Media Design School dominates Oceania shortlist

Media Design School dominates CG Student Awards Oceania shortlist

Media Design School’s students have proven once again why the school is regarded as New Zealand's most awarded tertiary institution for creative and digital technology qualifications by being shortlisted across a variety of categories at the internationally renowned CG Student Awards.

The CG Student Awards, which are described by the organisers as “an annual event which showcases and rewards excellence in computer graphics from students and recent graduates,” are open to anyone who has studied an accredited digital design course between January 2014 - May 2015.

Two of the short films produced by Media Design School’s Bachelor of Art and Design third year students, Over the Moon and Impasse, have been shortlisted for the CG Student Awards Film of Year.

Third year Bachelor of Art and Design student production group Front Row Mafia created Impasse, which tells the story of a lone drifter who must overcome a standoff with a ragged scumbag to quench his dying thirst.

The film was produced from concept to completion by the Front Row Mafia within a twelve-week timeline and with next to no budget.

The other film in contention for this category, Over the Moon, was based on the Connie Radar comic series by Karl Wills and directed by Bachelor of Art and Design Senior Lecturer (and award winning director) James Cunningham.

Fifteen third-year Bachelor of Art and Design students worked for 23 weeks and 18,000 hours to complete the film.

In addition to these two films being shortlisted for the CG Student Awards Film of the Year, seven of Media Design School’s Bachelor of Art and Design students have made the top 12 finalists for the 2015 CG Student Awards Oceanic Bootcamp.

James Aldous, James Hall, James Pollard, Kevin Nguyen, Tony Li, Reuben Montgomery and Rafael Gonzalez Quinones have all secured places on the 2015 CG Student Awards Oceanic Bootcamp shortlist, making this list overwhelmingly dominated by Media Design School students.

Programme Leader for the Bachelor of Art and Design, Stephen Dorner, is thrilled by the successes of his students and staff.

"I am incredibly proud of the CG Student Awards nominees who displayed extraordinary effort in their studies and were rewarded with the skills and knowledge empowering them to produce outstanding CGI artwork,"

"The exceptional results are evidence that Media Design School is filled with talented, hardworking students and faculty, who I am privileged to be surrounded by." says Dorner.

It is not only Media Design School’s Bachelor of Art and Design students who have been shortlisted across the CG Student Awards finalist categories, however. Third year production team Heavy Snowfall created Dungeon Town, a finalist for Game of the Year.

Dungeon Town, which Heavy Snowfall describes as “a unique dungeon crawler bringing city-building elements together with skilful characters battling their way down into the dungeons for glory and treasure,” is different from other games within its genre because the team have “gamified the skill tree and made it into a rewarding experience” for those who embark on the game's storyline.

Click here to watch Over the Moon

Click here to watch Impasse

Click here to play Dungeon Town

ENDS

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