Mumbai: aniBoom, the world’s first animation virtual studio, has unveiled the winners for its Third Annual aniBoom Awards designed for independent animators across the globe. After receiving roughly 1300 entries from 93 cities in 27 countries, the grand prize was awarded to Joaquin Baldwin from Sherman Oaks, California by a high profile executive jury and millions of viewers.
Baldwin’s animation Sebastian’s Voodoo is a touching story of a voodoo doll who sacrifices himself for his friends. As the grand prize winner, Baldwin will receive a $25,000 investment in commercial development and a distribution deal with aniBoom that will enable the winning animator to receive significant career-making exposure through a variety of outlets and channels.
"We applaud all those who entered the aniBoom Awards from around the world and particularly congratulate the extremely talented artists who earned cash and prizes. Year after year, we look forward to seeing remarkable animations, sharing the work of these independent artists with the world, and partnering to develop the next breakthrough animation property," said aniBoom founder and president Uri Shinar.
Along with the top winner, aniBoom’s online animation community selected three Community Favorites, led by top community winner Bang Bang You are Bread by Australia’s Mitch Wade, while the competition’s panel of judges chose three Top Selections led by Germany’s Tomer Eshed and his animation Our Wonderful Nature.
These six winners along with the top 50 community picks will share $50,000 in cash and prizes, including ToonBoom software, CG Society books, and Stash DVD magazines with coupon cards valued at $55. In addition to the cash and prizes, winners of the aniBoom Awards will benefit from substantial exposure across aniBoom’s multi-platform animation network and will be considered for original series development deals.
"We at aniBoom were very excited to implement an innovative ranking system for this year’s aniBoom Awards that gauged community popularity not only by views and votes but also by how viral an animation was," said aniBoom online marketing director Shawn Stein. "The community ranking is made up of a number of factors online giving a real and fair indication of how popular a movie becomes."
