The Darklight Festival: Animation Art in Ireland
By Kelly Richardson
kelly.richardson@animationschoolreview.com
Animation School Review Columnist
Animation art was once considered child’s play by multimedia professionals—until the Darklight Festival came onto the scene. For one week in Dublin, Ireland, the best of the best in animation art projects come together as artists swap ideas and celebrate their craft. Here’s a taste of what you’ll find if you dare venture into the realm of Darklight.
The legendary Darklight Festival began as a forum for local and independent filmmakers and artists to show off their works to the public and get inspiration from fellow artists. From these humble beginnings, Darklight has transformed into the must-attend event for animation artists with wide-ranging experience and interests. Multicultural and inter-technological, Darklight has come to represent the best in creativity and art evolution.
Animation Art Highlights
Here are some of the highlights from the 2006 Darklight Festival that drew participants from across the globe.
- Screenings. If your animation art feature makes it to a Darklight screening, you’ll be judged by some of the best in the business. Screenings encourage artists to push artistic boundaries to see just what is possible.
- Symposiums. This is like college for animation art hopefuls. Hear crucial discussions on the state of the industry including best practices in animation art shared by professionals worldwide.
- Workshop. Darklight workshops allow participants to try out the latest animation technologies and work on their own pieces of art. Instructors include some of the most established professionals in the industry.
Animation Art Awards Of course, the real animation artists come to Darklight for the competition. Professionals square off in a no-holds-barred tournament of design that promises a bright future for those who show well. Here are a few of the awards up for grabs at Darklight.
- Animation Award. This year’s entries included several web animation shorts as well as cartoon sequences that dazzled the audiences in attendance.
- Long Form Film Award. For the film makers, the long form film award recognizes the best in low budget filmmaking.
- Audience Award. An annual favorite, the audience award is given to the feature that most involves and energizes the Darklight crowd.
If you’re serious about animation art, or if you just want to see how far the industry has come, make plans to attend next year’s Darklight Festival. You’ll be glad that you did.
Sources
Darklight Festival
Film Ireland
About the Author
Kelly Richardson covers the local education and technology scenes in major cities across the country. His articles appear in educational journals, periodicals, and e-zines.
Posted on February 22, 2007 at 12:01 PM
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