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23rd ANNUAL SKILLS CANADA PROVINCIAL COMPETITION

Contest Description

COMPETITION DATE: March 20, 2020

CONTEST AREA NAME: 2D Computer Animation

CONTEST AREA NUMBER: #88

LEVEL: Secondary

DURATION OF CONTEST: 6 hours

LOCATION: College of the North Atlantic, PPD Campus

Table of Contents 1. CONTEST INTRODUCTION 2. CONTEST DESCRIPTION

3. EQUIPMENT, MATERIAL, CLOTHING

4. SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

5. ASSESSMENT

6. CONTEST SPECIFIC RULES

7. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

8. PROVINCIAL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

9. APPENDIX A (Competitor Training Resources)

2 Contest Description

1 CONTEST INTRODUCTION

1.1 Description of the associated work role(s) or occupation(s) The animation industry is growing and vibrant, providing an opportunity for creative employment. It requires a combination of technical and artistic skills, the ability to manage time, communicate ideas and work together in a team environment. The purpose of this competition is to provide contestants with an opportunity to compete with others from across Canada to demonstrate key skills and their understanding of the animation process.

The fundamental concepts of animation will be emphasized and implemented throughout the course of the event. The competition will focus on the participants’ ability to tell a story through expressive characters and engaging storytelling.

Teams will present their storyboard, pose test, and final product to the judges. The final animations will be presented at the end of the competition.

1.2 Purpose of the Challenge • To provide competitors with the opportunity to experience the production process

and demonstrate their knowledge and skill. • To evaluate strong traditional animation art and storytelling skills.

1.3 Duration of contest 5.5 hours (not including team presentations and viewing) Competition start time: 8:30AM - 2:30PM Mandatory lunchtime is ½ hour, TBA on day of competition. Showcase time TBA at venue.

1.4 Skills and Knowledge to be tested In General participants will be challenged to: • Detail and plan the development of an animated story based on the given action/theme • Show their ability to tell a story through expressive characters, character development, and

the animation process • Outline their ideas on paper, then bring their story to life by creating, animating, compositing,

and rendering the scenes outlined in their storyboard.

Employability Skills: • Teamwork • Time management • Reading • Planning • Attention to detail

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Preproduction: • Composition • Asset Design • Storyboarding • Writing • Character Pose Tests

Production: • Cinematography • Asset Construction • Rendering • Animation • Exporting • File Management • Appeal of Final Product

Essential Skills • Working with Others • Reading Text • Thinking (Job Task Planning & Organizing) • Digital

2 CONTEST DESCRIPTION

2.1 List of documents produced and timeline for when competitors have access to said documents.

DOCUMENT DATE OF DISTRIBUTION VIA WEBSITE

Principles of Animation Pose Test/Character Turnaround Sheet Storyboard Sheet Storyboard Symbols Judging Criteria

January 17, 2020

2.2 Tasks that may be performed during the contest. Competitors will be given 5.5 hours to develop a story breakdown (storyboard), pose test, and animation that includes two characters and the following story plot breakdowns; setup, conflict, and resolution. The conflict must include an action chosen from the themes given below.

4 Contest Description

Pose Tests/Character Turnaround Produce character model sheets of their primary characters on paper and/or electronically. Competitors should note that model sheets MUST include front, profile (side), ¾, and top views of the character. Pose tests must be submitted to judges prior to lunch break.

Storyboard/Story Breakdown Storyboards should use the symbols provided alongside drawings that set out the proposed ani- mation and sequence of action provided. Sequence of actions should be as follows; setup, con- flict, and resolution. The panels must include captions and action notes using template provided.

Audio An audio soundclip will be provided at the beginning of the competition. No other audio may be used, and final render must contain the audio provided.

One action can be chosen from the following themes: singing, building, and debating.

Presentation: teams will prepare a presentation to the judges, students will present their character de- signs, storyboards, and final animation. The presentation schedule will be as follows: • Presentation of products (model sheets and storyboards) • View animation • Questions/comments from judges (if any) • The presentation and feedback process will take approximately 5 minutes per team. • Spectators, advisors, and or parent guardians are welcomed during the viewing at the discre-

tion of the presenting group. Students are encouraged to plan and practice however all competition materials must be pro- duced on the competition day.

Competitors must demonstrate their knowledge of the 12 principles of animation in their project

Competitors are expected to create suitable environments and supporting assets.

The teams will work independently. Instructors and/or observers will give NO assistance.

Competition Breakdown Pre-Production - Story Breakdown: Competitors are required to submit three storyboard panels. One demonstrating the setup, one demonstrating the conflict and one demonstrating the resolution. Storyboard panels must in- clude captions and action notes. Competitors must use the storyboard panel template provided.

Pre-Production - Pose Test: • Competitors are required to create one turnaround/pose test per character that demon-

strates the personality of their character, shows top, 3/4, and front view and shows strong silhouette. A character name and bio must be included. Competitors must use the pose test/ character turnaround template provided.

• Story breakdown and pose-test should be submitted before lunchtime.

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Animation: • Competitors are required to create an animation that follows the storyboard submission,

demonstrates the principles of animation in each section of the plot (setup, conflict, and reso- lution), has believability, entertainment value, and cinematography.

