Awards

As part of its mission to further the cause of animation - especially the cause of traditional 2D animation - the Desktop Academy seeks to acknowledge and honor outstanding examples of the filmmaker's craft.

2D OR NOT 2D "Golden Pencil Awards"

The Desktop Academy is delighted to host the annual, online "Golden Pencil Awards". The Golden Pencil Awards were previously presented in conjunction with the "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival" that was held every November in the Pacific Northwest. However, with the festival now being held every other year, we believe that animators need the same level of consistent support and recognition for their work. Consequently the new online Golden Pencil Awards have been established for such a purpose on the Desktop Academy website! Now animators from around the world can achieve recognition for their work throughout the world.

Objectives and Requirements

Photo: "Animated American" directors, Joe Baker and Joe Haidar collect their Golden Pencil Award from Festival Director, Ken Rowe, and Tony White during the 2008 "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival".

The principle objective of the Golden Pencil Awards is to reward excellence in animation. The only requirement necessary for animators to enter is for their work to be viewable online up to the point of judging. Successful entrants will then need to provide assurance that their award-winning entries will be available for streaming through the Desktop Academy 'Gallery' page for 1 year after the award announcement. The awards will be announced on this page in early November of each year.

Categories

Photo: Hollywood Producer, Don Hahn, delivers his keynote speech at the 2008 "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival".

Due to current technical limitations, full-length movies are not eligible for the Golden Pencil Awards at this moment in time. However, trailers for full-length movies are eligible. (I.e. In the 'Short All-form' category.) Consequently, the Golden Pencil Awards are only accessible to independent and student short-film animators. A short animated film is defined as a production that is less than 15 minutes in length, with a majority of its visual content being animated in some for or another. Films may have been completed at any time in the past, as long as they are currently online at the point of judging. A full list of award categories is as follows:

i) 2D Animation. (Traditional, hand-drawn animation.)

ii) All-form animation. (I.e. Any kind of animation, other than 2D.)

iii) TV/Cinema Commercials.

v) TV Short Film Animation.

vi) Web Animation.

vi) Game Animation.

vii) Student Film Animation.

Golden Pencil Award

Photo: Tony White proudly introduces the Golden Pencil Awards at the 2008 "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival".

In recognition of their outstanding work, the winners from each category will be presented with a coveted Golden Pencil Award. The award will be announced online with the actual 'Golden Pencil' being sent to the successful candidate by mail. (Note: The judges reserve the right to not award a 'Golden Pencil Award' if they feel that the work in any particular category does merit a first place position, or there are not enough entries in any one category to justify a winning status.)

Golden Pencil Certificate of Merit

Merit Award Certificate from a previous "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival".

Finalists in each category will receive a Golden Pencil Certificate of Merit, which honors any aspect of their work that the judges consider worthy of such recognition. (Note: Merit Certificates can be awarded whether or not Golden Pencil Awards are announced in any category and these will also be mailed to the successful candidate after their announcement.)

Roy E. Disney Award

Photo: Richard Williams holds up his "Roy E. Disney' Award", announced at the 2008 "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival".

Each year, the Animaticus Foundation is proud to announce the recipient of the non-competitive "Roy E. Disney Award". This award is presented to any individual (or organization) recognized as having made a significant contribution to the world of animation, whether this be through their own work or for their service to the animation community at large. Past winners included Roy E. Disney himself (for his courageous campaign to bring to an end the Michael Eisner era at Disney), Don Hahn (for his outstanding contribution as a long-term Hollywood animation producer) and Richard Williams (for his outstanding contribution to the evolution of contemporary traditional animation… as well as for having created the 'bible' of all animation knowledge, "The Animator's Survival Kit".) The announcement of the Roy E. Disney Award will be timed to coincide with that of the Golden Pencil Awards.

Photo: Roy E. Disney delivering his keynote speech at the inaugural "2D OR NOT 2D Animation Festival".

To see the 2008 Roy E. Disney Award being presented to Richard Williams, click HERE.



Deadline and details:
Entries for the 2009 Golden Pencil Awards will close on Wednesday, September 30th. The announcement of award winners will be made at this site on Sunday, November 1st. Remember, films may only be entered for the 2009 event if they are currently viewable online and are able to remain so until November 1st, 2010. Prior to the awards being announced a copy of the winning film (only) must be sent to the organizers upon request, so it can be streamed online for one year via the Desktop Academy website.

Important: It is a strict condition of entry that submitted films are copyright-cleared. Therefore animators will be required to demonstrate that they are legally able to provide us with he necessary permissions. The Desktop Academy will at no time accept any responsibility whatsoever if copyright infringements are made by error.

Entry fee:

$25 per entry.
$15 for students.

To enter:

Check back for entry details soon.

Award-winning screening:

As indicated, winning films will be streamed for one year on the Desktop Academy website, together with the name and contact information of each winner. The Desktop Academy will make every effort to ensure that the winning work of the Golden Pencil Awards will be widely publicized throughout the press and internet community wherever possible.



We look forward to your participation in this inaugural 2009 Golden Pencil Awards event!