To some this is just an average weekend, but not for participants in this weekend’s Animation Jam.
This group of students is spent the weekend rushing to start and finish a short film — in its entirety — within 48 hours. The University’s first Digital Art and Design Association Animation Jam kicked off March 31 and continued through Sunday, April 2.
Students worked in teams or individually to produce a film based on the given theme. The theme is space and was announced to participants Friday afternoon. With that crucial piece of information, the rush was on.
Not only does this event provide a creative outlet for a variety of students, including animators, visual artists, videographers and musicians, but it’s also a friendly competition complete with prizes.
“The event is sponsored by the LSU School of Art and TurboSquid, a digital media company in New Orleans that sells stock 3-D models and graphics,” DADA president and event organizer Kytana Le said. “Winners will win shirts as well as year-long memberships to PixelSquid, a 3-D image library used by 2-D designers.”
While the Animation Jam is new to the University, the idea was inspired by 48-hour filmmaking at other animation schools such as CalArts and Gobelins, Le said.
“The structure of the event is mainly based on the WICS and Global Game Jam that LSU has held multiple times in the past,” she said.
The event’s grand finale will took place Sunday at 3:30 p.m., when the films were screened and judged in the University’s Digital Media Center’s theater.
“We hope that participants can leave this event with new friends, inspirations, and motivations,” Le said. “It is extremely satisfying ending a weekend with something finished, whether it’s portfolio worthy or not.”
DADA is a student organization which pools together talent in a variety of fields including animation, video games and VFX, often combining art and technology, Le said. During the past year, the organization has held educational workshops and talks with industry professionals.
The organization remains an active part of the University and Baton Rouge communities. As the school year comes to a close, those interested can look out for a showing of the short films produced at the Red Stick Festival FutureFest in the Digital Media Center.
