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Call For Submissions

Computer Animation Festival Submissions

The Computer Animation Festival is a fundamental part of the SIGGRAPH experience. The festival started as an annual showcase of advances in computer graphics. Since then, the festival has celebrated the rise of computer graphics as a medium for storytelling, not just in animation, but in visual effects for movies and games. Since 1999, the Computer Animation Festival has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Several works originally presented at SIGGRAPH have been nominated for or have received a Best Animated Short Academy Award.

The Computer Animation Festival 2017 will accept virtual reality short films and experiences for the first time. In order to best showcase storytelling in virtual reality, we created a new physical space, the VR Theater.

We are seeking work that educates, entertains, or informs through the application of modern computer graphics in either traditional formats or virtual reality. There are two paths for submission:  

Electronic Theater: We are looking for short films, sequences, “dailies” breakdowns, excerpts from feature films, audio or visual experiences such as music videos or captured interactive experiences, cultural exhibitions, advertisements, simulations, data visualizations, or real-time content. 

VR Theater: We are looking for short films, advertisements, music videos, or experiences that explore ways to tell stories in virtual reality. 

TIP: Wondering which SIGGRAPH program to submit your VR piece?

Emerging Technologies Hardware
Computer Animation Festival – VR Theater Story
VR Village Installation

 

Jury & Awards

Meet the Jury

Submissions are juried by a panel of internationally renowned and respected experts from relevant backgrounds and disciplines in the industry. Below are the possible awards a submission can receive: 

  • Best in Show Award
  • Jury's Choice Prize
  • Best Student Project

Curious about previous editions of the Computer Animation Festival and its award winners? 

 

SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival Director

Pol Jeremias-Vila

 

 

SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival Subcommittee

Stephanie Eisenberg
Jules Kenville
Ollie Shaw
Vib Soundrarajah

Hewlett Packard

HFES

CAF Accordion

How to Submit

SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival submission requirements:

  • Include the autogenerated entry slate. The Computer Animation Festival requires each submission to include a slate. Submissions without slates are considered incomplete.
  • Include a significant percentage or inventive use of computer-generated imagery or digital production.
  • Be submitted in a category appropriate for its content type or style. 
  • All descriptions, captions, and notes to the jury must be in English.
  • Submitted by 21 March 2017 by 22:00 UTC/GMT.
  • Have been completed after last year's Computer Animation Festival (1 March 2016).
  • Electronic Theater content needs to be uploaded at final resolution by 21 March 2017.
  • VR Theater content needs to be accessible from 21 March 2017 until SIGGRAPH 2017 (3 August 2017).

Submitting to the Electronic Theater

View video demonstration on how to submit to the Electronic Theater, or keep reading for a step-by-step guide.

1. Create a SIGGRAPH Information System (SIS) account, if you don’t already have one. 

2. Click Begin a New Submission and navigate to the Computer Animation Festival form. Each entry will be assigned a Submission ID number by the online submission system. 
You can start the submission form, save your work, and come back to it later. 

3. Upload a representative still image from the submitted work. See Representative Image Guidelines.

4. Download the autogenerated entry slate. The Computer Animation Festival requires each submission to include a slate. Submissions without slates are considered incomplete. You can view Electronic Theater specifications at the end of this section to learn more.

5. Upload a movie file for the jury to evaluate your work. You must upload your project once, and at final resolution (What does this mean exactly? You can’t update if you realize you made a mistake? One submission per account?). High-definition submissions are required. We will be using various professional playback solutions, as well as consumer-level systems such as Quicktime and VLC to evaluate your work. At minimum, we recommend testing playback of your files on consumer-level systems before submissions.

Electronic Theater Submissions Specifications
Length: Short films of maximum length of 10 minutes may be submitted, but the Computer Animation Festival reserves the right to show only excerpts of selected works at the jury’s discretion. If you are unable to meet the 10-minutes requirement, you may contact the Computer Animation Festival Technical Director and explain your circumstances.

Slate: The autogenerated slate should be presented in the following order: 

  • Five second slate
  • Five second black 
  • Submission start 
  • Two second black

Submissions without slates are considered incomplete.

Credits: The total time for end titles and credits together should be no longer than seven seconds. 

2-Pop Cue: There should be an audio and visual 2-pop cue two seconds before the first and last frame of the work, unless the video is submitted in DCP format. 

Video Codecs

  • Apple ProRes 422
  • DNxHD
  • H.264

NTSC Video Wrappers

  • Quicktime
  • MP4

Video Resolutions

  • 1080p (1920x1080p) Preferred
  • 720p (1280x720p)
  • 540p (720x540p)
  • 480p (720x480p)
  • 576p (768x576p)
  • 576p (720x576p)

Frame Rate

  • 
24 fps (Preferred)
  • 25 fps
  • 30 (29.97) fps
  • 
50p

Audio Configurations:

Number of audio tracks accepted is [0,1,2,4,5,6,8,10,12].

Color Space: 


Submitting to the VR Theater

View video demonstration on how to submit to the VR Theater, or keep reading for a step-by-step guide.

