Measure your animation and story telling skills against others in the community...Community-wide contest - Starting May 1st, 2008
The first ever GoAnimate animation contest will start on May 1st, 2008 at noon EDT (-4:00 UTC).
The rules are simple: may the best animation win! "How does GoAnimate decide that?", you may ask. Well, we divide the competition into two categories:
Popularity Contest
At the end of the two months, we will use a special algorithm based on user ratings and number of views to decide which animations are the winners of this category. So, if you don't have any friends yet, make sure to meet lots of people in the next few weeks. You will need them to outperform the others in the community.
4 prizes will be awarded in this category:
- First place cash prize US$1000
- Second place cash prize US$750
- Third place cash prize US$500
- Fourth place cash prize US$250
Producer Contest
In the second category, a guest panel will select the best story out of all the submissions. The main criteria for judging the animations will be creativity, story telling, and animation quality. The winner will get the chance to have his or her very own animated series on GoAnimate.So, if you are a creative professional and you are interested in using the GoAnimate platform to produce your own animated series, give it your best shot! Based on a "pilot" story and content provided by you, we will create exclusive goodies - 5 characters with 10 poses each, 10 backgrounds and 10 props- free of charge for you to use to create your animated series.
And for all: Eyeballs!
On GoAnimate there are no losers. If you don't win any of the prizes, you will still get the chance to have your animation shown to the world on GoAnimate! Also, throughout the contest GoAnimate will publish press releases and promote the competition on relevant press publications and blogs.If you have any questions about the contest, check the FAQs below or post your question on our forum. If you have any suggestions on the way we run future contests, don't hesitate to let us know as well.
FAQs
What do you mean by "All animations created on GoAnimate.com" will be enrolled?
This means that if you create an animation using our GoAnimate Facebook application, it will not be entered into the contest. Only animations created on http://www.goanimate.com will be enrolled.
What happens if I submit my animation on June 29th?
Well, if you do that, you will have only one day to collect as many views and ratings as possible. Our guest panel may also be in a rush to judge the best animations. Our advice is for you to create your winning animation as early as possible to make sure you have time to collect views and ratings.
How many animations can I submit?
All animations created between May 1st and June 30th will be automatically added to the competition. As such, all animations you create during that time will be added, regardless of the number. But for best results, only create kick-ass animations!
If I can submit many animations, can I win all the prizes then?
Well, you would have to be pretty damn good to win all the prizes... and frankly other users may get upset if you do. So, we decided that each contestant can win only one prize. In case that you have the top animation in both categories, we will let you choose which prize you prefer.
Can I win with a 5 seconds animation?
Huh... in theory, yes. All animations saved as public will be considered for the prize. But as we want to promote quality story telling, you will have a greater chance to win if you come up with an actual compelling story.
I created a great animation before, and want to reuse it, can I?
In the contest, we do not allow contestants to copy other animations as a basis for their new animation. So, you need to create your animation from scratch for it to be considered. All animations copied from another one will automatically be disqualified from the contest.
All this seems way too simple... any hidden criteria?
Basically, the answer is no. There is no age, geographical, gender, species or planet requirements. We welcome everybody to participate.
What!?! I think I should have won, but I did not get any prize. What should I do?
If the animation you created is really cool, for sure you will get a lot of attention from people around and that should be a nice reward already. If along the way we see that some people who created great animations or animation series do not get rewarded, we may add some new categories to reward them. It is the first competition on GoAnimate after all, so we will be pretty flexible.
When will the results be announced?
The last submissions will be received on June 30th, 2008. After that we need some time to compile results and let the panel deliberate. That should take around 3 to 4 weeks. We will announce the exact date later on.
How will I get MY money!?
Hold on! Hold on! The money is not yours yet. But, for your information, we will contact the winners of the competition by email and ask them for a mailing address or a PayPal account. Cash prizes will get delivered by mail as a check or through PayPal.
What if I don't receive the money?
Only one solution... headbutt the mailman next time he passes by your home! Seriously, get in touch with us. We will make sure we can track exactly what is going on.
What if I get the Web Cast Package prize, but I don't want it?
With great power comes great responsibility... We realize that this prize comes with a bit of extra work. Therefore, we will get in touch with the potential winner ahead of the final prize announcement to make sure they are interested in the prize. If not, then we will check with the second person in line.
Do I need to have design skills to win the Web Cast Package contest?
No, not necessarily. We created GoAnimate to let anybody create an animation. In this category we want to reward the best story tellers, people we think can develop a great animation series on our platform. As such, you do not have to have design skills to win. You just need to be able to develop concepts that use characters, backgrounds and items.