AWARDS ANNOUNCED FOR EUROPE’S FIRST MACHINIMA FESTIVAL

De Montfort University’s (DMU) Institute of Creative Technologies (IOCT) today announced the winners of the first European machinima awards.

The first machinima festival to be held in Europe took place at DMU in Leicester and in Second Life this weekend (12-14 October) and included a packed awards ceremony which recognised some of the best talent in this quickly-growing genre.

Machinima is a fusion of film-making and computer gaming, which is increasingly used as a quick and cost-effective way to create animated films and has a rapidly growing following. See www.machinimaeurope.co.uk for more info.

The Machinima Europe 07 Awards were presented by Toby Moores, Visiting Professor at the IOCT and CEO of ideas company Sleepydog, which makes Buzz quiz games for Sony’s PS2.

The awards went to machinima makers from around the globe including the UK, Germany, Australia, Canada, the USA and Croatia:

Selected from more than 150 films submitted to the festival, the Best Picture award went to Stolen Life, by Nanoflix productions (Australia), which also won Best Visual Design and Best Direction.

Former DMU student Ricard Gras, of La-Interactiva UK, won Best Technical Achievement for his film Machinima Island (Episode 1); and Best Sound award went to Innocent Minds by James Dubose (USA).

The award for Best Series went to Grid Review (Episodes 3,7 and 8) by the ILL Clan (USA); Best Experimental award went to Cirque du Machinima: Cuckoo Clock by Tom Jantol (Croatia); and ‘When the Postman Spits Twice’ by SL-Inworld Productions, Germany, won the Best Commercial award.

Best Student film was Machinima! With Officer Dan (Episode 1) by Amorphous Blob Productions (USA); and the Best Story award went to Snow Witch by Britannica Dreams (UK/Canada).

The festival itself showcased the latest machinima films and live performances, and attracted media and games industry representatives from around the world to workshops and panel discussions on topics ranging from the impact of machinima on mainstream media, to advice on making and distributing your own films.

The festival, supported by the Academy of Machinima Arts and Sciences (AMAS), also attracted both professional and enthusiast creators of animation with an estimated 700 people attending the festival across the weekend.

Paul Marino, Executive Director, AMAS, which will hold a Machinima Festival in the US next spring, said: “It was great to have had an event in Europe to celebrate machinima and to see how seriously people are taking it here in Europe now; it’s been a great success. We’re seeing just the start of something that is bound to grow and grow and we’re excited to be working with De Montfort University because of its lead in creative technologies and pioneering with events like this.”

Professor Andrew Hugill, Director of DMU’s IOCT, said: “The range, diversity and quality of entries to the festival has been amazing, and we’ve had everyone from every background here; all ages from pensioners to children, and the machinima films themselves have had a range of inspirations from political, to artistic or technical visions, and everything from one of the first feature films to be made in the genre, to three minute comedies, and one minute commercials.”

Toby Moores, said: “It is particularly significant that we received 64 games trailers from key international games companies including Microsoft and Sony as they see machinima as an important development, and the Machinima Europe Festival as a key event for their brand to be seen at. I’m convinced that the next three years are going to see machinima becoming a very significant film and animation production method. And it’s right that De Montfort University is in at the beginning of this with its expertise in collaboration, creativity and technology.”

Friedrich Kirschner, respected machinima film maker and visual artist who is on the Board of AMAS, and currently Artist in Residence at TNA Hellerau in Dresden, Germany, said: “I have been delighted to see so many media here from all over Europe and how well-informed they are which shows it was the right time to establish a European machinima festival.”

Each day of the festival catered for people with different levels of expertise in machinima. The Friday was designed for schools and catered for teenagers from colleges around the UK and the Second Life Machinima Europe Festival was hosted by SL Inworld Productions, an agency specialising in virtual worlds, and HatHead Incubators, a creative virtual experience company, specializing in immersive environments and digital communities.

Festival photographs have been posted on Flickr, with a link from our Facebook group (‘machinima festival Europe 07’). Photos can be viewed at http://www.flickr.com/photos/machinimaeurope/.

Burnie Burns and Jason Saldana of Rooster Teeth Productions, makers of the popular online sitcom Red vs Blue, performed during the festival and took part in panel discussions.

