The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®), the worldwide leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, media, entertainment, and technology industries, and the Hollywood Professional Alliance® (HPA®), the organization serving the professional community by providing expertise, support, tools, and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, and an array of content for a growing number of platforms, have come together for the SMPTE-HPA Student Film Festival.
The festival took place on Monday, October 23 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater. The film festival showcased submissions demonstrating creative uses of technology in storytelling. SMPTE and the HPA received 119 submissions from more than 30 countries, and the 17 official selections screened during SMPTE 2017 represented Germany, Hong Kong, the U.K., and the U.S.
The event was hosted by Howard Lukk, SMPTE director of engineering and standards, who is also a film director, and by Aimée Ricca, SMPTE marketing and communication, who previously worked in cinema. The official selections at the festival were screened in SMPTE-DCP format, courtesy of Sundog Media Toolkit. Eight films earned awards in the following categories:
Innovative Use of Entertainment Technology to Engage the Audience in the Story — Animated Short (tie)
• “Tom in Couchland” by James Just of Ringling College of Art and Design (Sarasota, Florida, U.S.)
• “VERGE” by ChingTien Chu of School of Visual Arts (New York, New York, U.S.)
Innovative Use of Entertainment Technology to Engage the Audience in the Story — Live-Action Short
• “Mind Game” by Weisi Dai of School of Visual Arts (New York, New York, U.S.)
Innovative Use of Technology in an Experimental Short
• “Jazz Orgie” by Irina Rubina of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Ludwigsburg, Germany)
Innovative Use of Mobile Device or Tablet to Convey a Story — Narrative Short
• “LONDON STRIKE” by Jiranant Kanjanagawin of University of Greenwich (London, U.K.)
Innovative Use of Analog Technologies in a Live Action Narrative Short
• “Home” by Vivian Lau of Emerson College (Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.)
Documentary Short With Technology as the Subject Matter
• “Baylor VirtuOso Documentary Short on Use of Technology in VR Music Video” by Gustavo Raskowsky, Marcos Luna Hoyas, and team of Baylor University (Waco, Texas, U.S.)
Audience Choice Award
• “KCLOC” by Ninaad Kulkarni of School of Visual Arts (New York, New York, U.S.)
Check out the red carpet interviews:
