Archive notice: This article was originally published on October 5, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.Since January of this year, the federal government has been subsidising international and German-language productions realised in this country through the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF). The federal government distributes a total of €60 million annually to the creatives of the cinema world. User behaviour has changed dramatically through Internet platforms such as YouTube or MyVideo. IPTV (Internet-based television) offers new marketing opportunities for various companies in the digital content creation sector – I will explain this term in a moment. The value chain of cinema/film, video/DVD and television has been expanded by HD-DVD, Blu-Ray, Mobile TV and IPTV. The subject of in-game advertising is playing an increasingly important role in the industry and offers new marketing potential. This was also a major topic at the Games Convention in Leipzig this year.
Briefly, for clarification:
For us, the term “Digital Creation” describes everything that is created digitally. You can currently find many examples of this in TV advertising. Not only cars but also entire landscapes are digitally created in order to present the advertising message better, more excitingly, more simply or with more sensational effect.
The new digital technologies come with a multitude of new possibilities. As a result, workflows in day-to-day production often change and new processes have to be introduced. Anyone who wants to be successful with digital media productions has to retool – what is especially important here is the exchange of experience with colleagues. New partnerships and investments in new technologies are also more important than ever for entrepreneurs. Because of the upswing the industry has experienced in the past two years, more and more specialists are being sought in the creative environment. But the need for young talent has so far by no means been met.
The digital creation days address precisely these topics and thus represent a new platform for the community. The practice-oriented workshops discuss new technologies, approaches to solutions, business areas and marketing potential in detail. In the Recruiting Area, companies from the area just described can introduce themselves and speak with potential applicants. With its numerous submissions, the animago AWARD (which has now been presented by DIGITAL PRODUCTION for more than 10 years) offers a comprehensive overview of the technical possibilities in the production and postproduction market. The creative contributions come from the fields of still, film and interactive. The animago AWARD honours the best work in the scene.
We see optimal conditions for effective networking precisely in the combination of workshops, Recruiting Area and animago AWARD. Freelancers meet potential employers, developers meet users and specialists meet marketing people. The spatial and scheduling arrangements of the digital creation days also promote the coming together of the different target groups.
The focal points at the digital creation days are the following subject areas:
- Architectural visualisation
- Product visualisation
- Games
(e.g. In Game Advertising)
- Creative Business
(New business areas, legal issues, company formation, press work, etc.)
- Broadcast, Film & TV
(Series production, HD workflows)
-
Computer animation / VFX
As already explained, practical relevance is very important to us in all subjects. Professionals need solutions, applications and examples that directly concern them. Our speakers come from the German-speaking industry and report on their daily work from projects. Thomas Gronert will present examples to you in a moment. It is indeed important to keep an eye on the major Hollywood productions – most American workflows cannot be mapped to day-to-day work in this country because of the different budgets.
The event is aimed at a very professional target group. Production and postproduction houses, advertising agencies, game developers, television broadcasters, architects and designers are all to be addressed equally. For this purpose, we were able to recruit experts from the different fields as speakers for the event.
In order to reach this target group, in addition to the choice of topics and the acquisition of speakers, the appropriate atmosphere and the right location are also decisive factors. A collaboration between DIGITAL PRODUCTION and Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress-GmbH (KMK) was therefore an obvious choice. With the congress centre in the heart of Karlsruhe, KMK offers the ideally situated meeting place for creatives from Germany, Austria and Switzerland. As Mr Böse has already explained, the collaboration brings together two ideal partners. KMK has the know-how in the field of trade-fair organisation. DIGITAL PRODUCTION is the leading trade magazine in the fields of broadcast, film/video, VFX, CG, WEB and DVD and addresses precisely the target group we expect at the digital creation days 2007.
We are also very pleased to have won a main sponsor such as Avid for the digital creation days. You will hear more about Avid’s involvement in a moment.
Information about the Animago Award:
The most important competition for Digital Content Creation (DCC) in the German-speaking world is being held for the 11th time in 2007 by the trade magazine DIGITAL PRODUCTION – with the kind support of main sponsor Autodesk.
The submissions for the animago AWARD 2007 include both national and international contributions. In total, entries were received from 35 different countries worldwide. 470 contributions were received from Germany.
Chosen by a jury of experts, productions in the award areas of film, still and interactive will be honoured this year. The competition is divided into a total of ten categories:
• Best Production (grand prize)
• Best International Cinema Production
• Best University Production (sponsorship prize)
• Best Young Talent Production
• Best Technical Implementation
• Best Idea
• Best Character
• Best Visualisation
• Best Still
• Best Interactive Production
This year, the grand prize for ‘Best Production’ will be awarded for the first time. In future, the animago AWARD will specifically promote young talents in the DCC industry – the winner of the ‘Best University Production’ category will be rewarded with a sponsorship prize. The 10 winners will be honoured with the newly designed animago trophies. Participation is open to everyone and free of charge.
Further Links:
- digital creation days
