Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Thoughts on Pursue Impossible Submissions by Victoria Lenoirre

Hey everyone!

I wanted to reflect and share my thoughts on the UWA 3D & Machinima Pursue Impossible VIII round. It is another amazing round as you can see by all the submissions here at blog and inworld. Wow! Thanks to everyone who submitted!

I think that this is one of my favorite themes. The diverse interpretations are touching, humbling, heartwarming and so many other heartfelt emotions.

Some works at the UWA showing area


Impossible is a word that we hear on a regular basis. From all the 3D art and machinima though, there is such positivity and uplifting messages that we can turn impossibility into possibility if we just try to make it happen. Whether we need to get the courage to approach a girl or pursue a career after coming home from war or we wish to end homelessness, we need to believe that we can do it and then try to succeed.

The impossible comes to life in this round. I encourage you to have a look at all the 3D art and all the machinima at youtube and vimeo. Everyone has done their very best! I am in awe of all the creativity and interpretations. This is why I love art. You can build anything. Your imagination is limitless and your thoughts know no boundaries.

Some new faces have submitted their work too. I got a chance to chat with one artist new to the UWA art challenges, Kazuhiro Aridian. His debut entry is Rise above the mundane, which features his creation, the Seadryke.

I wanted to welcome you to the UWA challenge. Is this your first time entering?
-Yep!

So the Seadryke is a creation of your mind, what inspired its creation?
-The Seadryke is part of my inner world, I think most people have one of these. For me, it's a personal narrative with characters that sometimes help me to cope with problems in my life. The Seadryke represents longevity and loyalty.

Rise above the mundane by Kazuhiro Aridian


What sort of environment was it born into?
-The Realm of Fantasy is a world where there is no war, no predation, free of hatred. Its counterpart is Nightmare, which is an opposite type of place, as you might imagine. Both are subject to the tumultuous emotions of their Keepers. Seadrykes are subjects in Fantasy.

-I have a specific narrative associated with the Seadryke, and that is the tale of Summer: There was a time when Fantasy had frozen over, colder and colder the lands became, encroaching deep into the sea. All manner of life slowed down, and the warmth of the Sun became a distant memory. It was determined that in order to save their home, the fastest and cleverest Seadryke would seek out the Sun. It swam and swam, far beyond all known places, farther and farther, deep into the fraying edges of Fantasy, the Mist, and beyond. Finally, a glimmer of light broke through the wintry clouds and from high above the sea emerged the feathered Skydryke, myterious and bright, dragging behind it the light of the Sun.

To all those who keep saying, "It's impossible, you'll never make it", what would you say?
-Break down large tasks into small ones. Make sure you are always building on your successes, and learning from your failures. There is no such thing as wasted time so long as you are always taking steps towards your goals, however risky, and taking the time to evaluate each move. Plan ahead. You'll get there.

What do you do in SL?
-I am a content creator. I make avatars, pets, and environments. I love 3D modeling and making textures, but above all, creating worlds and their inhabitants.

How long has [europa] been around?
-Oh gosh... I think I started it in 2007.

Kazuhiro, or Kaz, is working on a project for Unreal Engine 4. When I asked him if he would possibly create a story or film series about the Seadryke, he affirmed that he was considering it. He said, "I would love to flesh out the world."

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For the machinima, I want to say thank you to all. Your videos are moving, thoughtful and so wonderfully filmed!

It's great to see veteran UWA challenge filmmakers like Natascha Randt, Tutsy Navarathna, Haveit Neox, Vilvi Rae and many others produce more fascinating films for us to see and marvel at. I also want to welcome new UWA filmmakers like Jackson Redstar. Welcome and thank you for sharing! You are welcome to participate in future UWA challenges!

I found time to interview Jackson Redstar. Here is his submission.

So your submission to the Machinima challenge, is it your first submission to the UWA?

JR: Yes it is.

Wow! A nice UWA debut. How did you hear about the UWA?

JR: Jayjay sent me a message. It was kinda out of the blue lol.

Your film, was beautifully moving. what inspired you to create it?

JR: Well, you see now in america at least, lots of war veterans that are down and out suicidal, or homeless, so i kinda worked off that theme, life interrupted then rebuilt.

What made you incorporate the singing career into the plot?

JR: Well I knew I wanted to use that song in the movie, so it just seemed to fit.

It is one of the best songs ever. :-)

JR: Yeah and it was great to cause I spoke with the singer via email too.

Was this your first creative film? must be really different from filming a wedding.
What do you film when you're not taking photos, btw?

JR: I film weddings a lot, then I like to make fun music videos.

What does pursue impossible mean to you?

JR: Well the way I looked at it, even when the shit hits the fan, never give up.

