The 24 HOURS Animation Contest for Students, now in its 20th year, has crowned its 2020 winners, announced by contest creator Aubry Mintz in a live stream on YouTube on Friday, Oct 21. A long list of sponsors helped provide seven award-winning teams with incredible prize packs and cash, totaling over $150,000.
The super-speedy contest challenges its participants to create a 30-second film based on a given theme (assigned by California State University of Long Beach animation professor Mintz) in a designated 24-hour period. Teams work from their home school and submit a YouTube link of their films before the deadline, which are judged by industry artists.
This year saw the participation of a record 300 teams from 86 schools (1,500 students) from 17 countries (Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Indian, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, the U.K. and the U.S.A.)
Films were judged by a panel of industry artists which included character & prop designer/lead Angela Abeyti (Baby Shark’s Big Show, BoJack Horseman), background painter/color designer Grace Babineau (Nickelodeon, Titmouse), animator & director Todd DeJong (Warner Bros. Animation), director/TD/storyboard artist Karina Gazizova (Wacky Races, Teen Titans GO!), animator Rebecca Kartzmark (Tangled the Series, Hilda), animator Kimmie King (Rick and Morty, Helluva Boss), cinematographer Ira Owens (Sucker Punch Prod.), vizdev artist/character designer Nathan Palm (Duncanville, Solar Opposites) and storyboard artist Ryan Stapleton (American Dad!, Trash Truck).
Mintz offered special thanks to the faculty of the 86 schools that participated this year for supporting their students through this all-night competition — especially on a weekend — and congratulated the 1,500 brave student competitors who took on the challenge, noting that he hopes it demonstrates to the students what can be accomplished in an incredibly compressed timeline and ignites their work ethic and creative spark for the rest of the school year.
“For no other reason we do this to help build community through animation education — and this came in handy especially to help get many of us through the pandemic, even it was just for 24 hours — to find a group of people that we could create with and talk to made a difference for students around the world,” Mintz shared. “As we emerge and now come together in person I just want to say I am thankful for you and glad we are all here!”
24 HOURS 2022 Award Winners
Behind the Scenes Prize
Team: Ramsey’s Ratscallions | Middle Tennessee State University (U.S.)
Watch BTS Film.
- Prize Pack ($13,183 value)
- Toon Boom prize: $500 ($100 each team member)
- Five Harmony Premium / Five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Full student passes to Toronto Arts and Animation Festival International (virtual or in person) for each team member
Best High School
Team Clam | Sisler High School (Manitoba, Canada)
+ Seventh place overall by points.
Film: Superfluous!
- Prize Pack ($14,783 value)
- Nickelodeon $1,500 cash prize for Best High School team ($500 each team member)
- Five Harmony Premium / five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Full student passes to Toronto Arts and Animation Festival International (virtual or in person) for each team member
- Nickelodeon prize pack for one winning team
- Mac Hollywood WACOM – Five small Wacom Intuos
5th Place
The Goofy Funners | Seneca College (Ontario, Canada)
Film: Fungal Future
- Prize Pack ($12,933 value)
- 5th place Toon Boom team winner prize: $750
- Five Harmony Premium / five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Full student passes to Toronto Arts and Animation Festival International (virtual or in person) for each team member
- Five DreamWorks Art of books
4th Place
The Doodlers | California State University Long Beach (U.S.)
Film: Premium Vision
- Prize Pack ($15,058 value),
- ASIFA-Hollywood/AEF 4th place prize: $1,000 ($200 each team member)
- Five Harmony Premium / five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Five DreamWorks art-of books
- Stuart NG Books – Five $75 gift certificates for one winning team
- Animation Is Film – Five passes for festival (Oct. 21-23)
- Xencelabs – Five small Pen Tablets
3rd Place
Shepard90 | Fundação Amando Alvares Penteado (São Paulo, Brazil)
Film: Made to Last
- Prize Pack ($20,933 value),
- Toon Boom cash prize: $1,000 ($200 each team member)
- Five Harmony Premium / five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- Five pro licenses of Digicel’s Flipbook software
- CSU Summer Arts $500 scholarships each to five winning team members
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- Full student passes to Toronto Arts and Animation Festival International (virtual or in person) for each team member
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Pixar prize pack for each team member
- Xencelabs – Five small Pen Tablets
2nd Place
Keyframe Coffee Break | California State University Long Beach (U.S.)
Film: Atomic Shores
- Prize Pack ($28,137 value),
- Bento Box cash prize for 2nd place winning team: $1,500 ($300 each team member)
- Five Harmony Premium / five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- CSU Summer Arts $1,000 scholarships each to five winning team members
- CTNX – Five three-day passes (in person or online) to CTN Animation eXpo (Nov. 17-20)
- Huion – 5 Kamvas Pro 16, one for each team member
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- X in a Box – team will participate in Story Xperiential
- Animation Is Film – Five passes for the festival (Oct. 21-23)
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Sony Pictures Animation prize pack for the winning team
1st Place
BBB | Sheridan College (Ontario, Canada)
Film: Get Out
- Prize Pack ($36,071 value),
- Illumination cash prize for 1st place: $2,500 ($500 each team member)
- $2,000 scholarships to CSU Summer Arts each to five members
- Five Harmony Premium / five Storyboard Pro one-year licenses
- Wacom – Five 16” Wacom Cintiq tablets
- Five pro licenses of TVPaint Animation
- Walt Disney Animation Studios prize pack for every member
- Each team member will be invited to participate in a one-hour virtual “coffee chat” session with members of Walt Disney Animation Studios Recruitment & Talent Development team.
- Animation Magazine two-year Digital subscription for each team member of all winning teams
- Five CRC Press Ideas for the Animated Short, 2nd Edition for each winning team
- Full student passes to Toronto Arts and Animation Festival International (virtual or in person) for each team member
24 HOURS 2022 sponsors include Toon Boom, ASIFA-Hollywood and ASIFA-Hollywood’s Animation Educators Forum, Illumination, Nickelodeon, Bento Box, TAAFI, CSU Summer Arts, Wacom, TVPaint, Digicel, Animation Magazine, Huion, CTN, Taylor and Francis, X in a Box, Xencelabs, Mac Hollywood, Animation Is Film, DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation, Stuart NG Books and Legends Animated.
Watch the full playlist of the films from 24 HOURS 2022 on YouTube.