The Awards ceremony can be seen again by video stream at http://www.ioct.dmu.ac.uk/machinima.html at 18:00 on 20, 21 and 22 October.

Notes for Editors

For photographs, film clips, interviews or further information, please contact De Montfort University’s Press Office on 0116 2577021.

MACHINIMA FESTIVAL FILM SYNOPSES

Please click here to view the synopses of the films which will be featured in the festival.

LEICESTER MARATHON: SUNDAY 14 OCTOBER 07

Please note that on Sunday 14 October, the Leicester Marathon is taking place. Runners will be approaching DMU campus via Grasmere Street, turning right onto Mill Lane and then left onto the Gateway and off up through Castle View. All these roads will be closed to drivers.

Attendees to the Machinima Festival on this day will therefore have to access campus via Oxford Street and the top end of Mill Lane, turn left onto Gateway to access Deacon Street Car Park.

Marathon organisers have assured us that diversion signs will be in place. But we apologise for any inconvenience caused to Festival visitors. Maps are available on this site. Please call 08459 45 46 47 should you have any queries.

OFFICIAL FESTIVAL SELECTION

DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCES OVER 150 FILMS ENTERED FOR EUROPE'S FIRST MACHINIMA FESTIVAL

De Montfort University's Institute of Creative Technologies (IOCT) today announced that it had received over 150 entries for Europe's first Machinima Festival, which it will host from 12th - 14th October this year.

A total of 152 films had been submitted by the deadline of 8th September, with entries coming from a wide range of countries including: the UK; US; Canada; Belgium; Netherlands; France; Germany; Austria; Finland; Sweden; Spain; Croatia; Slovakia; Japan and Australia.

Professor Andrew Hugill, Director of De Montfort University's Institute of Creative Technologies: "We are very pleased with the number, breadth and global spread of the entries. The enthusiasm out there for the festival is contagious and it has been really exciting to see so many different countries involved in creating submissions."

The award categories will be judged by a distinguished panel including: award winning author and Reader in Creative Writing and New Media at DMU, Kate Pullinger; Martyn Ware, artist and record producer, who was a founding member of the pop group The Human League and who also formed Heaven 17; and, Hugh Hancock, Artistic Director of Strange Company, and inventor of the word "Machinima".

In addition, Burnie Burns and Jason Saldana of Rooster Teeth Productions, makers of the popular online sitcom Red vs Blue, will perform during the festival. Burnie Burns: "Our plan is to make a hilarious special video for the programme using our world-famous, award-winning Red vs Blue characters and our trademark humility."

The festival, which will take place at the University's campus centre will show case the award nominations and winners, and some of the latest Machinima films and games trailers, and is expected to attract Machinima makers world-wide. The festival is supported by the Academy of Machinima Arts Sciences (AMAS) and will include workshops which will cover many of the aspects of making Machinima.

People wishing to attend the festival should visit http://www.machinimaeurope.co.uk.

MACHINIMA FESTIVAL WIINERS TO BE SHOWCASED AT YOUKI INTERNATIONAL YOUTH MEDIA FESTIVAL IN AUSTRIA

The Youki International Youth Media Festival has announced it will showcase the winning entries from Europe's first Machinima Festival, which is being hosted by De Montfort University's Institute of Creative Technologies (IOCT) this October. The Youki Festival will take place in Austria from 20th to 24th November, 2007.

This announcement follows confirmation that Hugh Hancock, one of the founding members of the Machinima genre, will premiere his latest work, BloodSpell, at the European Machinima Festival, as well as hold a signing session for his recently published book, Machinima for Dummies, which he co-authored with Johnnie Ingram.

Submissions for the festival have been received from across the world, including the UK, US, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Spain, Japan and Australia.

Dr.Tracy Harwood, De Montfort University: "It really is exciting to see entries coming in from so many different countries across the globe. The festival has definitely grabbed the imagination of many people and shows how overall, the Machinima genre is gathering momentum."

Submissions to the award categories will be judged by a distinguished panel including: award winning author and Reader in Creative Writing and New Media at DMU, Kate Pullinger; Martyn Ware, artist and record producer, who was a founding member of the pop group The Human League and who also formed Heaven 17; and, Hugh Hancock.

