War of the Animators

By Ben Liew  •  in News
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Konichiwa! Ha-ih! It is I, Ben-san, the prodigal JUICE Writer returning home from the land of the rising sun once again! Did you miss me? No? Well, too bad for you then cause I have scaled snow mountains and sat through conventions in a suit, and I’m going to share what I’ve learnt about the Asian digital creative scene and Tokyo’s freaky subcultures, whether you rike it or not… Banzai!!! And what better way to begin my story then with this year’s Golden DigiCon6 Award winner, Jokelate!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SetO-5yiQtU[/youtube]

DigiCon6 as you may have already read about in my previous feature last year, is like the Academy Awards of digital creative content. Every year, thousands of animations (2D, 3D, CGI, claymation, mixed media, etc) are sent to Tokyo to compete for the title and the chance to get picked up by the many studios and network stations that go there for that specific reason.

Malaysia sent 5 of our best animations, from One Academy graduation projects to a Disney-bought series, to participate. And we’ll be having our own local animation awards and conference this 15 to 17 Dec at the 2nd MSC Malaysia Kre8tif Digital Content Conference, taking place at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. Themed ‘Back to Basix’, this 3-day creative summit will witness the top minds from the global creative landscape gather to share their insights on the fundamentals of creating world class creative content; including scriptwriting, digital design and character development.

Back to this year’s Golden Digicon6 Award winner. See Through by Jokelate is what happens when a talented animator attempts to relate the futility of war though the medium of entertainment and humour. Jokelate (real name Yang Yu) is a 31-year old, self-taught animator from China whose original major in college was Medicine. Yang Yu quit his day job in order to compete this animation (and it’s his first indie film too!). See Through clocks in at only 15mins odd but took 3 and a half years for Yang Yu to complete! A testament to his determination and a job well rewarded!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er_fo8AQPVs&feature=related[/youtube]

If you’re still hungry after that feasting on that visual masterpiece, stay tuned for we have more on DigiCon6, Kre8tif, Japan and animations coming soon!