I kinda tried to use an example of a guys life was going perfectly fine, then there was a need to serve his country, but things fell apart losing his girl, the war injuries, PTSD etc. And not to make it too religious, but he got to his lowest point, found a 'higher power' and found the strength to put his life back on track.

Those are good examples that translate well to the screen. I think everyone will see the symbolism in your film.

JR: It is a lot of fit into a 7-minute film with no narration.

Thanks to everyone who submitted to the Pursue Impossible round! Voting ends in a few days.

A big thank you to all who make the UWA Challenges possible!

You can view all the machinima entries here.
 http://uwainsl.blogspot.com/2015/11/audience-participation-event.html

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone from or in the United States!

Regards,

Victoria Lenoirre














Thursday, November 5, 2015

Audience Participation Event: MACHINIMUWA VIII - Pursue Impossible (Win A Share of L$41,000 for Watching Machinima)



The Grand Finale Winners announcements for MachinimUWA VIII: Pursue Impossible will be held on Sunday the 13th of December at 6AM SLT (note its AM!!)  along with the winners announcements for the 3D Art Challenge. We have 45 Machinima from around the world for the 8th edition of the UWA short animated film challenges.

One of the Machinima  below will be awarded the L$60,000 Grand Prize in DECEMBER 2015! L$500,000 in all will be distributed at the winners announcements

 
UWA would like to acknowledge fellow sponsors,
Tom Papas & SciFi Film Festival, Reign Congrejo & BOSL, LaPiscean Liberty & SL Artist, AviewTV, Pixel Bits,   TheDove Rhode with S&S Gallery of SL Fine Art & Peace Is A Choice Gallery, Virtlantis, Phillip Vought, Dr Valerie Casey, Carolyn Steele & York University (Canada), Taralyn Gravois,  johannes1977 & Windlight Magazine, Eleanor Medier & The Sim Street Journal, UWA Marketing & Communications, as well as The UWA Virtual Worlds Project.


WE INVITE ALL OF SL TO PARTICIPATE IN A L$41,000 AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT
 

Deadline For Audience Participation Prizes: Midnight SLT 6th December 2015.

L$41,000 has been set aside for all machinima lovers who take part in a special participation event. We are asking everyone to view the machinima and give us which machinima you think will finish in the TOP 10 in order 1st - 10th as decided by the official judging panel. 


(email jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com OR list them on a notecard to Jayjay Zifanwe - please put your name on the title of the notecard with the words MachinimUWA VIII Audience Event).

The 5 participants whose order comes closest to the final order decided by the judging panel, will win for themselves between L$12,000 - L$5,000.

* More than happy for the artists taking part as well to submit their lists, as this will not impact the actual results


This is not a popularity vote. Your top 10 is your prediction of who the actual top 10 will be according to the official judging.


AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION PRIZES
(Awarded to viewers/ visitors whose top 10 lists most closesly aligns to the actual juried top 10)

  • 1st Prize L$ 12,000
  • 2nd Prize L$ 10,000
  • 3rd Prize L$ 8,000
  • 4th Prize L$ 6,000
  • 5th Prize L$ 5,000
ALL 45 MACHINIMA VIII ENTRIES
(In reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Sarah Whitney (Stonington, Connecticut, USA) - Pursue Impossible
Jackson Redstar (Phoenix, Arizona, USA) - Reach
Isabelle Cheren (London, England) - Finding Heart
Tutsy Navarathna (Frenchman in Pondicherry, India) - Death of Death?
Braclo Eber (South AFrica) - Path to Redemption
Fuchsia Nightfire (Dorset, England) & Gweeb (Canada) - Right for Me
Haveit Neox (Los Angeles, USA) & Lilia Artis (Bern, Switzerland)  - Tis an Egg
Soda Air (Monterey, California) - Pursue the Impossible
Glasz de Cuir (Spain) - Your Love Letter
Mexi Lane aka Marina Bellini (Rome, Italy) - Pursue Impossible - Fly High
Sevio (Barcelona, Spain) - Virtual Flow
Billy Carter (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) / (Elite Littlebird - SL) - Pursue Impossible
Suzie Anderton (Bournemouth, England) - Pursue Impossible
Vilvi Rae (Jyvaskylla, Finland) - Don't Look Back
Chich Aeon  (Corvallis, Oregon, USA) - Bookends
Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) & Karina Hoisan (San Isidro del General, Costa Rica) - Chasing a Butterfly
Sunset Quinnel (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) - Pursue Impossible for Who
Isabelle Cheren (London, England) - Pursue Impossible
Secret Rage (Dallas, Texas, USA) - The Gift
Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA)  - Folding Time
Chantal Harvey (Maastricht, Netherlands) - Robi - oh my head
Fuzzy Deezul (Chicago, Illinois, USA) - The Escape
Panda (La Corneuve, France) - Ghost Race
JaeSang (Seattle, Washington, USA) - Parallel Universes

