Computer Animation Festival

Submissions are due on 15 August 2021, 23:59 UTC/GMT (Extended).

• Log in to the SIGGRAPH Asia Submission System
• Select "Begin a New Submission"
• Select "Create" for the Computer Animation Festival submission form
• Follow the online prompts to enter required information. Qualification criteria, submission categories, rules and requirements can be found below

To qualify for the SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 Computer Animation Festival Competition Section, each submission must:

• Be a complete, finished work
• Have been completed after 1 March 2020
• Include a significant percentage or inventive use of computer-generated imagery and/or digital production
• Be uploaded at final resolution at time of entry
• Be submitted in the most appropriate category (All student works must be entered in the Student Project category to be considered for the 'Best Student Film'. Please check the box 'This animation is student work' on the form)

Please remember: all submissions are due on or before 15 August, 2021, 23:59 UTC/GMT.

General Submission Policies

For more details on SIGGRAPH Asia’s General Submission Policies, please go to SIGGRAPH Asia’s Submission Information page.

SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival accepts submissions in the following categories.

1. Computer Animated Shorts
   Includes character animation, narrative works, experimental works, opening sequences, game cinematics, selections and/or montages of animated television series, new-media format.
2. Animated Feature Films
   Selections and/or montages of computer animation created for animated feature films.
3. Music Videos
   Commissioned and/or independent works that use any combination of computer animation, digital effects, and live action to illustrate, enhance, and/or complement a musical creation.
4. TV and Web Commercials
   Advertisements created entirely or partially with computer animation and/or digital effects. This category also includes promotional spots, broadcast bumpers and graphics, and public service announcements.
   
5. Visualizations and Simulations
   Computer animations created to explain, analyze, or visualize information for applications including scientific research, architecture, engineering, systems simulations, education, and documentary projects.
   
6. Visual Effects for Films and TV Programs
   Selections and/or montages of visual effects created for live-action films and/or for television programs.
7. Real-Time Animation
   Game, web, and mobile animations that are rendered in the same amount of time that it takes to play them back. Real-time technology demos are also encouraged! Real-time technology demos should be submitted to Real-Time Live!
8. Others
   Computer Animations that do not fit in any of the above categories.

The Computer Animation Festival reserves the right to place entries in the category that is most appropriate.

Submission for 'panels or talks' on Computer Animation and other related techniques categories will be acceptable. Submitters of accepted submissions may present about their projects including, but not limited to, behind-the-scenes, story development, character designs, sound designs, film/visual FX etc. Panels & Talks are not selected by a jury. They are selected and organized by the Computer Animation Festival Chair, Co-Chair, and Committee. For submission details, please contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee.

Step 1: Complete the SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival Online Submission Form.

It provides instructions on how to submit your entry details. The online submission system allows you to edit or correct your form as many times as you need until the deadline (15 August 2021, 23:59 UTC/GMT). At the end of the online submission process, you will be assigned a submission ID.

Step 2: Upload your movie file for the jury to evaluate your work. Please note the following technical requirements:

For Screenings: Animation Theater & Electronic Theater

Production Year: eligible if completed after 1 March 2020.

All descriptions, captions, and notes to the jury must be in English.

Length: Short films of maximum length of 30 minutes may be submitted; however, the Computer Animation Festival reserves the right to show only excerpts of selected works at the jury’s discretion. If you are unable to meet the 30-minute requirement, you may contact the Computer Animation Festival sub-committee and explain your circumstances.

2-Pop Cue: There should be an audio and visual 2-pop cue two seconds before the first and last frame of the work, unless the video is submitted in DCP format.

Video Codecs:

• Uncompressed (or lossless compressed)
• Apple ProRes 422
• DNxHD
• H.264

NTSC Video Wrappers:

• Quicktime
• MP4

Video Resolutions:

• 1080p (1920x1080p) Preferred
• If your submissions require another resolution, please feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee.

Frame Rate:

• 24 (23.98) fps Preferred
• 25 fps
• 30 (29.97) fps
• 50 fps

Audio Configurations:

• Number of audio tracks accepted is [0,1,2,4,5,6,8,10,12].
• Audio Rate: 48.000 kHz

Color Space:

• Rec 709

File size: The uploading file cannot exceed 2GB.

