Tag: UWA

Pursue Impossible: celebrating art and machinima in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Image courtesy of UWA
Image courtesy of UWA / Eliza Wierwight

 

On Sunday, December 13th, 2015, the Grand Finale of the University Of Western Australia’s (UWA) Pursue Impossible was held at the impressive UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre. During the event, over L$500,000 was awarded in prizes to artists, machinima makers and those who took part in the audience participation competitions. The last in an impressive line of grand challenges organised under the umbrella of the UWA, the event was a very special celebration of artistic expression in Second Life.

Pursue Impossible took its theme from the UWA’s clarion call to students in the physical world to achieve their fullest possible potential by studying with the university. For artists and machinima makers it sought to have them consider what their “impossible” might be – personal, part of their lives or those they know, or a consideration of the things we deem to be impossible, but which yet be overcome, or illustrations of how the virtual encourages us to reach beyond the possible, etc.

The Grand Finale was hosted by the UWA’s Jayjay Zifanwe, with the UWA’s art curator, FreeWee Ling also on hand to announce the special Curator’s awards in both the art and machinima categories.

Opening the event, Jayjay said:

Today brings to an end the 6th year of the major art challenges at UWA, with 59 artworks by 61 different artists (2 entries were collaborations) in the running for the 3D Art Challenge and 43 machinima for MachinimUWA VIII: PURSUE IMPOSSIBLE.

As announced on the web previously, this winners ceremony also marks the end of the yearly cycles of major art and film challenges at UWA. UWA still remains, the UWA Art Gallery still remains, and is in fact renewed, as FreeWee will take the helm fully when it comes to art, without me meddling, and we have a new partner for art as well, as the Main UWA Gallery will be renamed the Windlight-UWA Gallery as Windlight Magazine will be providing support for the art initiatives that FreeWee will run in 2016. Much thanks to Johannes1977 for helping to make this happen.

It’s been an absolute pleasure for me to work with all of you over the course of these challenges, and over the years, and especially to those who went above and beyond the call of duty to make all of this a success. Thank you FreeWee Ling, curator of art at UWA & RL Honorary Fellow at UWA. Thank you LaPiscean Liberty, co-host for MachinimUWA VIII, champion of machinima of Second Life. Also much thanks to those who have provided support and sponsorship which sees the overall prize pool standing at more than L$500,000 across both art and machinima.

Audience Participation Awards

There was a total prize pool of L$82,000 for the audience participation challenge, split equally between the 3D art and machinima categories. This saw members of the public invited to submit invited to what they thought the top 10 items in either or both of the categories would be, as decided by the Pursue Impossible adjudicating panel. In all 5 cash prizes were on offer, ranging from L$5,000 to L$12,000 in each category.

Prize 3D Art Audience Participation Machinima Audience Participation
1st Prize L$12,000 Lalie Sorbet Karima Hoisan
2nd Prize L$10,000 Elle Thorkveld Lalie Sorbet
3rd Prize L$8,000 Morituna Watanabe Pearl Grey
4th Prize L$6,000 Pearl Grey Zakali
5th Prize L$6,000 Lira Savira / Vivian Shan (L$2,500 ea) MAagicfairy Merlin

Art Awards

Note that SLurls are given with the titles of all winning pieces, and all the entries into the Pursue Impossible 3D art challenge can still be viewed at the UWA art gallery.

There were no fewer than four 10th places winners, all tied on a total of 16 points from the judge’s selections. The four winners each received a L$1,250 prize and were:

Mistero Hifeng: "Dream", one of the 10th place winners in the UWA's Grand Art Challenge Pursue Impossible
Mistero Hifeng: “Dream“, one of the 10th place winners in the UWA’s Grand Art Challenge Pursue Impossible

The ninth through seventh place prizes, all of L$5,000 each, were awarded to:

Due to a 5th place tie, there was no award for sixth place.

