2009 3D Awards Update - Feedback Required

[Jeff Mottle]

In 2009 we will not be running our yearly AVC (Architectural Visualization Competition), but we will be expanding upon the 3D awards.

 

In past years we have only had two categories: Best Image & Best Animation. This year we will be expanding to include many more categories. Please help us ensure this new format launches with great success and post your ideas for categories that you would like to see included.

 

Also, to help pay for the travel costs for judges to vote on the images and animations in person, we are seriously considering implementing a small fee per submission. Please post your thoughts. The intent in implementing such a fee, which is widely used in other similar competitions, is to ensure people only submit their best work, rather than entire portfolios, and to enable judges to devote dedicated time to select the best entries. The fee will likely be somewhere in the neighborhood of $5-25 per entry if implemented.

[cccj]

Is it possible to break Best Image into interior and exterior categories? And this year, we can see many similar renderings from the same project put in a random way, I m not sure if it's good to have a "Best series of Images" award

[Koper]

Production Animation:

1. Best Feature length (+5min) (what length is feature length:confused:)

2. Best Trailer (-5min)

3. Best FX/Technical integration (taken from above categories 1&2)

 

Production Images

1. Best Exterior

2. Best Interior

3. Best Integration of Int.&Ext. together

4. Best Atmosphere

5. Best Residential estate (from above categories)

6. Best Commercial estate (from above categories)

 

& maybe

7. Best Night scene (from above categories)

8. Best Day scene (from above categories)

9. Best sequence (min 5 images)

 

 

Personal work

 

Best portfolio work (min 5 images & max 5 images)

 

 

I think a small fee is in order. $25 for production and $10 for personal.

But maybe a special that if an animation is submitted it includes free entry for production images

 

 

 

just my thoughts

[amer abidi]

In 2009 we will not be running our yearly AVC (Architectural Visualization Competition

 

 

I think it was a GREAT incentive! challenging and fun.. brought many of us together in the WIP forums, and was very intuitive and educational all along. I was actually looking forward to the next AVC. Its the only one of its kind on the web and i think its would be such a shame to terminate it.

[kippu]

except that the avc takes a long time for the people to work on and in the end most of them start dropping off

[Brian Smith]

whatever the categories, i think the submissions should take no more than a day's worth of work to create. otherwise you are making it impossible for some really great talents that just dont have weeks on end to spend.

[Jeff Mottle]

except that the avc takes a long time for the people to work on and in the end most of them start dropping off

 

Yes, this is essentially why we're not going to do it any more. We've been lucky in that the people who have made it to the end in the past competitions have deserved the award, but I want to leave on a high note. I don't want to see someone win by default without the talent to back it up.

[Jeff Mottle]

Production Animation:

1. Best Feature length (+5min) (what length is feature length:confused:)

2. Best Trailer (-5min)

3. Best FX/Technical integration (taken from above categories 1&2)

 

Production Images

1. Best Exterior

2. Best Interior

3. Best Integration of Int.&Ext. together

4. Best Atmosphere

5. Best Residential estate (from above categories)

6. Best Commercial estate (from above categories)

 

& maybe

7. Best Night scene (from above categories)

8. Best Day scene (from above categories)

9. Best sequence (min 5 images)

 

 

Personal work

 

Best portfolio work (min 5 images & max 5 images)

 

 

I think a small fee is in order. $25 for production and $10 for personal.

But maybe a special that if an animation is submitted it includes free entry for production images

 

 

 

just my thoughts

 

 

Excellent, this is what I am looking for. Keep them coming.

[Brian Smith]

can there be duplicate awards for the following type of categories:

 

freelancers

companies of 2-5 employees/partners

companies of 6 or more

 

i don't think it's fair to judge a freelancer's work side by side with the work of a small army of artists. just a thought.

Edited December 27, 2008 by Brian Smith

[Koper]

can their be duplicate awards for the following type of categories:

 

freelancers

companies of 2-5 employees/partners

companies of 6 or more

 

i don't think it's fair to judge a freelancer's work side by side with the work of a small army of artists. just a thought.

We'll, with us its only the feature length animations that uses more than 3 people. For production images, its one artist that can produce up to 10 images per project. Thus maybe splitting up submissions according size of company is only applicable to feature length animations.