Representative still image: At least 1K pixel resolution or higher- Representative image for web: JPG or PNG format, max. 200 KB

For Panels & Talks

Title for a Panel (multiple presenters) or a Talk (single presenter)

Talk abstract/summary and detailed text including images (within 5 pages) in PDF format

List of 1 - 5 panelists or presenters and bios (including a photo)

Representative images

* For more details about Panels & Talks, please feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee.

Step 3: A notification will be sent to the submitter after we have received a complete submission once the entry deadline passes.

Other formats or submission methods will not be reviewed. If you have any questions about uploading files, please feel free to contact the Computer Animation Festival Committee. We will be happy to help.

Deadlines

Online submission forms must be completed no later than 15 August 2021, 23:59 UTC/GMT | 15 August 2021, 16:59 Los Angeles (U.S.A. - California) | 16 August 2021, 01:59 Paris (France) | 16 August 2021, 08:59 Tokyo (Japan)

Click here to convert time zones.

Reviewers and Jury Review

All submissions are reviewed by two groups of experts in computer graphics, interactive techniques and related fields.

During the pre-selection process, reviewers view the entries submitted in each of the categories and pass the pre-selected submissions on to the jury. The jury then reviews entries that have passed the pre-selection process and makes the final selection.

The Computer Animation Festival Chair, Co-Chair and committee are responsible for conducting the jury process, selecting the final works, and presenting the official competition and invited programs to the highest standards of quality.

The jury reviewing process will take place in mid-August to September 2021.

All contributors to SIGGRAPH Asia Annual Conferences are now required to use ACM's rights management system to grant rights to publish accepted content rather than through the online submission system. Essentially, submission tracking, jury review, and acceptance remain the same, but now the rights management is through ACM, the parent organization of SIGGRAPH Asia.

You will be asked to complete an ACM rights management form, which includes permission to record and distribute the audio and video of your recorded presentation through official channels of ACM/SIGGRAPH Asia. For most content types, this will be a Permission and Release form, which allows authors to retain copyright.

More Information on these options (the FAQ is particularly useful)

As a contributor to an ACM-sponsored event, the following expectations apply to you, should your content be accepted for presentation:

• You have the permission to use everything that is in your presentation. This includes securing permission to use third-party material, and providing documentation of that permission to ACM. (More information on the proper use of third-party material in your presentation)
• If you are using copyrighted musical compositions in your presentation, you must secure performing rights licenses.
• You must have the authority to grant ACM the right to distribute your presentation.

Once your contribution is accepted, you will receive a link via email to the appropriate form for your contribution.

Acceptance Notification

In September 2021, you will be notified by email of the status of your work. Each year, we have far more submitted pieces than we can accept, and we are not able to accept many deserving pieces. If your work is selected for either the Electronic Theater or Animation Theater, you will be expected to reply promptly to any request for information or clarification from the Computer Animation Festival committee.

Screenings

Selected works will be presented during SIGGRAPH Asia.

Awards

On the first day of the festival, the Computer Animation Festival jury will present the Best in Show, Jury Special, and Best Student Film awards. All films screened in the Computer Animation Festival are eligible for the awards.

Presenter and Contributor Recognition

Please see the Recognition Benefits for a summary of what you will receive if your work and/or proposal is accepted by SIGGRAPH Asia.

You can apply for a 50% discount per accepted submission via the submission system.

Permissions

You are responsible for securing the necessary permissions and licenses for visual and audio material contained in your work for the SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival.

We encourage you to use original music or visual material for your film. However, if visual or audio material is not originally made for the film, we ask you to obtain the necessary permissions or required licenses to prevent situations from leading to complaints or even any legal action from the rights holders.

What are the qualifications for entry?

Only works completed after 1 March 2020 can be taken into consideration. Submissions to the SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival should be included in the listed categories. See the Submission Categories.

Do submissions have to be 3D animations?

Absolutely not. All forms of computer-generated works are eligible, including, but not limited to: 2D Flash animation, 2D abstract art, live-action visual effects integration, real-time video games and visualizations, and digitally-manipulated imagery and/or video. We generally feature works where the computer was essential to the creation of the work, but there is no specific requirement that it be 3D. If you have computer-generated work within a larger piece, please remember that it is the CG component that will be judged, so please keep any extraneous footage to an absolute minimum in your submission.