Sharni Azalee 0 PLANET: Earth; RACE: Human
Sharni Azalee: “RACE: Human – PLANET: Earth“, 9th place winner, in the UWA’s Grand Art Challenge Pursue Impossible

The top five winners were::

The Bridge by Alpha Auer - the 1st place winner in the UWA's Pursue Impossible Grand Art Challenge
The Bridge by Alpha Auer – the 1st place winner in the UWA’s Pursue Impossible Grand Art Challenge

UWA Special Prize and UWA Curator’s Choice Prize

In addition to the prizes above, the Pursue Impossible 3D Art Challenge featured three additional awards: the UWA Special Prize and the UWA Curator’s Choice Prize, and Jayjay’s Personal Choice prize, which was awarded to mark the conclusion of the Grand Art Challenges and the fact that since they were conceived in 2009, Jayjay has never had the opportunity to vote on any entries other than as a member of the adjudicating panel. These were awarded as follows:

Continue reading “Pursue Impossible: celebrating art and machinima in Second Life” →

UWA Pursue Impossible Grand Finale: the end of an era in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
The UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre
The UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre

The Grand Finale of the University of Western Australia’s Pursue Impossible 3D art and machinima challenge will take place on Sunday, December 13th, 2015 – and you can be a part of the audience.

The event will be held at the UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre, starting at 06:00 SLT, when the winners, as determined by the judges, in both the 3D art and the machinima categories will be announced.

The challenge took its theme from the UWA’s clarion call to students in the physical world to achieve their fullest possible potential by studying with the university. For artists and machinima makers it sought to have them consider what their “impossible” might be – personal, part of their lives or those they know, or a consideration of the things we deem to be impossible, but which yet be overcome, or illustrations of how the virtual encourages us to reach beyond the possible….

Pursue Impossible - Frankx Lefarve: Child of Light
Pursue Impossible – Frankx Lefarve: Child of Light

There have been some amazing entries in both the art and machinima elements of the challenge, as I hope my coverage of Pursue Impossible n these pages demonstrates.

The awards are open to public attendance, with 59  artworks and 45 machinima in the running for a share of the L$500,000+ prize pool, as well as L$41,000 in prizes available to those who entered the Audience participation Challenge to try to match the top 10 entries as defined by the adjudicating panel (of which I am a member).

However, this will also be a grand finale in another way as well, as it signals the end of the international 3D art & film challenges which have been run in Second Life by the UWA since 2009.  While the UWA will continue within Second Life, and Freewee Ling will continue to run art events as she has over the years, major UWA events in the future will be dependent upon funding being made available.

So, please help make this a very special set of awards, and come along to the UWA-BOSL Grand Amphitheatre.

If you’d like to tour the 3D art pieces entered into Pursue Impossible, you can find a complete list of entries with landmarks on the UWA blog. Similarly, links to all of the machinima entries can also be found on the UWA blog.

SLurl Details

UWA Pursue Impossible machinima: L$41K in prizes for audience participation

Posted on by Inara Pey
Image courtesy of UWA
Image courtesy of UWA / Eliza Wierwight

Saturday, October 31st marked the closing date for submission to this year’s combined 5th University of Western Australia’s (UWA) Grand Art Challenge and MachinimUWA challenge, Pursue Impossible.

The challenge takes its theme from the UWA’s clarion call to students in the physical world to achieve their fullest possible potential by studying with the university. Within the challenge, it calls on entrants to consider what their “impossible” might be. Perhaps it might be something personal, a goal achieved individually or by a loved one or friend. Or perhaps it is consideration of those things we deem to be impossible, but which we may still pursue and conquer as individuals or collectively. Perhaps it is itself a clarion call for us all to face the things we consider impossible and rise above them; or maybe it is an illustration of how virtual environments empower people to visualise, create and push the boundaries of the possible. There are many options and opportunities to consider.

There have been some amazing entries in both the art and machinima elements of the challenge, as I hope my coverage of Pursue Impossible n these pages demonstrates. With the closing date having passed, the task of judging the entries begins, and with it the opportunity for all residents in Second Life to share in the prizes on offer.

On Thursday, November 5th, the UWA announced the launch of the Pursue Impossible MachnimUWA audience participation challenge, with a prize pool of L$41,000. All you have to do to have an opportunity to win one of the five prizes on offer, which range from L$12,000 to L$5,000, is to watch the 45 machinima entries to the competition, then list those videos you think will finish in the TOP 10 in order 1st – 10th, as decided by the official judging panel.

Entries should be made via note card in-world, passed to Jayjay Zifanwe with your name in the title of the card, together with “MachinimUWA VIII Audience Event”. Alternatively, you can e-mail your list to jayjayaustralia-at-hotmail.com. All entries must be submitted no later than midnight SLT on Sunday, December 6th, 2015.

