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Triggerfish 10-second Animation Challenge

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The Triggerfish 10-second Animation Challenge, supported by Goethe-Institut, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and The Walt Disney Company, is now open for entries.

Aspiring animators across Africa have until Thursday, 31 October 2019 to create 10-second character animations, then post them to Facebook with the tag @triggerfishacademy.

“We’re looking for fresh animation shorts that celebrate Africa’s uniqueness and diversity,” says Stuart Forrest, CEO of Triggerfish, the ground-breaking animation company behind two of Africa’s highest grossing movies of all time (Khumba, Adventures In Zambezia) and five multi-award-winning BBC Christmas Specials with Magic Light Pictures, including the Oscar-nominated Revolting Rhymes. “Creating animation is easier than ever before, so if you love animation, we’re hoping this competition is the encouragement you need to try making five seconds of it for the first time. We’ve kept the format short because we’re looking for artistic impact and technical excellence.”

The winner of the 18-and-under and 19-25 categories will take home any animator’s dream tool: a Wacom Cintiq 16” drawing tablet, valued at nearly US$1,000, which allows the artist to draw directly onto a screen which connects to their computer. The top three in both age categories will win a $100 cash prize.

A jury of professional animators from Triggerfish will choose the top six animations in both age categories, which will be posted to the Triggerfish Facebook page from 18 November 2019, with the most Liked animation on 1 December 2019 being named the overall winner for each category.

This competition is one of a number of recent Triggerfish initiatives to train and diversify the next generation of African animators. Others include Triggerfish Academy, a free digital learning platform for anyone wanting to understand more about career opportunities in animation and how to get started in the field; sponsoring bursaries to The Animation School; the Mama K’s Team 4 Writers Lab in Zambia with Netflix; the pan-African Triggerfish Story Lab, supported by The Walt Disney Company and the Department of Trade and Industry; Animate Africa webinars; Draw For Life; and the Triggerfish Foundation schools outreach programme.

Forrest encourages all competition entrants to work through the 25 free video tutorials on Triggerfish Academy, as entries will be judged on the key animation principles outlined there. The Triggerfish Academy website also has links to download free software that will help you create your first animations, as well as all the terms and conditions for the competition.

About Triggerfish Academy

Triggerfish Academy is a free digital learning platform for anyone wanting to understand more about the career opportunities in the field of animation. It’s been realised within the initiative “Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs)” by the Goethe-Institut South Africa, with support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). By strengthening and networking local CCIs, positive and commercially viable “African narratives and productions” are being supported (through animation, gaming, fashion, music, etc.). For more information, visit www.triggerfish.com/academy.