• All completed pose tests, animation, and provided slates/title must be compiled into a final mp4 video submitted to the submission location by competition end time. Extra time may be provided due to unforeseen technical difficulties at the discretion of the PTC committee

• Software and/or skill knowledge difficulties will not be considered for time extension. • Competitors will be docked points for not submitting the final compiled video by the end of

the competition. Technical Requirements: • The animation must be 5 seconds exactly. • Animation must be rendered as a movie format that can be played on competitor’s device. • Since the animation is shortened, competitors are expected to focus on producing a quality

animation (blocking, acting, poses and timing). • Nowhere within the presentation and supporting documents should the name of the stu-

dents, or their school appear. • The teams will work independently. Instructors and/or observers will give NO assistance.

Character Rigs: • Competitors are allowed to bring two, 2D original builds. • No animation should be included.

3 EQUIPMENT, MATERIAL, CLOTHING 3.1 Equipment and material provided by Skills Canada NL. • Table and Chair

3.2 Equipment and material provided by the competitor. • Competitors are required to bring their own device and software for the 2020 competi-

tion. Each competitor may choose their own device and software to ensure their work- flow and process is to what they are familiar with. Competitors are only able to have a maximum of two computers running at a time. Backup computers are acceptable. Desk space will be limited.

• Competitors are required to bring their own audio devices. • Competitors are required to materials for planning and sketching • If competitors are bringing a computer or laptop from their school (instead of their personal

computer), please ensure that the computer is unlocked to be able to access documents and software which can be saved/installed to the hard drive. This is for accessibility for technical support which may be provided onsite and may require access to CMOS settings.

• Equipment (including ipads, tablets, laptops, desktops) is required to be set up during the orientation and it is required to remain on site until the end of competition.

6 Contest Description

Optimum Hardware Requirements: • Intel Graphics Workstation i7 Quad Core Processors • 1 TB HD • 16Gb RAM • Dedicated video card (suggested 2GB) as approved by Autodesk • Flat Panel Display 1920 X 1080 • Sound card • Operating System –Windows 7 or 10 64 Bit • WiFi enabled computer system.

Suggested software: 3D Software: 3D Studio Max, Maya, Blender. 2D Software: Adobe CC Animate, ToonBoom Harmony, ToonBoom Storyboard Pro. Video and Graphic Software Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro (Mac), IMovie, Windows Movie Maker Viewing Software VLC NOTE: No external support programs or plug-ins are allowed.

Additional Equipment and material suggested. Tablet and driver (Driver compatible with your system) Headphones Drawing materials Empty USBs (Recommended USB 3)

NOTE: Competitors are responsible for technical knowledge of their software of choice.

3.3 Required clothing provided by the competitor. • No special requirements

4 SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Safety workshop Upon arrival at the Skill area, Competitors will participate in a Safety workshop and they will be expected to work and maintain a safe working area during the competition. Any Competitor breaking any health, safety and environmental rules, may be required to undertake a second safety workshop, this will not affect the Competitor’s competition time.

4.2 Personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by Skills Canada NL • N/A

4.3 Personal protective equipment (PPE) provided by the competitor. • N/A

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5 ASSESSMENT

5.1 Point breakdown

POINT BREAKDOWN /100 Storyboard ............................................. 20 Character and Asset Design ........... 20 Animation ............................................... 40 Final Product ......................................... 20

Please see Judging Criteria document for detailed score breakdown.

6 CONTEST SPECIFIC RULES Contest specific rules cannot contradict or take priority over the Competition Rules. They do provide specific details and clarity in areas that may vary from contest to contest. Any additional contest rules will be reviewed during competitor orientation.

TOPIC/TASK CONTEST SPECIFIC RULE • Competitors may be docked points if the animation is excessively longer or shorter than the

given length • All animation renders must be completed and fully rendered competition end time specified

during orientation • No files are allowed to be brought into the competition except for the suggested under sec-

tion 3.2. No additional plugins and scripts can be used (other than those found in the final shipped version of the software)

• No music, reference, or textures may be found online as research and preparation should have been done prior to competition.

• You can use the internet to transfer files via google drive andverify licenses. • Digital drawing tools such as tablets are permitted. If you bring your own tablet, please bring

your tablet drivers to the competition. Contestants will be responsible to install and trouble- shoot their devices.

7 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 8.2 Ties (No ties are allowed) In the event of a tie, the team with the highest score in the Storyboard criteria will be declared the winner.

8.4 Competition rules Refer to the competition rules for the Skills Canada National Competition which can be found on our website.

8 Contest Description

TECHNICAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Jamie Lewis jamielws60@gmail.com Chelsie Cake chelsiecake@gmail.com

APPENDIX A –COMPETITOR RESOURCES youtube.com/watch?v=uDqjIdI4bF4 12 principles of animation youtube.com/watch?v=MI65MRdKfIY ToonBoom tutorial youtube.com/watch?v=stU5EoC2a18 Adobe CC Animate tutorial youtube.com/watch?v=u4b42qn-hmk Blender character animation blender.org/support/tutorials Get started with blender freesound.org Free practice audio library Skillshare.com