Fuchsia Nightfire (Dorset, England) & Gweeb (Canada) - Surfing on Ceres
Sophia Yates (Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA) - IF
Joseph Nussbaum (Durham, North Carolina) & Boris Twist  (Portland, Oregon) - Quest
Maximillian Merlin (Hann. Muenden, Germany) - Enchanted Dimensions
Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) - ;Decorations
Sophia Hines (Paris, France) - Pursue Impossible
Kobuk Farshore (Alaska, USA) - Pursue Impossible
Sheba Rayna (Sacramento, California) - Pursue Impossible
Ultraviolet Alter (Toulouse, France) - Thin Places
Alfonso Garavito Olivar (Colombian in Boston, USA), Inés Rodríguez (Valencia, Spain) and Juani Ruiz (Cordoba, Spain) - A World Without Borders
Diana Al Martini (Jakarta, Indonesia) - Pursue Impossible on UWA Today
Yesikita Coppola (The Netherlands) - Infinite
Secret Rage (Dallas, Texas, USA) - Pursue I'm Impossible
Haveit Neox (Los Angeles, USA) & Lilia Artis (Bern, Switzerland) - Touching White
Eric Takkar (USA) & SurReal Muse (Perth, Australia) - Impossible
Livio Korobase (Caravaggio, Italy) - Pursue Impossible? (VIMEO VERSION HERE)
Artistik Oluja (A Briton in Kuwait City, Kuwait) - Magic Mirrors
Dae Hayes - Daegirieul (SL) (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - Pursue Impossible
Mary Wickentower (Zimmerman, Minnesota, USA) - Mother's Warnings

Audience Participation Event: 3D Art - PURSUE IMPOSSIBLE (Win A Share of L$41,000)


The Grand Finale Winners announcements for PURSURE IMPOSSIBLE:  The 6th UWA Grand Art Challenge will be held in December along with the winners announcements for the Machinima Challenge. We have on display at UWA 59 artworks from all corners of the globe.

One of the artworks below will be awarded the L$60,000 Grand Prize in DECEMBER 2015! More than L$410,000 will be distributed at the winners announcements for 3D art and machinima on 13 December 2014.

WE INVITE ALL OF SL TO PARTICIPATE IN A L$41,000 AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION EVENT


Deadline For Audience Participation Prizes: Midnight SLT 10 December 2014
L$41,000 has been set aside for art lovers who take part in a special participation event. We are asking everyone to view the artworks and list who you think will finish in the TOP 10 in order: 1st - 10th, as decided by the official judging panel. Email your list to jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com OR list them on a notecard to Jayjay Zifanwe in SL. Please put your name on the title of the notecard with the words Pursue Impossible 3D Art Audience Event.

The 5 participants whose order comes closest to the final order decided by the judging panel (Listed here), will win for themselves between L$12,000 - L$5,000. The first prize winner will also be invited to be on the panel for the next grand art challenge
* Participating artists are welcome to take part as well, as this competition will not affect the actual judging results.

AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION PRIZES
(Awarded to viewers/ visitors whose top 10 lists most closesly aligns to the actual juried top 10)
  • 1st Prize L$ 12,000
  • 2nd Prize L$ 10,000
  • 3rd Prize L$ 8,000
  • 4th Prize L$ 6,000
  • 5th Prize L$ 5,000

PURSUE IMPOSSIBLE 3D ART CHALLENGE ARTWORKS (59 IN TOTAL)
Click Here for Start Location (OR, you can teleport directly to each artwork by clicking the name):

Following is a complete list of all 59 entries with links to SLURLs.
Special thanks to Eliza Wierwight for the event poster design and for all her support. Special thanks also to the creator of some of the spaces at UWA. These include FreeWee Ling, Chuckmatrix Clip, quadrapop Lane, Nyx Breen, Bradley Dorchester (Bradley Curnow, RL). Dragonmage Bogan (Dr Chris Thorne, RL), Sharni Azalee and Minny Werefox (Minh Tran, RL). 

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

PURSUE IMPOSSIBLE: Final Machinima Details

JayJay has been extremely occupied in rl with helping to host the World English-Language Scrabble Tournament in Perth. The tourney continues this week, so attempts to get questions answered may take a few more days. You are welcome to contact FreeWee Ling if you have any concerns and I will do what I can to help.

We will soon be giving the judges final instructions for both 3D art and machinima. You are, of course, encouraged to begin looking at the work now. Final winners will be announced sometime around 1 December. Details to follow.

