Vancouver, B.C., May 2, 2005 - Electronic Arts Canada (EAC), today announced the results of its Electronic Arts Great Canadian Art Competition, one of Canada's largest cash prize student art competition. EAC executives and staff were on hand Saturday to award a total of $50,000 to post-secondary art students at the gala presentation that included a surprise twist. Instead of one grand prize winner, there were two, each winning $20,000 each.
Percy Fuentes from Regina, Saskatchewan won for his digital animation project titled "Zombie Oris" and Rani Naamani from St. Albert, Alberta for his animated short titled "Defective." Both are art graduates from Vancouver Film School (VFS). Rather than accepting the $20,000 grant that the school would have received from the first winner, the school decided to give up the grant so that the second winner would receive the same prize.
The Electronic Arts Great Canadian Art Competition saw top Canadian graduating post-secondary students submit 3-D digital animated shorts for judging by EAC senior graphic artists. The top 25 finalists and their families were flown out to Vancouver, B.C. last week to take part in interactive tours of EAC's state-of-the-art development studios and sight-seeing excursions throughout the city. Finalists met senior executives and Hollywood art directors including EAC's Academy Award-winning senior art director Henry LaBounta and Chief Visual Officer Glenn Entis, whose career accolades include a Scientific and Technical Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
"We are thrilled at the success of our first Canadian student art competition," said Nancy Gray-Starkebaum, senior manager of recruitment at EAC, who spearheaded the project. "We are truly impressed at the high quality and calibre of students' submissions. It is a great testament to the level of talent and education that exists in this country and Electronic Arts Canada is proud to continue supporting computer animation and educational institutions in Canada."
The finalists presented their finished digital animated projects in front of the EAC judging panel and the winning entries were selected based on their technical abilities, originality, creativity and artistic merit. Both Percy Fuentes and Rani Naamani were selected as the best out of the top 25 for their ability to capture the essence of superb computer animation. There were nine other cash prizes awarded to top winners in three categories: animation, modeling and texturing, and lighting and rendering.
"This competition was very difficult to judge especially since everyone's animated shorts were outstanding and the level of creativity and technical expertise were second to none," said Henry LaBounta, studio art director. "I've worked with many Canadian artists over the years in the U.S. and it's great to see that now some of the best career opportunities for artists are right here in Vancouver. It is very exciting to see how rich and diverse the student talent is in Canada."
The top 25 finalists attend post-secondary institutions and art schools across Canada. Schools include the Emily Carr Institute, Vancouver Film School, Capilano College, Sheridan College, Art Institute of Vancouver, Durham College, St. Clair College, National Animation and Design Centre and Red River College. Locations where the finalists are from are listed below:
BC Alberta Manitoba Ontario
Burnaby Medicine Hat Steinbach Glencoe
Delta St. Albert Hamilton
Port Moody Mississauga
Richmond Saskatchewan Quebec Toronto
Skidegate Regina Montreal Windsor
Vancouver
West Vancouver
"Our entire staff and student body are tremendously proud of our winning students," said Richard Appleby, vice president and co-founder of Vancouver Film School. "Electronic Arts Canada's support of animation education is a real benefit to all art institutions and programs in Canada and an inspiration to our students."
As the world's leading developer of videogames including FIFA Soccer 2005, Need for Speed™ Underground 2, and NHL® 2005, Electronic Arts Canada has a state-of-the-art, 207,000 sq. ft. custom-designed studio in Burnaby, B.C and a development studio in downtown Vancouver. EA also has a development studio in Montreal.
With more than 1,600 talented employees, EAC provides a uniquely stimulating and rewarding work environment geared towards creative expression and career advancement, as well as access to the best experts and newest technology in the industry. For more information about the Electronic Arts Great Canadian Art Competition, please visit www.greatcanadianartcompetition.ea.com.
About Electronic Arts Canada
Electronic Arts Canada (EAC), based in Burnaby, B.C., is part of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS). Employing more than 1,600 team members at studios in Burnaby, downtown Vancouver and Montreal, EAC is the world's largest development studio for interactive entertainment. More information about working at EAC can be found online at http://eacanada.ea.com.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for videogame systems, personal computers and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under three brand names: EA SPORTS™, EA GAMES™ and EA SPORTS BIG™. In fiscal 2004, EA posted revenues of $2.96 billion and had 27 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
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