Digital Media Arts Performance Awards are granted to incoming Huntington University students who declare either a Bachelor of Science degree in Animation, Film Production, or Television Production, or a Bachelor of Arts degree in Television Production. It is based primarily on a portfolio review, but also considers the student’s personal and career goals, as well as participation in Huntington University’s Summer Academy Program. Recipients of the grant will be expected to maintain a high level of performance in their growth as media artists. They also will be expected to contribute positively to the overall environment of the digital media arts program, as well as serve at specific events for cultural impact on campus. If a student’s performance or effort wanes, faculty reserves the right to revise or withdraw that student’s Digital Media Arts Performance Award.
The deadline for the Digital Media Arts Performance Award is February 10. Applications submitted at a later date may still be considered, but funds are not guaranteed. The Performance Award Application is not complete until a portfolio of work is also provided.
Submission Information
Animation/VFX/Game Development Performance Award applicants may submit a series of animated projects, visual effects composites, and/or gameplay walkthroughs; cut together into a single video reel, uploaded and shared via a Vimeo or YouTube link. Applicants may also include a link to an image gallery of still images/illustrative works. Applicants are required to submit a video reel or image gallery or both in order to be considered for the award.
Media project categories may include, but are not limited to (Choose one or multiple):
- 3D Animation: Projects from Blender, Maya, or other 3D software. Samples of renders, lighting, modelling, character animations or texturing examples.
- 2D Animation: Projects from Adobe Animate, Toon Boom Harmony or other 2D animation software. Walk cycles, ball bounces, dialogue lip-sync exercises/projects, etc.
- Traditional Animation: Hand-drawn animation, Stop Motion or other forms of traditional animation.
- Visual Effects: Projects from Adobe After Effects, Nuke or other compositing software. Motion graphics, set extensions, Special effects animations, etc.
- Game Development: Projects from Unreal, GameMaker or other game development software. Gameplay walkthroughs, level designs, etc.
- Digital Illustration: Procreate, Photoshop or other digital painting software. You may include original illustrations, paintings, character sheets of original characters, backgrounds/environments, or other illustrative works.
- Graphic Design: Logo designs or Vector artwork. Examples of modern design trends, logo designs and iterations. Motion graphics or animated Logo designs.
- Figure Drawing: Gesture drawing sketches, longer figure studies, isolated muscle and anatomy studies/sketches. Digital or Traditional are acceptable.
- Still Life Drawing/Painting: Charcoal, Graphite, Acrylic, Watercolor, or Oil etc. paintings/drawings that focus on the study of light, value, composition, or color.
Image Gallery Guidelines: Applicants may submit an Image Gallery via an Instagram link or other Image Hosting Site such as Artstation or Behance. Applicants may also load images into a shareable Google Drive/OneDrive folder link. (Make sure the sharing permissions are set to ‘Anyone with the Link can view’). We recommend choosing a sampling and variety of your strongest pieces. 10-20 pieces is a good range. Character Turnaround and Expression Sheets are a huge plus. Please do not send physical copies of your personal work as it cannot be accepted or returned.
Film & Television Performance Award applicants may submit up to three (3) Vimeo or YouTube links to their best work.
Media project categories may include, but are not limited to:
• Short Films: Fiction narrative scripted or unscripted video projects.
• Documentary: Nonfiction narrative video projects.
• Sports Broadcast: Live sports video recording, announcing, or play-by-play.
• News: Investigative, anchor, VO-SOT, or other journalistic video or audio.
• Commercials: Marketing or promotional video and/or audio advertising.
• Radio or Podcasts: Audio DJ, interview, or narrative stories.
• Video Essay: Non-fiction visual essays exploring a topic with original narration over compiled and/or original video.
Video/Audio Guidelines: Video should be in 720p or higher resolution and identify the role the applicant played on each project (writer, director, actor, camera, sound, etc.). Please do not send physical copies of your personal work as it cannot be accepted or returned.