Award categories include: Best Picture; Best Direction; Best Visual Design; Best Technical Achievement; Best Series; Best Experimental Machinima; Best Student Machinima; Best Sound; Best Commercial Machinima; Best Story.

The festival, which will take place at the University's campus centre from 12th - 14th October, will show case the award nominations and winners, and some of the latest Machinima films and games trailers, and is expected to attract Machinima makers world-wide. The festival is supported by the Academy of Machinima Arts Sciences (AMAS) and will include workshops which will cover many of the aspects of making Machinima.

People wishing to submit films or attend the festival should visit www.machinimaeurope.co.uk.

Attendees and competition entrants are required to read the De Montfort University Machinima Festival 2007 Intellectual Property Value Statement available at www.machinimaeurope.co.uk.

For more information about BloodSpell please visit www.bloodspell.com
and for Machinima for Dummies www.machinimafordummies.com

For more information about the Youki International Youth Media Festival, please visit www.youki.at

LATEST FROM THE FESTIVAL MANAGER'S DESK:

We are looking for commercially produced game play videos and game trailers for a showreel for our Festival. If you have upcoming or Christmas releases to show of either your online or TV trailers, we would be more than happy to include them on our Showreel. The showreel is not about user generated movies but is intended to be a preview of adverts and games releases.

Please submit preferably on a DVD in PAL format to the Festival Manager at Machinima Festival Europe 07, Institute of Creative Technologies, De Montfort University, The Gateway, Leicester, LE1 9BH. The Festival Manager can be contacted by email on machinimamgr@dmu.ac.uk or tharwood@dmu.ac.uk

DE MONTFORT UNIVERSITY TO HOST THE 2007 EUROPEAN MACHINIMA FESTIVAL – THE FIRST MACHINIMA FESTIVAL IN EUROPE

De Montfort University’s Institute of Creative Technologies will host the 2007 European Machinima Festival, the first Machinima festival to be held in Europe.  The festival, which will take place at the University’s campus centre from 12 – 14 October, will show case the latest Machinima films and will attract Machinima makers world-wide.

Machinima, a fusion of film-making and computer gaming, which is increasingly being used as one of the quickest and most cost-effective ways of creating animation, has a rapidly growing following, fuelled in part by the enhanced visual quality of many of the most popular computer games.

The festival, which is supported by the Academy of Machinima and Arts Sciences (AMAS), will attract both professional and enthusiast creators of animation and is likely to encourage more people to try Machinima for themselves.  Workshops will cover many of the key aspects of making Machinima and an awards ceremony will recognise some of the best talent of this quickly growing phenomenon.

Paul Marino, Executive Director, AMAS:  “Machinima is a very cost-effective and fast way to produce films where the creator can have a large amount of creative control and it is rapidly gathering momentum.  In the US we have really seen this take off and we will be holding the 2007 Machinima Festival during November.  We are very excited to be working with De Montfort University, which has such a strong reputation in the creative industries, and would encourage anyone interested in Machinima to come to the festival in October.”

Professor Andrew Hugill, Director of De Montfort University’s Institute of Creative Technologies:  “Machinima is an exciting and important emerging phenomenon which is capturing the imagination of individuals and communities including games players, film makers as well as anyone interested in exploring new ways of communicating a narrative. By holding Europe’s first Machinima festival we aim to bring these communities together and open up the exciting possibilities of Machinima to a wider audience.”

Maggie Shutt, Festival and Events Manager for Leicester City Council: "This is a really exciting opportunity for the people of Leicester City to find out about and get involved in a cutting edge digital art form.  We are delighted to be supporting the event at De Montfort University in October."

Each day of the festival will cater for people with different levels of expertise in making Machinima:  The Friday is designed for schools; the Saturday for anyone who is already making or is interested in making Machinima; and the Sunday will be for experienced Machinima makers.

Attendees and competition entrants are required to read the De Montfort University Machinima Festival 2007 Intellectual Property Value Statement.

If you would like to attend the festival or interview any of the organisers, please contact De Montfort University’s Press Office on (0116) 257 7400