6th Competition Judges' Comment
2018.5.22
After the final judging session, the judges delivered their overall comments on this year's competition and reviews of each finalist's work!
A general review can also be found at the following link.
» Judges' Comment (Japanese) *PDF format
1minute projection mapping in Huis Ten Bosch
This is the 6th edition of this international competition, which started in 2012, and we, the organizers, have taken on the new challenge of holding it for a long period of time at the famous Huis Ten Bosch amusement park. Building on the history of the many wonderful entries we have received, this year we received a record number of 123 entries from 39 countries and regions. Once again, we would like to thank all the participants for their participation.
Now, the judging has been divided into multiple rounds, leading back to the final judging. First, 38 films were selected for judging based solely on the images received from the entries. Next, the actual screening of the films narrowed the field down to 16 finalists, and finally to the public screening on April 28. This year's competition was of a very high level, with a wider range of films than ever before. The judging panel, which included world-class guests, decided on the Grand Prix and other prizes.
Once again, I would like to summarize the 6th competition on behalf of the jury as well as the results here.
The theme of this year's competition was HANA (flower/flower). The process of narrowing down the finalists from the 38 works that passed the preliminary selection was also very difficult. In fact, there were many works of quality that could have remained in the finals, but from the viewpoint of "breadth of works," we had to narrow down works with similar tastes and expressions, and we had to do so with a great deal of patience. In the final judging, the range of entries was so wide that there was much discussion among the judges as to where the judging points should be placed to determine the awards. The finalists were all excellent, each with their own strengths, and the judges had a difficult time deciding which award to give out. The jury members had a difficult time deciding on the awards, and it took some time for them to come to a decision. The original plan was to give out a total of five awards, but in the end we decided to increase the number of jury awards to two, bringing the total to six winners and their works.
One of the most impressive points overall was the strong artistic presence of the Spanish artists, who made it to the final three. Another feature was that many of the works featured masks or faces in the center of the building. The Palace Huis Ten Bosch, which served as the projection canvas for this year's competition, was a very wide brick building measuring 28 meters high by 110 meters wide, and we wondered if the artists were able to take advantage of this long horizontal scale. And did we take into account the difference in color of the facade between the bricks, the roof, and the white painted part of the building? These points had a great impact on the degree of completion of the work and the experience at the site, and were also major factors in the evaluation. I also believe that the quality of the international competition has improved due to the fact that there were many challenging works. It is an important stance for an artist to show new methods and directions of expression without tracing existing expressions, and it was gratifying to see many works that showed this.
Now, I would like to describe here the key points of each award from the Grand Prix.
Grand Prize
ArchiLymph" Antaless Visual Design, Italy
The Grand Prix was awarded to Antaless from Italy.
The work "ArchiLympht" by VisualDesign. It was selected as a unanimous opinion among all the entries due to its excellent video production and mapping techniques, as well as its well-balanced composition and high judging score. Although it was a work that took the high road of projection mapping, the high degree of perfection and intonation of the production technique made the entire work very impressive and attracted a large number of spectators at the venue. One of the weak points of the competition was the weak impression of the theme, which came up in the judging discussion, as well as the excessive use of 3D animation in the latter half of the competition. However, the quality of the work and its composition in the 1-minute range more than compensated for these weaknesses, and it was awarded the Grand Prix.
Second Prize
Luna" AVA Animation & Visual Arts, Mexico
The second prize was awarded to a beautiful work entitled "Luna" by AVA Animation & Visual Arts from Mexico. The work successfully combined the theme of HANA and the colors typical of their team to create a visual of a fantastic palace floating in the moonlit night, with an appealing sense of fragility as it was illuminated by the moonlight. In fact, it took me the longest time to decide on this second place, because the delicate beauty of this work, on the other hand, had a weak sense of presence. Also, I think the work would have been stronger if the CG of the people who appear in the middle of the film had more meaning and connection within the whole.
Judges' Special Prize
Asagao" Hotaru Visual Guerrilla, Spain
As a result of the extremely competitive judging, the Jury's Special Prize was awarded to two works.
The first is "Asagao" by Hotaru Vsual Guerrilla of Spain, a very artistic work. Compared to the other top two works, this work's simplistic worldview and expression were very clean, and the building itself strongly appealed to the viewers, leaving a strong aftertaste in their minds.
