The Rookie Awards recently announced winners for 2019. Over 3,500 aspiring creative media and entertainment artists submitted short films, personal projects and team projects to a stellar judging panel of 120 industry professionals.
For me, one of the most exciting categories this year was Film of the Year and Game of the Year. The skill level, techniques, story telling and level of professionalism was truly inspiring. Having recently reviewed all the entries I realised there was a common thread with the films and games - they all used Houdini created by SideFX.
Without trying to sound too much like a promotional piece - Houdini is built from the ground up to be a procedural system that empowers artists to work freely, create multiple iterations and rapidly share workflows with colleagues.
And it doesn't fall short of this statement. Over the years I've noticed countless studios and schools include Houdini in their production pipelines to help enhance their competitiveness, quality of work and technical abilities.
To show you what I mean about Houdini being the secret weapon for 3D short film makers and game developers, take a look at these amazing projects created by the next generation of creative media and entertainment artists.
Sweet Dreams
by yuan on 30 May 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
The story is about insomnia and takes place in a monster's world, where the inhabitants have a serious case of insomnia. Only the sleeping pills from the Sweet Dreams company works. The story based on a loop cycle, in which every link can affect each other. Visually the film has a vivid color tone with cute characters.
DOWNFALL
by matiasheker on 26 May 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
Downfall is a live action VFX short about an astronaut who is injured after escaping from an alien planet. As he crawls from the wreckage of his capsule, he remembers the traumatic events that caused him to crash-land.
Soundbender
by illia on 30 May 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
In a world of darkness where light is powered by sound dive into a VR discovery metaphor that explores communication barriers via light and interactions with a surreal ecosystem. See credits to see my role in it. The build can be arranged upon request.
Up Against
by epeignet on 12 Mar 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
2018 ArtFx Graduation Movie directed by Evan PEIGNET, Pierre COMBY and Xu LU A man haunted by his past in a dark antechamber works through his grief by concentrating his emotions in a giant sculpture.
Terra Nova - Short film
by geleymelanie on 17 Mar 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
ARTFX // Terra Nova - 2018 Graduation Film // Trough the eyes of the captain Robert Falcon Scott we discover the conquest of the south pôle between the British and the Norwegians in 1910. Directed by Thomas Battistetti, Mickael Le Mezo, Melanie Geley and Guillaume Hoarau.
Dumbtime
by amimoz on 24 Mar 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
A scientist working on his time travelling machine is going to test it prematurely due to the clumsiness of his apprentice.
THE VOLUNTEERS
by frederickvallee on 25 Mar 2019 for Rookie Awards 2019
Three men will risk their lives to save thousands of people during the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.
Before you run off, take a moment to remember that all this incredible work was created by students, not industry professionals. This is why visual effects, animation and games is such an exciting industry full of incredible software, technology and opportunities.