The full list of machinima entries can be found in the UWA’s Audience Event announcement linked to above. Remember, this is not a popularity vote. Your top 10 entry / entries should be your prediction of who the actual top 10 will be according to the official judging panel.

Winners will be announced at the Grand Finale for the challenge, which will be held 06:00 SLT on Sunday, December 13th 2015.

Final days to Pursue Impossible & a L$560K+ prize pool in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Image courtesy of UWA
Image courtesy of UWA / Eliza Wierwright

The University of Western Australia’s (UWA) latest 3D art and machinima challenge, Pursue Impossible is counting down the final days before entries close at midnight SLT, on October 31st, 2015. With a prize pool for participants in both the art and machinima categories standing at over L$ 560,000, there have already been some amazing submissions – and there is still time for artists and film-makers  to create and submit their own entries.

Pursue Impossible takes its theme from the UWA’s clarion call to students in the physical world to achieve their fullest possible potential by studying with the university. Within the challenge, it calls on entrants to consider what their “impossible” might be.

Kazuhiro Aridian - "Rise Above the Mundane" - Pursue Impossible
Kazuhiro Aridian – “Rise Above the Mundane” – Pursue Impossible

Perhaps it might be something personal, a goal achieved individually or by a loved one or friend. Or perhaps it is consideration of those things we deem to be impossible, but which we may still pursue and conquer as individuals or collectively. Perhaps it is itself a clarion call for us all to face the things we consider impossible and rise above them; or maybe it is an illustration of how virtual environments empower people to visualise, create and push the boundaries of the possible. There are many options and opportunities to consider.

Jipe Loon – “Impossible Quest” – Pursue Impossible

Currently, the first prize for each category stands at L$60,000 plus a cover feature with BOSL magazine. Should you wish to enter either or both categories, full details of entry requirements can be found on the Pursue Impossible announcement page.  However, a brief outline of the key points to keep in mind is given below.

  • Art submissions are limited to one per entrant, must have COPY permissions, should not exceed 150 LI, and must be free from any copyright issues – if third-party content is used in an entry, permission must and been sought and granted from the creator for its inclusion in the Challenge
  • Entrants can submit as many machinima pieces as they wish, but films should preferably be no longer than 4 minutes and 30 seconds (although this is not a “hard” rule), and should be made specifically for this challenge. All films must include “For The University of Western Australia’s MachinimUWA VIII: Pursue Impossible” in the opening credits
  • All submissions should allow casual viewers to interpret how the theme is represented, or provide a means by which the piece can be understood in the context of the challenge theme, either via note card (art) or text in the video description when uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

As well as the art and machinima category prizes, there will also be special cash prizes for audience participation. The total prize pool for this currently stands at L$41,000, and prizes will be awarded to those members of the audience whose top 10 lists most closely align to the final juried top 10 entries in each category.

Details on how to enter the audience participation part of the challenge will be announced in due course. In the meantime, don’t forget to check the art entries at the UWA Gallery and the video submissions on the UWA blog.

Related Links

The Drax Files 32: facilitating art and machinima in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Jay Jay Jegathesan (Jayjay Zifanwe in SL) patron to the arts in Second Life and founder of the University of Western Australia's presence in Second Life
Jay Jay Jegathesan (Jayjay Zifanwe in SL) patron to the arts in Second Life and founder of the University of Western Australia’s presence in Second Life

With machinima, you are getting a glimpse into the soul of the artist. They’re not making this film so they can sell tickets at the movies. They are making this to show you who they are.

– Jayjay Jegathesan

The above statement comes at the start of The Drax Files World Makers episode 32, and perhaps perfectly encapsulates a good part of the message offered within it. It also encompasses much of what Second Life is for so many of us: a means of expressing ourselves fully and freely and without the burdens we often face in the physical world – a point Jay Jay also makes later in the film.

This segment is a slight departure from previous episodes, in that it could be said to cover two different, if related, themes. On the one hand, it offers insight into the amazing world of Second Life machinima and the ways in which the platform  offers many unique ways of artistic freedom for film-makers. On the other it is a personal look at Jay Jay’s own role within the platform, both at founder and manager of the University of Western Australia’s presence in-world and through it  a patron and champion of the arts and machinima through his in-world alter-ego, Jayjay Zifanwe.