Can I submit more than one work to the SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival?

Yes, you can. There is no limit and you may submit as many as you like. Make sure that you should submit a separate submission form for each work. The jury will evaluate and decide on each submission separately.

Can I submit the same piece to multiple programs?

Yes, you are welcome to submit your work to the Computer Animation Festival and to other programs. For example, you may wish to submit animations to the Computer Animation Festival, and to submit an installation or related demo to the Emerging Technologies program. Please remember that each submission requires a separate online submission form. The Computer Animation Festival submissions should be movies for 'the official Competition: Electronic Theater and Animation Theater' that can be viewed.

I will not have my work finished by the submission deadline. Is it possible for me to submit "work in progress" for reviewing?

Yes, a work in progress may be submitted if it is almost complete. However, you should remember that the juried program will be highly competitive, so your chances of selection are significantly better if you submit the final piece by the deadline.

When is the submission deadline for the Computer Animation Festival?

Online submission forms must be completed no later than 15 August 2021, 23:59 UTC/GMT | 15 August 2021, 16:59 Los Angeles (U.S.A. - California) | 16 August 2021, 01:59 Paris (France) | 16 August 2021, 08:59 Tokyo (Japan).

The final uploads must be complete by the deadline; submissions received after the deadlines will not be reviewed. There is no exception, so please make sure that all submissions are completed before the deadlines. To determine what time that is where you are, you can use a converter such as The World Clock.

We are an art school and planning to submit several students works as one submission. Is it OK?

No. Each piece must be uploaded separately to the online submission system along with its own completed and signed submission form. Each piece is judged on its own merit.

What file formats are acceptable for submission?

Quicktime.mov movie files are the preferred format for jury reviewing. If necessary, AVI files or MP4 files may also be submitted. The movie file must be uploaded via the SIGGRAPH Asia Submission System. For details, please see How to Submit.

Where do I send my submission materials?

All works must be submitted only via the SIGGRAPH Asia Submission System. The online submission process allows submitters’ easy access to the online submission system, eliminates time-consuming shipping and mailing, and provides an efficient procedure for reviewing submitted work.

Is there a submission fee for submitting to the SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival?

No, there is no submission fee. You only need to complete the online submission process.

What criteria does the jury use to select works?

All entries are reviewed by a jury together, and there are no strict rules for acceptance. The jury primarily looks for a combination of innovation and excellence. A longer list of traits the jury typically looks for includes originality, artistic achievement, technical accomplishment, technical innovation, production value, creativity, resolution, narrative quality, design, entertainment value, and advancement of visualization in the artistic and scientific fields of digital technologies.

What is the difference between the juried program and the invited program?

The juried program presents work selected by the jury that represents the best computer-generated film and video in the world. The invited program presents new visions and creative inspirations by inviting special presentations of pieces on chosen topics.

My animation makes use of commercially-recorded music. Is it OK?

You are responsible for securing the necessary permissions and licenses for audio material that is contained in your work. If your music was not created originally for your film or video, or if you are using another person's music, you must obtain the necessary permissions or required licenses. We will not purchase these rights for you.

All deadlines are 23:59 UTC/GMT.

15 August 2021 (Extended)
Submission Deadline

Mid-August to September 2021
Jury Reviews

End September 2021
Acceptance Notification

September / October 2021
Final Movie Submission / Final Materials Due

14 - 17 December 2021
SIGGRAPH Asia 2021

*Publications content will be available in the ACM Digital Library one week prior to the conference.

ACM SIGGRAPH strives to create a welcoming and nurturing community for everyone working in computer graphics and interactive techniques independent of gender, sexual orientation, ethnic background, religion, country of origin, or abilities. Work submitted to this program should be in alignment with these values.

For any submission to an ACM SIGGRAPH conference or Standing Committee activity, the person in charge (PIC) of the program should be aware of and sensitive to potential issues pertaining to the ACM SIGGRAPH values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. If an issue is identified, then the authors of the submission shall be asked to modify their submission to resolve the issue before acceptance. If the PIC is unsure if there is an issue, then they should contact the Chair of the DEI Committee for advice.