Deadline: 31 December 2008
School of Visual Arts (SVA), New York City, in partnership with Giraldi Media, announces the Out of Hand International Festival, a showcase for innovative digital content created by students worldwide and intended for playback on a mobile, PDA or other handheld device. SVA invites aspiring artists, designers, filmmakers and creative thinkers worldwide to enter original content into competition using an online submission form. A public screening and awards presentation will take place in New York City on March 19, 2009.
“Small screens are quickly emerging as a major means of communication and expression. We wanted to create a festival of content in your hand,” explained Bob Giraldi, veteran director and Festival co-founder. “Think of it as bringing the festival with you.”
The festival’s official web site has been designed to be a competition of digital content, 3 minutes or less, created by students 17 or older.
Visitors can view, rate and comment on submissions, and find inspiration for their own projects. The site features editorials and interviews with individuals on the cutting edge of digital video and wireless technology. A grand prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner, along with other prizes to the runners up, including a summer residency at SVA.
The main competition is open to those enrolled in a college or university or other degree-granting institution, regardless of major or concentration. Submissions will be considered by a distinguished jury of artists and media leaders for awards in the following categories: Design; Games; Art + Animation; Short Film; and Advertising.
The Out of Hand International Festival grew out of discussions between SVA founder Silas H. Rhodes and Bob Giraldi, an award-winning television and film director who runs his own production company in Manhattan and has taught at SVA for decades. The late Mr. Rhodes was a pioneer in recruiting creative professionals from advertising, publishing and the arts to join the faculty, and before his death he approached Giraldi about launching a new festival. Giraldi and longtime collaborator, media producer Patti Greaney, devised a competition encouraging budding talent to explore the new frontier opened up by the “the fourth screen” found on wireless devices like mobile phones and PDAs.
On the faculty at SVA since 1968, Giraldi teaches a course in the BFA Advertising and Graphic Design Department entitled The Project, in which third- and fourth-year students create an original four- to five-minute film using digital video. Seizing on the technology’s affordability, ease of use and availability, Giraldi developed the course in 2002 to inspire fresh approaches to storytelling and visual communication.
This news message is sponsored by Shutterstock.