 

--

 

As the AVC might fall away all together. Why not have a dupe-a-photo award under the Personal work category. Have one challenge a month and then take the top 3 entries of each month through to the grand finale(3D Awards). Allowing all qualifiers to submit their portfolios for free as well.

 

I think one more special award might fit very well with the 3D awards. That is the Best Progress award.

Awarded to a CGA member who have progressed significantly through active WIP's and C&C discussions.

These members can only be nominated.

 

 

Just a bit more thoughts

 

A

[John Dollus]

I'd suggest using the old Cadalyst caddie award categories. They were pretty fair and even. Keep it simple -

best animation, best exterior and best interior with student, group and professional categories for each.

Freelancer category is a grey area as many are moonlighters who have greater resources to rely on than the purely solo artist working out of their homes lending an uneven field for anyone choosing that category.

Personally, I think size of company is rather irrelevant when critiquing images and shouldn't be a factor though it would help prevent king kong syndrome

If an image is good, it's good and should be judged on it's own merit - not the financial backing behind it though a group category would help alleviate Brain's concern.

 

I agree that a fee structure would be good to both defray some costs and to encourage only serious entries - $25-35 for professional and group with $10 student entry fee.

[Tommy L]

I agree with the above.

[Iain Denby]

Many, if not all past winners' images seem to be iether 'very realistic' or 'very photographic', which is great, but perhaps this suggests that other styles are largely overlooked. How about a category such as 'most interesting, or most inspirational, or most distinctive etc. This would then capture more sketchy, graphic, NPR styles.

[aaron-cds]

Many, if not all past winners' images seem to be iether 'very realistic' or 'very photographic', which is great, but perhaps this suggests that other styles are largely overlooked. How about a category such as 'most interesting, or most inspirational, or most distinctive etc. This would then capture more sketchy, graphic, NPR styles.

 

I agree. It's safe to say that it's not very difficult any more to produce a photo-realistic image with today's software and texture packages such as what Arroway offers. The contest should include a creative category or "out of the box" category.

[EddieLeon]

I think the 3D Awards are just as much an opportunity to promote our industry as it is a event to acknowledge our best artists. On that note, have you considered branding the 3d awards? For example, in the advertising industry the prestigious awards are the Cannes Lions. Maybe we can award The ARCHies or a Golden Teapot. I think we should also be consistent every year about when and where the awards are given. My vote is for Miami, but I would be ok with Cannes also

 

Regarding the categories, I think for animation we should also include Best Storyboard and Best Special FX/Editing. We should also give awards for successful business types, such as, Best Freelancer, Best Studio, Best 3D from an Arch Firm.

 

Also, looking towards the future, we should consider an Interactive category for anyone that creates 3d environments for web or even games. That's my Dos Centavos....

[strayrender]

I preferred the old system where the judges picked the winning images. I think leaving it to an open vote gives some of the bigger studios an advantage. But there could still be a category like the "Peoples Choice Award" where we all vote on it. I just don't think it should be the main category.

[Iain Denby]

I preferred the old system where the judges picked the winning images..

 

I agree

[EddieLeon]

I agree also!

[Tommy L]

I preferred the old system where the judges picked the winning images.

 

Agreed also.

[Jeff Mottle]

Agreed also.

 

Yes, this is why there will almost certainly be a fee to enter this year. It will allow us to pay something to the judges. The reason the judges were dropped was due to the lack of comittment in many cases. If you are not getting paid, it is a lot harder to make that comittment, so I guess I should not have been too surprised, but the public vote will take a back seat for now. After the cheating that went on this year, I don't have much choice.

[Tommy L]

After the cheating that went on this year, I don't have much choice.

 

wow, please elaborate?

[Jeff Mottle]

wow, please elaborate?

 

A company, who I'll leave unnamed, thought it would be cool to have all of their employees register numberous bogus accounts and vote every image but their own a zero. They voted a 10 for their own images. It was enough to swing the vote, and also enough to trigger red flags in my own fraud detection routines. They were ejected and banned from ever participating in a CGA event again.

[Tim Nelson]

Woah! Thats pretty bad.

[Chad Warner]

yikes!

[Iain Denby]

I always felt the public vote was open to abuse by deliberately marking down competitors.