1. Create a SIGGRAPH Information System (SIS) account, if you don’t already have one. 

2. Click Begin a New Submission and navigate to the Computer Animation Festival form. Each entry will be assigned a Submission ID number by the online submission system. 
You can start the submission form, save your work, and come back to it later. 

3. Upload a representative still image from the submitted work. See Representative Image Guidelines.

4. Provide instructions on how we can download the material (either by hosting the binaries on your own servers, or by proving a key for our team to access the binaries in one of the online stores). SIGGRAPH will not host your content.

VR Theater Submissions Specifications

Length: Maximum length of six minutes may be submitted, but the Computer Animation Festival reserves the right to show only excerpts of selected works at the jury’s discretion. 

If you are unable to meet the six-minutes requirement, you may contact the Computer Animation Festival Technical Director and explain your circumstances.

Hardware: Make sure your submission works on a VR ready PC.

Headset: The content should run in one of the following headsets:

  • HTC Vive
  • Oculus Rift

If you have other headset/hardware needs, you may contact the Computer Animation Festival Technical Director and explain your circumstances.

ACM Rights Management Form

If your work is accepted for presentation at SIGGRAPH 2017:

  • You must complete the ACM Rights Management Form. The form will be sent to all submitters whose work is accepted.  
  • Your representative image and text may be used for promotional purposes. Several SIGGRAPH 2017 programs – Art Gallery, Computer Animation Festival, Real-Time Live!, Technical Papers, and all installation programs – will prepare preview videos for pre-conference promotion of accepted content, which may include a portion of the video you submitted for review.

Evaluation

Festival Juries

All submitted entries are evaluated by two juries of individuals from the technical, creative, and production communities. The list of jurors will be available after the selection process is complete.

A pre-selection jury reviews and ranks all entries. Pre-selected submissions move to the Festival Jury. The Festival Jury is composed of industry peers in senior positions. The jurors will review and rank the entries that passed the pre-selection process.

Submitters will be informed by email of the status of their submissions only after the Festival Jury makes its final decisions. All submitters will be notified of their status no later than 30 May 2017. The Festival Jury selects the recipients of the Best in Show Award, the Jury's Choice Prize, and the Best Student Project.

The Computer Animation Festival reserves the right to place submissions in a different category if deemed appropriate by the festival subcommittee or jury.

Upon Acceptance

Notification

All Computer Animation Festival submitters will be notified by email of the status of their submission(s) on or before 30 May 2017. Each year, we receive far more submitted pieces than we can accept, and we are not able to accept many deserving pieces.

After Acceptance

The period of time between the Computer Animation Festival jury meeting and the SIGGRAPH 2017 conference is very short, and many things happen in that time. If your work is selected, you will be expected to reply promptly to any request for information or clarification from the Computer Animation Festival Subcommittee. It is unlikely that we will need to contact you regarding your work after your notification, but please plan to be available via email during the first two weeks of May, in case a need arises.

In order to be included in the SIGGRAPH 2017 show reels and the ACM SIGGRAPH archive, each successful applicant must complete the ACM Rights Management Form. The form will be sent to all submitters whose work is accepted.

Contributor & Presenter Recognition

If you wish to attend SIGGRAPH 2017, registration and travel costs are at your own expense. See the SIGGRAPH 2017 Recognition Policy for a summary of what you will receive if your work is accepted by SIGGRAPH 2017.

Timeline

23 January

Computer Animation Festival submission begins.

21 March

Computer Animation Festival submission period closes, 22:00 UTC/GMT.

30 May

Computer Animation Festival submitters notified.

30 July - 3 August

SIGGRAPH 2017, Los Angeles

Computer Animation Festival FAQ

I have submitted my work to the most recent SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival. Is it OK if I submit the same work to the SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival?
Yes. You can submit the same work to SIGGRAPH 2017, as long as it was completed after last year's SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival. We are independent festivals with separate juries and acceptance procedures.

Do submissions to the Electronic Theater have to be 3D animations?
Absolutely not. We generally feature works where the computer was essential to the creation of the work, but there is no specific requirement that it be 3D. All forms of computer animation are eligible including, but not limited to: 3D computer animation, 2D animation, visual effects and live action, real-time videogame play, visualizations, and digitally manipulated imagery and video. If you have computer-generated work within a larger piece, we request that you call our attention specifically to the portion where the computer was heavily used.

How many works can I submit to the SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival?
There is no limit. You may submit as many as you like. Make sure that you complete a separate submission form for each work.

Is there a submission fee for submitting to the SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival?
No. You only need to complete the online submission process.

Can I submit the same piece to both the Computer Animation Festival and to Talks or the Art Gallery, or any other SIGGRAPH 2017 programs?
You are welcome to submit pieces to the Computer Animation Festival and submit related work to other programs. Each submission requires a separate online form, however. 

I have an art animation (abstract or experimental). Should I submit it to the Art Gallery or to the Computer Animation Festival?
All animation submissions should be submitted to the Computer Animation Festival.

