the Golden Mean, The Palladian Group
In a field of three finalists that included work from Frances' Fantome and UK Molinaire & Red Post, this bits we were shown of this American production seemed to do everything right. The subject of course allowed full reign to create beautiful examples of Fibonacci series in nature. The video projection on the night didn't do justice to this one.
Research
Dynamic Balance & Walking Control of Planar Bipeds, Iowa State University.
In a category that included a very (unintentionally) funny simulation of the stadiums being built for the Atlanta Olympics, the whimsy of this entry, (host Peter Castaldi called it Icypole Stick Man), won out as a popular vote on the night as well.
Students
Noelene Giblet's Big Snatch, Susan Earl.
Entered and a finalist in the PC/Mac category Susan Earl's simple 2D Photoshop animation was up against some terrific 3D work. Written, designed and directed by Susan, it was unashamedly just a funny cartoon. One with enough bite and gags to make the audience laugh, each time a new segment was shown.
PC/Mac Generated
Alfred, Planet Voodoo Studios
In a seductive sepia/black and white this funny Alfred Hitchcock sendup was also a finalist in the Short Films category. The quality of the work being done, on what were once considered 'low end' machines, prompted the judges to consider dropping this category next year. Christopher Minos created Alfred in Lightwave 3D on a PC.
I've no illustration for the category of Simulation but it was won by RGB Adventure from New Wave Entertainment in Belgium for a 3D space adventure ride. The simulation category included another film created for simulator rides from the same company, and an Australian computer simulation of a 'wanna be ride' called The Missile from ISSC Australia.
Music
Skunk Anansi, Digital Pictures
The award is for the effects in the clip, not the music, but the music in Anton Beebe and Alex Catchpole's clip sounded pretty good too. Runners up were David Nelson from Melbourne's Unreal Pictures with Bzzz -The Fly, and two from Europe.
The entry forms for next years event are available, the closing date is 2 February 1998 so you've got time to think about it. Next year's event will be a bit later in the year, 17 -19 March 1998. For details contact the organiser PO Box 250, Bondi Junction NSW 2022, Australia. Ph: +61 (02) 9360 6396. The Digital Media World website provides a bare minimum of information at www.dmw.com.au