Meanwhile JayJay asked me to post these last entries in the PURSUE IMPOSSIBLE machinima challenge. If you submitted your machinima on time and it does not appear on the list, please let JayJay or FreeWee know.

Sophia Hines (Paris, France)  Pursue Impossible


Kobuk Farshore (Alaska, USA)  Pursue Impossible


Sheba Rayna (Sacramento, California)  Pursue Impossible


Ultraviolet Alter Thin Places


Alfonso Garavito Olivar (Colombian in Salem , USA), Inés Rodríguez (Valencia, Spain) and Juani Ruiz (Cordoba, Spain) - A World Without Borders


Diana Al Martini (Jakarta, Indonesia) ;Pursue Impossible on UWA Today


Yesikita Coppola (The Netherlands) Infinite


Secret Rage (USA) - Pursue I'm Impossible


Eric Takkar & SurReal Muse Impossible


LIvio Korobase Pursue Impossible?


Artistik Oluja (A Briton in Kuwait City, Kuwait) - Magic Mirrors


Mary Wickentower (USA) - Mother's Warnings


Haveit Neox and Lilia Artis: Touching White


Full list of Submitted Machinima for MachinimUWA VIII: Pursue Impossible (42 total)
(In Reverse Klingon Alphabetical Order)

Sarah Whitney (Stonington, Connecticut, USA) ;Pursue Impossible
Jackson Redstar (Phoenix, Arizona, USA) ;Reach
Isabelle Cheren (London, England) ;Finding Heart
Tutsy Navarathna (Frenchman in Pondicherry, India) ;Death of Death?
Braclo Eber (South AFrica) - Path to Redemption
Fuchsia Nightfire (Dorset, England) & Gweeb (Canada) - Right for Me
Haveit Neox (Los Angeles, USA) & Lilia Artis (Bern, Switzerland)  - Tis an Egg
Soda Air (Monterey, California) - Pursue the Impossible
Glasz de Cuir (Spain) - Your Love Letter
Mexi Lane aka Marina Bellini (Rome, Italy) - Pursue Impossible - Fly High
Sevio (Barcelona, Spain) ;Virtual Flow
Billy Carter (Cincinnati, Ohio, USA) / (Elite Littlebird - SL) ;Pursue Impossible
Suzie Anderton (Bournemouth, England) ;Pursue Impossible
Vilvi Rae (Jyvaskylla, Finland) ;Don't Look Back
Chich Aeon  (Corvallis, Oregon, USA) ;Bookends
Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) & Karina Hoisan (San Isidro del General, Costa Rica) ;Chasing a Butterfly
Sunset Quinnel (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) ;Pursue Impossible for Who
Isabelle Cheren (London, England) ;Pursue Impossible
Secret Rage (Sallas, Texas, USA) ;The Gift
Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA)  ;Folding Time
Chantal Harvey (Maastricht, Netherlands) ;Robi - oh my head
Fuzzy Deezul (Chicago, Illinois, USA) ;The Escape
Panda (La Corneuve, France) ;Ghost Race
JaeSang (Seattle, Washington, USA) ;Parallel Universes
Livio Korobase  (Caravaggio, BG, Italy) ;Pursue Impossible?
Fuchsia Nightfire (Dorset, England) & Gweeb (Canada) ;Surfing on Ceres
Sophia Yates (Lancaster, Massachusetts, USA) ;IF
Joseph Nussbaum (Durham, North Carolina) & Boris Twist  (Portland, Oregon) ;Quest
Maximillian Merlin (Hann. Muenden, Germany) ;Enchanted Dimensions
Misio2 (Melbourne, Australia) ;Decorations
Sophia Hines (Paris, France)  Pursue Impossible
Kobuk Farshore (Alaska, USA)  Pursue Impossible
Sheba Rayna (Sacramento, California)  Pursue Impossible
Ultraviolet Alter (Toulouse, France) Thin Places
Alfonso Garavito Olivar (Colombian in Boston, USA), Inés Rodríguez (Valencia, Spain) and Juani Ruiz (Cordoba, Spain) ; A World Without Borders
Diana Al Martini (Jakarta, Indonesia) ;Pursue Impossible on UWA Today
Yesikita Coppola (The Netherlands) Infinite
Secret Rage (USA) - Pursue I'm Impossible
Haveit Neox and Lilia Artis: Touching White
Eric Takkar (USA) & SurReal Muse (Perth, Australia) Impossible
Livio Korobase (Caravaggio, Italy) Pursue Impossible? (VIMEO VERSION HERE)
Artistik Oluja (A Briton in Kuwait City, Kuwait) - Magic Mirrors
Mary Wickentower (USA) - Mother's Warnings