Outline [Standard] Linear+ Round 1 - (ToFA), To the Brim of Existence

Welcome to the First Annual Tournament of Flash Artists 2007!!
Please click here for the TOFA page, including all the information you need plus a table showing all matchups.

Round 1
The theme for round 1 will be To the Brim of Existence.

• The title of the animation must be "To the Brim of Existence"
• The title must appear in the animation.
• The material of the movie must follow the title.
• The animation must be between 20 seconds and 3 minutes in length.
• Absolutely no copyright material is allowed and will disqualify the entrant if not removed by the deadline.
• The animation must not contain any profane material including swears, nudity, adult themes, or excessive violence.
• Entries must be submitted to me via PM or via email at admin@munchymedia.com
• Entries must be completed by or before Wednesday, November 7th at 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time (Keep in mind Daylight Savings is November 4th.)

For some help on the topic:

• Brim = Edge or tip. Could be the edge of a mass or hollow object, or the edge of a hat.
• To the Brim = To fill to the egde, or to travel to the edge.

Judging will be done on November 8th and 9th by:

• NitWitt
• Slice Dr.
• Thor, Clod of Blunders (last minute volunteer)
• SymphyBunny
• KitKat_Skye

The scorecard in use looks like this:


Best of luck to all of you, now let's get this party started!

This post has been edited by NitWitt: Nov 4 2007, 02:41 AM

"To the Brim of Existance?" I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean. :C

*is confused*

I think it's like the Logo Go contests, just take the name and run with it.

By "no copyright material" do mean "no third party material whatsoever" or can we search the net for free music and sound effects and stuff?

By "no copyright material" do mean "no third party material whatsoever" or can we search the net for free music and sound effects and stuff?

Just as long as it's royalty-free. Sound effects and stuff on the internet should be okay, just make sure they're not copyright.

The theme is meant to be open to a lot of creativity and options for any kind of animator. It doesn't favor any particular style, so all entrants have an equal chance.
Interpret as you will.

Ahhh Crack! I has no idea what that means! To the dictionary... Why did you have to make it so hard?

Edit, It can mean over flow or hollow right? Brink of existence or overflow of it right?

This post has been edited by SaltyPeach: Nov 2 2007, 01:55 AM

[*]The animation must not contain any profane material including swears, nudity, adult themes, or excessive violence.

lol, Boinky is screwed!

THIS IS GOING TO BE FUN.

I'll be able to handle the theme just fine! My friend Lynxtor and I used to joke and pun with the word "existence" CONSTANTLY.
I'll tell you what has me worried, though.
Three minutes and twenty seconds, what the hell?
What is this, lord of the f**king rings?

I expect lots of bribes. School ain't cheap, you know.

I'll be able to handle the theme just fine! My friend Lynxtor and I used to joke and pun with the word "existence" CONSTANTLY.
I'll tell you what has me worried, though.
Three minutes and twenty seconds, what the hell?
What is this, lord of the f**king rings?

It's between 20 seconds and 3 minutes, not 3 minutes and 20 seconds total.

You guys honestly drive me nuts
Yes it's BETWEEN 20 seconds and 3 minutes,
and to those who don't know -- a brim is the edge of something hollow, like a cup. Think of the "edge of existence".
I never said "brink" of existence, but that has a similar meaning.

just make sure they're not copyright.

fact -> If someone else made it and put it out there, its copyrighted.
Oh the vagueness!

perhaps he meant, you can't use copyrighted stuff without permission? royalty free stuff is still copyrighted, but it basically just gives everyone permission to use it.

Awww, man! My animations thrive on copyright infringement and profanity!

perhaps he meant, you can't use copyrighted stuff  without permission? royalty free stuff is still copyrighted, but it basically just gives everyone permission to use it.

It depends on whether the point of the rule was to avoid copyright infringement or to force people to be creative and make everything from scratch.

It depends on whether the point of the rule was to avoid copyright infringement or to force people to be creative and make everything from scratch.

If it's forcing everyone to make everything from scratch I'd be fine with that... Although it'd be unfair to those who can't make their own music and whatnot, considering this is an animation contest not a music/sound effects contest. I completely agree with not using copyrighted charachters/images though.

"Brim of existance".... Hmmm, okay I can work with that theme...

Well, I'm using a public domain song. That's fine, right?

This post has been edited by boinky33: Nov 2 2007, 04:09 PM

It depends on whether the point of the rule was to avoid copyright infringement or to force people to be creative and make everything from scratch.

the short time limit is hard enough as it is, having to make your own sounds/music along side that is pushing it.

I associate the term "brim of existence" with nostradamus, because they used that term in a documentory thing on the history channel.

Here's what my take is on the whole sound effect/music issue:

If your performance or piece revolves completely around something you did not create (i.e. a song) and that piece is essential to the piece, then it's not original. You might argue that it's your interpretation of a song, but it's still your interpretation and not your own idea.

If a piece you did not create but is public domain (i.e. sound effect) adds to the piece but isn't essential (your cartoon can be watched without sound effects), then that's fine.

In other words, don't rely on sound effects and songs to carry your cartoon, at least for me. I'm probably going to watch all the entries first WITHOUT sound (which is how employers view animation reels for potential candidates for jobs) and base my judging off of that, because really, sound adds to cartoons, but it shouldn't be the cartoon. In actual productions, unless there's a musical sequence, the score/soundtrack is added LAST. Studio Ghibli goes as far as recording voices last, which goes to show how far a story can carry a piece (have you ever listened to an english dub of a Studio Ghibli film? The acting is horrible!)

Of course, I'm going to be considering sound quality in my ratings as well, so don't use crappy sound effects or songs.

This post has been edited by Thor, Clod of Blunders: Nov 2 2007, 03:09 PM

*agrees with Thor*

Alright I think I have a really good idea of what to do with this.

Of course, I'm going to be considering sound quality in my ratings as well, so don't use crappy sound effects or songs.

How's 16kbps for ya?

I still don't know how we animate the edge of existence. o_0

This post has been edited by Gigabyte: Nov 2 2007, 04:29 PM

Hm, I dunno about the ethical issue of marking these on sound. After all, we are animators, one can't EXPECT us to make good soundtracks.
I mean, Doyvid, my sound man, usually does my audio stuff (like Engineered and the in-progress Tashito), but I'm very capable of putting together a decent soundtrack (as in, both music AND sound) on my own two feet. That doesn't mean everyone else here can, though.
I'd say if you do assess the soundwork, it should be given a pretty low weight - like, as a tiebreaker or something.

Not a big fan of vague topics...
Zekey, please don't create a masterful killer masterpiece with this.

Boinky is screwed
Zekey is going to do well
TMST will make a lovely pun
Professor Fate will make something thought provoking
Nicol3 will make something cute
AvidLebon will now doubt have a furry animal character

[/stereotypes]

Boinky is screwed
Zekey is going to do well
TMST will make a lovely pun
Professor Fate will make something thought provoking
Nicol3 will make something cute
AvidLebon will now doubt have a furry animal character

[/stereotypes]

And Vin is going to make something either to simple, or insanely choppy









actually... no. i am trying harder to keep it smooth, and have begun to experiment with filters




I also got the general idea of mine down and started to animate the intro!

This post has been edited by Vin: Nov 2 2007, 09:46 PM

i was storyboarding during my eastern cultures exam. i didnt complete the last page.

Please, for the love of god, do NOT extend the deadline for any reason at all. This is crucial for it to be fair to the animators.

i meant the last page of my exam.