Natascha Randt and Karima Hoisan are two of the featured machinima-makers in segment #32 of The Drax Files, their work helping to illustrate both the rich diversity of machinima films made in SL and the unique opportunities for collaboration across the world offered by the platform
Natascha Randt and Karima Hoisan are two of the featured machinima-makers in segment #32 of The Drax Files, their work helping to illustrate both the rich diversity of machinima films made in SL and the unique opportunities for collaboration across the world offered by the platform

These two threads, woven together through the UWA’s ongoing series of art and machinima challenges, make for one of the most complex pieces yet produced by Drax as a part of the World Maker series. In it, he precisely balances insight and understanding into the appeal of machinima and the creative potential Second Life offers the medium with a clearly understandable examination of Jay Jay’s and the UWA’s work in-world, presenting audiences not necessarily well-versed in Second Life with a narrative flow combining both elements into a cohesive whole.

UWA's Winthrop Clock Tower & Reflection Pond as reproduced in Second Life and a landmark frequenctly featured in UWA machinima contest entries
UWA’s Winthrop Clock Tower & Reflection Pond as reproduced in Second Life and a landmark frequently featured in UWA machinima contest entries

From Jay Jay’s opening comment, we see machinima initially framed through the UWA’s ongoing series of art and machinima competitions (such as Pursue Impossible, which is currently underway), and which serves also to underline the fact that just about every kind of film genre and type known in the physical world can be produced within the virtual – and to extremely high standards.

This richness of opportunity is further underlined with brief statements on their art by some of second Life’s top machinima makers such as Rysan Fall (long a personal favourite), with clips from films by others such as Tutsy Navarathna (ditto). Through this comments, albeit  individually brief, the audience gains a well-rounded view of machinima and its creative power and value, as well as into way so many find it so personally satisfying.

And just in case there are any doubts over machinima’s position as a genuine form or artistic and creative expression, I’d at least point to Rysan Fall’s short film Invisible City. This not only topped-out the machinima category for the Project Homeless competition sponsored by the City of Parramatta, new South Wales, it took second position overall in the competition, beating many films made solely in the physical world with its context, narrative and production quality.


Rysan Fall’s brilliant Invisible City

Art and machinima serve many purposes in Second Life, just as they do in the real world, and it is to the UWA’s credit that they have sought to embrace this as much as possible through their promotion of virtual arts – such as with their involvement in Project Homeless, as mentioned above.

Continue reading “The Drax Files 32: facilitating art and machinima in Second Life” →

Pursue Impossible: as the entries continue

Posted on by Inara Pey
Mistero Hifeng: "Dream", Pursue Impossible
Mistero Hifeng: “Dream”, Pursue Impossible

With the prize pool standing at over L$560,000, the list of entries in the University of Western Australia’s (UWA)  Pursue Impossible Art & Film Challenge continues to grow while the clock slowly counts away the days to the deadline for submissions at midnight SLT, on October 31st, 2015.

The Pursue Impossible theme is in recognition of the UWA adopting Pursue Impossible as their clarion call to students in the physical world to achieve their fullest possible potential by studying with the university.

Within the competition, entrants are invited to consider what their “impossible” might be. Perhaps it is the goal they have achieved or which they’ve seen achieved by their loved ones, friends or family; or perhaps it is a consideration of those things we deem to be impossible, but which we may still pursue and conquer as individuals or collectively. Or maybe it is an illustration of how virtual environments empower people to visualise, create and push the boundaries of the possible. There are many options and opportunities to consider.

Art submissions must have COPY permissions, and must not exceed 150 LI, and must be free from any copyright issues – if third-party content is used in an entry, permission must and been sought and granted from the creator for its inclusion in the Challenge. Machinima entries should preferably no longer than 4 minutes and 30 seconds, must be specifically made for this challenge. All submissions should allow casual viewers to interpret how the theme is represented, or provide a means by which the piece can be understood in the context of the challenge theme.

For full details on the challenge, including submission guidelines and rules, please refer to the UWA’s Pursue Impossible announcement.

Nino Vichan: Pursue the End of Homelessness - Pursue Impossible
Nino Vichan: Pursue the End of Homelessness – Pursue Impossible

As well as the art and machinima category prizes, there will also be special cash prizes for audience participation. The prize pool for this currently stands at L$15,000 apiece for the two categories (art and machinima).

I’ll have news on the audience participation requirements once they have been officially announced by the UWA directly. In the meantime, don’t forget to check the art entries at the UWA Gallery and the video submissions on the UWA blog.

Related Links