KingstOOn 2016 has been hailed as a resounding success by all who attended the 2 day Animation Conference hosted by Jamaica’s Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology in partnership with the World Bank and Caribbean Development Bank.
Brad Ableson of Bento Box with a fan of The Simpsons at KingstOOn
The conference brought together animation enthusiasts of all ages from across Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world. A visit to the Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts on March 12 and 13 found the campus abuzz with activity as participants moved around to attend the wide range of activities that comprised the agenda – workshops and seminars, animation exhibits, interactive booth displays, panel discussions, film screenings, and business meetings.
Caiphus Moore (3rd right) with Robert Reid, Government of Jamaica Animation Specialist (left) and KingstOOn Film Festival Finalists
An impressive roster of animation professionals representing all aspects of the animation production pipeline came to KingstOOn to share their experience, knowledge, skills and advice with an enthusiastic audience. Among the 15 visiting speakers were Caiphus Moore, a lead Character Designer for the popular video game The Sims, produced by game manufacturer Electronic Arts; Carlos Arguello, Visual Effects Director who has worked on blockbuster films such as Armageddon, The Chronicles of Narnia, Terminator 2 as well as a number of videos for Michael Jackson including “Black & White” and “Remember the Time,” and Brad Ableson, Lead Storyboard artist for more than 150 episodes of The Simpsons television series and The Simpsons Movie.
Hernan LaGrea of Cartoon Network and Mike Buckland of Triggerfish
The first day of the conference ended with the Pitch Competition which saw 4 finalist teams from the KingstOOn Emerging Artists Animation competition doing live pitches of their animation projects to a panel of international judges which included Mike Buckland, Head of Production for Triggerfish, South Africa’s largest Animation Studio, and Hernan LaGrea, of Cartoon Network. After 3 rounds of presentations, Jamaica’s Coretta Singer and her project “Tale of Shadows” emerged the winner, outshining the other teams from the USA, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica.
KingstOOn Winners
Other activities which took place at KingstOOn included the launch by The Caribbean Examinations Council of its new CAPE syllabus in Digital Animation and Game Design. Edna Manley College for the Visual and Performing Arts and e-Media’s i-Create were among the local educational institutions sharing information on their Animation courses in the KingstOOn marketplace.
JAMPRO hosted the KingstOOn Konnections business lounge where meetings were arranged between the visiting animation professionals and local animation industry stakeholders. Not surprising was the fact that KingstOOn not only enable connections to be made between local and international practitioners, but also among the international participants, most of whom were meeting for the first time.
KingstOOn was made possible with the support of a number of local sponsors including The Gleaner Company, National Commercial Bank, Development Bank of Jamaica, FLOW, e-Media, CPTC, TVJ, CARIMAC and Wisynco.
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