Young creatives in film, animation, games, VR, motion graphics and 3D visualization offered evaluation by top professionals and exposure to the industry.
SYDNEY -- Sponsored by Autodesk, The Rookies has announced the call for entries to its global competition and mentor program, which is open to young creatives in film, animation, games, virtual reality, motion graphics and 3D visualization.
The final submission deadline is May 15.
The Rookies offers students a “stamp of approval” as they transition from school to production, enabling their work to be seen, graded and commented on by industry experts. Applicants can also find out where they stack up against their peers. Winners walk away with studio internships, school scholarships and prizes.
Since 2009, The Rookies has helped place 89 students in jobs across Asia, Canada, Europe, Oceania and the United States. Past highlighted students have gone on to work on films such as Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Mummy, Iron Man, Captain America and The Avengers and AAA level games such as Hellblade, Far Cry and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor.
“Young talent inspires us and along with The Rookies, we’re excited to support the great animation, gaming, visual effects, digital art and virtual reality content the next generation of creative professionals are creating,” said Amy Bunszel, SVP of design and creation products at Autodesk.
“We are really proud of our judging panel this year, which has a strong female voice from amazing talent like Pavani Boddapati, a CG supervisor at Weta Digital,” said Andrew McDonald, co-founder of The Rookies.
“We also have the incredible John Howe joining the panel this year, who is famous for his work based on the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien,” said Alwyn Hunt, co- founder of The Rookies.
The official categories for 2018 are: feature animation, digital illustration, visual effects, game development, virtual reality, 3D motion graphics, product visualization and architecture visualization; film of the year (visual effects, 2D animation and 3D animation); and Game of the Year (console and PC, virtual reality and mobile).
To be eligible to enter, you must 18 years or older, and have attended a certified higher educational training facility such as a university, academy, college or institute of technology between January 2017 and May 2018.
Important Dates: March 7, open for submissions; May 15, submissions close; June 29, finalists announced; July 11, winners announced.
The Rookies is supported by some of the world’s smartest companies: Autodesk, Shutterstock, Epic Games, Foundry, Blackmagic Design, Unity, Allegorithmic, Ranch Computing, Pixologic, SideFX, Ftrack, Oculus Medium, Wacom and Rayvision.
The following production studios are offering a range of fully paid internships and training programs to category winners: Weta Digital, Framestore, Method Studio, NetherRealm Studios, Monolith Productions, Rewind, Virtual Immersive, Trixter, Axis Animation, The Third Floor, Monkeystack, CVDVFX, Halon Studios, Electric Theatre Collective, Polygon Pictures, Ninja Theory, Plastic Wax, Architecture Office and Greenhaus GFX throughout Asia, Canada, Europe, Oceania, and the USA.
Source: The Rookies
Tom McLean has been writing for years about animation from a secret base in Los Angeles.
