Attention Animation Students and Educators!
Please join us in continuing this tradition as we host the 24 HOURS Animation Contest for Students this year on Friday October 13th at 3pm PT to Saturday October 14th at 4pm PT!
We are thrilled to announce we are in our 21st year, and more than 10,000 students from 180 schools and 25 countries have benefited from participating through the years. This year 7 teams will win one of our amazing prize packs (last year totaling over $180K!). It is free to enter, and there will also be an application for equipment for students in need! Each school has the option to allow your students to work on campus or in the virtual space (more details below). Join us in continuing this tradition, and please share the following details with fellow students and educators interested in participating.
WHAT is it?:
24 HOURS Animation Contest for Students is a free international event where students around the world compete in teams of 5 to complete a 30 second animated film in just 24 Hours based on a given theme chosen by Aubry Mintz, the founder of this contest. Believe it or not, with these tight constraints – many teams actually complete their films…in color!!! This has been such a successful event with the student’s attendance rapidly growing each year. Please review some of the amazing films that have been completed from this competition by watching below:
In 2022 we had almost 1500 students from 86 schools around the globe compete! With consistent growth each year and participation from around the world (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, UK and the USA!) there is no sign of stopping. We welcome you to share this contest with your colleagues at other institutions. The more the merrier for this exciting, healthy competition.
HOW does it work?:
Students must register in teams of 5 and have permission from their home school (one faculty advisor for all teams is fine) – this will ensure they are current students and this contest falls in line with each school’s student learning outcomes. All teams will start at the exact same time (Friday October 13th 4pm PT) and submit a Youtube link of the completed film before the deadline (Saturday October 14th at 4pm PT). Late submissions will NOT be accepted so teams will need to plan ahead and trouble shoot any issues INCLUDING UNSENT EMAILS AND YOUTUBE LINKS THAT DO NOT WORK!!!
Finished films will be judged by a panel of industry experts and prizes awarded to the top 5 college teams along with a special prize for Best High School Team and a Behind the Scenes Prize! Due to our extremely generous sponsorship donation in 2022, the winning teams were awarded over a staggering $180,000 in prizes (including cash) from the massive generosity of our past sponsors which have included; Toon Boom, Illumination, ASIFA-Hollywood, Animation Educators Forum, Bento Box, Nickelodeon Animation Studios, CSU Summer Arts, TAAFI, Wacom, TVPaint, DigiCel, Animation Magazine, Huion, CRC Press, Xencelabs, CTNX, X in a Box, Legends Animated, Mac Hollywood, Stuart NG Books, DreamWorks, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Sony Pictures Animation, Animation is Film and more!
WHY would anyone particpate in this crazy contest?
This contest will teach our students much about working together, meeting deadlines and making creative decisions under pressure AND they all have a lot of fun and teams even come back to compete each year – so it’s a proven model of an outside the classroom initiative that motivates our students to produce really great work in a short amount of time. This has been such a successful event and has grown every year. We plan to continue this annually and we hope you can join us. There is no cost to the students so why not? Click the registration link below to get started, or explore this website to learn more information.
Testimonials
“It is always a challenge to maintain myself calm during the final hours. But as I participate more and more I see my behaviour growing better and better. I dont think that’s something the 24 Hours organization team can help in any way, but just the act of participating in it makes me better.”
The 24 HOURS is by far my students favourite event of the school year (and mine too). Every year the students continue to strive for excellence and support each other through their time in the @sislercreate program @WinnipegSD. It is a crucial component for our program as it brings all our animation students together and prepares them for the future. It is always a blast watching the students work on their shorts over 24 hours. […] As a teacher, I am so honoured and humbled by their love to tell & create their stories collaboratively. In addition, their drive to excel as a team and to support each other is awe-inspiring.
Just the time crunch. With all the stress and work and lack of sleep, sometimes you feel like “AHHH, why are you doing this to children? What kind of sick people are you to put us through this?!” but I did do this purposefully knowing it would be stressful so I can’t blame you guys, Honestly I am excited for next year.
I still think back to when i first started that challenge back in 2016 on a whim from my 2d drawing professor telling me about the challenge and being pumped to participate in it. I always dreamt of working in animation and figure that this would be a perfect place to learn, i can still remember the first night and how grueling it was but also making something with other people wanting to work in animation. […] I look back 6 years and see the journey I’ve got to be on and if it wasn’t for that whim on a teacher suggestion i wouldn’t be here today. Ive been working professional the past 3 years since leaving(dropping out) but the memories i made on during the 24 hour animation challenges makes me never lose sight of why i love the craft but also coming together with peers and friends to make something bigger than us.
Contest Survey
At the end of our 24 HOURS 2022 competition, we started implementing a survey for current participants. If you have particpated in this years contest, please consider filling this out!
Information obtained in the evaluation will be utilized to make improvements on future contests and will include questions regarding the contest, the impact it has on participants, as well as demographic data. The data may be utilized by the program to apply for grants and other funding in order to support the program in the future, and may also be utilized in public presentations and publications related to the 24 HOUR Contest for Students.
Your identity is confidential and any responses you provide will only be reviewed collectively with those of all other participants. Please click on the button below to be taken to the survey.
24 HOURS Sponsors 2023