Where do I send my submission materials?
All works must be submitted via the SIGGRAPH 2017 online submission system. The online submission process allows submitters easy access to the online submission system, eliminates time-consuming shipping and mailing, and provides an efficient procedure for reviewing submitted work. 

Can I enter my work through Withoutabox?
The Computer Animation Festival does not accept submissions through Withoutabox.  All works must be submitted via the SIGGRAPH 2017 online submission system.

When is the submission deadline for the Computer Animation Festival?
Online submission forms and accompanying uploads must be completed no later than 21 March 2017, 22:00 UTC/GMT (convert to your time zone).  Submissions received after the deadline will not be reviewed.

I will not have my work finished by the submission deadline. Is it possible for me to submit "work in progress" for reviewing?
No. The SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival reviews only finished projects.  The file you upload at the time of entry is the file that will be shown at SIGGRAPH 2017, if your work is accepted.

We are an art school, and we are planning to submit several student works as one submission. Is this OK?
No. Each piece must be uploaded separately to the online submission system along with its own completed and signed submission form. Each piece is judged on its own merit.

I am a student, and there is no longer a Student Projects category.  Where should I enter it?
All student work should be submitted under the category that most closely describes it. Make sure to select the “Student Project” checkbox during your submission process, so that your work may be considered not only for the Best of Show award and Jury’s Choice prize, but also for the Best Student Project prize.

What file formats are acceptable for submission?
See the How to Submit guidelines for other file format details.

What criteria will the jury use to select works?
Jurors are expected to select the highest quality works from among those submitted. We will take into consideration the technical aspects of the piece, the visual interest, and for story-based projects the storytelling. However, our primary criterion is to select the pieces we feel will form the strongest show.

What is the difference between the juried program and the curated program?
The juried program presents work selected by the jury that represents the best computer-generated content in the world. The curated program is used to round out the program by inviting special presentations of pieces on chosen topics.

Why must the credits be no more than seven seconds?
To maintain the pace of the program for the sake of our attendees, SIGGRAPH 2017 Computer Animation Festival policy requires that all credit sections for accepted entries must be seven seconds or less.

My animation makes use of commercially recorded music. Is that OK?
You are responsible for securing the necessary permissions and licenses for audio material that is contained in your work. If your music was not created originally for your content, or if you are using another person's music, you must obtain the necessary permissions or required licenses. We will not purchase these rights for you.

If my work is selected for the Computer Animation Festival, will SIGGRAPH 2017 pay for my accommodation and travel expenses?
No. You are responsible for your accommodation and travel expenses. For details, please refer to the Presenter Recognition Policy.

Why are your technical requirements so specific?
The technical requirements are very specific to make the submission process more streamlined for you. The submission process utilizes Sohonet digital transfer services. We have carefully selected codecs and resolution formats that are easily accessible to all, offer the highest quality with the least amount of data loss, while offering a much more streamlined post and DI process. This ensures that the material you send us, if accepted, will look amazing on the big screen!

Where can I find information on the DNxHD codec? 
More information regarding Avid's open source codec is available here.

I am having trouble uploading my files. What can I do?
If you have problems uploading your files to the SIGGRAPH 2017 online submission system, your server may be behind a firewall that doesn’t allow HTTPS connections. If you are submitting from a corporate or institutional network, ask your information technology department to assist you in completing your submission. If you have any questions about uploading files, review Uploading Files. If you do not find the answer to your question there, feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Technical Director. 

For VR Theater submissions, do I need to supply my own headset or computer? 
No, you just need to create a submission and make sure your content is available for us to access. The VR Theater will provide hardware.

For VR Theater submissions, do I need to be present to demo my content during SIGGRAPH 2017? 
No. Our volunteer operators will help attendees enjoy your content. However, we do ask you (or someone on your team) to attend the conference, since we might ask for help setting up your content.

For VR Theater submissions, what hardware platforms are supported or preferred?
The VR Theater prefers content that can be enjoyed on Oculus or Vive hardware due to the logistics of the theater format. If your piece cannot be converted to run on Oculus or Vive and uses another commercially available platform, the jury will still consider it.

Should I bring marketing or branding materials (banners, for example) to the VR Theater?
No. Please don't bring any studio or sponsored materials. The VR Theater space will not display them.

Should I submit to VR Village, VR Theater, or Emerging Technologies?
If your submission is primarily a technology demo, something that is either hands-on for attendees to try or not, please submit it to Emerging Technologies.

If your submission is more about providing an interactive experience for an attendee to try, with your own tech or third-party tech, please submit it to VR Village. In general, VR Village is focused on interactive VR installations. This is where you will find new uses of VR and AR ranging from games, simulations or professional applications, to complex art installations.

VR Theater is focused on VR storytelling. VR Theater is looking for submissions that help develop the language of storytelling in virtual reality. The type of content ranges from 360-degree video to experiences that fully utilize HTC Vive or Rift and their controllers. If your submission could go either way, we recommend that you carefully evaluate each program. If it is more suitable for a program other than the one you select, we will endeavor to transfer it.