Source: www.ite.edu.sg

SINGAPORE ???€?THE FIRST TO HOST INAUGURAL TOON BOOM ANIMATION FESTIVAL

ITE, TOON BOOM OFFICIATE OPENING OF NEW CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE DEDICATED TO NEW MEDIA

Singaporean students fascinated by the delightful two-dimension animation cartoons of Sponge Bob Square Pants, The Simpsons and The Rugrats now have the opportunity to master the Emmy Award-winning technology behind these celebrated cartoon series and showcase their creative works for international voting and judging as part of a digital animation competition.

Toon Boom Animation Festival 2007 ???€?first in Singapore
Singapore will be the first country to host the inaugural Toon Boom Animation Festival, which kicks off on 2 April 2007.

Co-organised by Toon Boom Animation Inc (Canada), Canadian High Commission and Media Development Authority of Singapore, with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) as a Technology Partner, the Inaugural Toon Boom Animation Festival aims to encourage Singaporean students to express their creativity and talent through creating animation content using Toon Boom software, which has been used extensively by industry professionals to create popular animation series such as Spongebob Squarepants and the Simpsons.

Upon the success of the Singapore edition, the Festival will travel to the other parts of the world, starting with Brazil later this year.

Ms Joan Vogelesang, President and Chief Executive Officer, Toon Boom Animation Inc., said: ????ecognising the wealth of creative potential Singapore has to offer and their intent to become a Digital Animation Hub, we are proud to launch our first-ever Toon Boom animation competition in Singapore and dedicate it to all its students. We thank the Canadian High Commission, the Institute of Technical Education and the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), for their tremendous support and look forward to creative entries of students.????

Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive of MDA said: ????e are pleased that Toon Boom has chosen Singapore as the first country to hold this digital animation competition. By providing Singaporeans with the opportunity to learn how to use media for work, learning and play, the Festival is one way to help raise the capabilities of our students and equip them with the skill sets relevant to the booming IDM (Interactive & Digital Media) industry.

????his competition is another milestone that reflects the close collaborations between Singapore and Canada. It follows the Audio Visual Treaty on co-production signed in October 1998 between the Prime Ministers of Canada and Singapore, and the MOU between the National Film Board of Canada and the MDA signed last year on November 29 during the Asia Media Festival.????

“Canada is recognized internationally as a leader in new media and animation technologies. Our unique strength coupled with Singapore????s vision in becoming a world leading digital media capital give us great synergy to work together as partners,????said His Excellency Alan Virtue, High Commissioner of Canada to Singapore. ????e are extremely delighted to be a co-organiser of this competition and I hope it will inspire creative expressions in new media from young Singaporeans. I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to ITE and Toon Boom on the occasion of the Official Opening of their joint Centre of Excellence and I hope this will be the grooming ground for Singapore????s next generation of world-class animation artists.”

Through the Festival, Singaporean students will have the opportunity to create and showcase their works to an international audience and have their works judged by a global panel of expert judges, so they can gauge for themselves where they stand internationally.
Free workshops will be conducted by ITE to train students who are not familiar with the Toon Boom software. Said Mr Bruce Poh, Director & CEO, ITE: ????hrough the ITE-Toon Boom collaboration which was forged last year, ITE lecturers were equipped with the skills in using the Toon Boom software solutions. They will now impart their knowledge in Toon Boom technology to participants to prepare them for the competition.????

What????s In It for Winners
The top team to emerge from this competition will be rewarded with a one-month industry internship to top production studios, such as Nelvana Studios, located in Canada. The full details and Terms & Conditions of the Festival are listed at Annex A.

Official Opening of ITE-Toon Boom Centre of Excellence in New Media
In conjunction with the Launch of the Festival, ITE and Toon Boom Inc (Canada) will also officially open its joint Centre of Excellence in New Media at ITE College Central. The Centre, which facilitates the execution of industry project development works by ITE staff using the Toon Boom software, is part of the two-year Memorandum of Understanding which ITE and Toon Boom Inc (Canada) inked on 19 June 2006.

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