Among the many highly artistic works submitted for this year's competition, this work had a high degree of perfection in terms of its thrusting quality and affinity for projection mapping on this building.
Judges' Special Prize
FAB Asia "Masks" (Hong Kong)
The other work was "Masks" by Hong Kong's FAB Asia, a work using masks as the name implies. It was a very rich and spectacular performance in which the encounter of two masks ultimately led to the opening of a flower. The work received high marks from the jury as the most memorable among the award-winning works. The overall impression of the masks was too strong, and the connection to the final flower was a bit forced, and I think the work would have been more complete and stronger if the connection had been smoother. Another topic of discussion during the judging was the fact that the work gave a dark impression for a place where many general audience members would view it.
Huis Ten Bosch Special Award
Light Rhapsody" Los Romeras (Spain)
Light Rhapsody" by Los Romeras of Spain, which won the Huis Ten Bosch Special Award, was a wonderful work with a wide range of expression within a limited time frame, yet with a well-controlled overall presentation. In particular, the moment in the beginning when pink and blue flowers bloomed out of the darkness was very impressive and created a beautiful moment in the air. The selection of classically based music also succeeded in strengthening the unique world view and presence.
Audience Prize
SMILE" Decide Kit Co.
An immense hit with the audience was "SMILE" by Decide Kit from Thailand.
It was a dynamic and enjoyable work that began with a magnificent Asian-style design at the beginning, from which a train brought flowers to the stage accompanied by Japanese shamisen music. The use of origami in the overall composition and the inclusion of the words "Nice to meet you" in Japanese at the end were also clever touches that delighted the audience and won many votes.
Unfortunately, none of the 16 finalists won an award, but all of them were excellent, and we will introduce each of them, including the non-winning entries, with their key points.
Seasons" OCUBO CRIATIVO (Portugal)
First, I would like to introduce "Seasons" by OCUBO CRIATIVO from Portugal, a challenging work that was highly evaluated by the jury. The jury members were strongly interested in this work.
https://youtu.be/cLSLz2ETAhs
Friction" Maabee (Japan)
One of the two Japanese works that made it to the finals, this one was entertaining and well-paced, and was much appreciated by the audience. The scene at the beginning where the colors spread from colorless to the entire building was very impressive and beautiful, but I think the work would have been better if it could have portrayed a worldview and uniqueness throughout the entire piece.
https://youtu.be/7I8sULXBlf4
The Last Blossom" Filip Roca (Spain / Montenegro)
A delicate and artistic work based on monochrome. It is as if a single flower suddenly and powerfully blooms out of the snow, showing a faint red color before fleetingly fading away. It is such a poetic and beautiful work that leaves a strong impression in the final scene by simply sharpening it toward the finale.
https://youtu.be/Ael8ZQMci28
LIL LIFE" HU XINYUAN - SKGMEDIA (China)
The entire building seemed to be moving with the powerful music, and the richly varied expressions were well executed as entertainment. The work had a sense of being overstuffed with expressions, so it would have been better if the contents of the expressions had been organized and the composition of the work had been more precise.
https://youtu.be/Z_zFZeDzCKc
Tane, Niculin Barandun (Switzerland)
It was a simple and challenging work with a clear concept and core. It was a very impressive and organic work that successfully combined plants and buildings in a production in which the seeds grew roots in the ground, the roots powerfully invaded the entire building, and finally bloomed into flowers. The strength with which the plants grew was expressed dynamically, with good use of length and width.
https://youtu.be/_ipbRvXQ3nU
Abstract Reality" by Viktor Lukacs (Hungary)
This work incorporated a lot of powerful effects, which can be said to be the most appealing and distinctive feature of projection mapping, such as the dynamic movement of buildings. The work would have been enhanced if the scenery scenes that were inserted in the middle of the work could have been connected in a natural and effective manner within the overall composition.
https://youtu.be/EYBczf65haI
gekka tensho" Sunnana inc.
The Japanese team brought the moon as their theme. It was poetic and emotional, with a very Japanese beauty and fragility, and combined with the music of piano and muted vocals, it attracted a large number of audience members. The use of letters sprinkled throughout the piece was also challenging, and the work had exquisite and pleasantly surprising moments, reminiscent of anime expressions. I think one more development from the beautiful kaleidoscope-like visuals in the second half would have added depth to the piece.
https://youtu.be/3ttkiLOJTNI
Elements of Life" VJ Reinish (Ukraine)
The work was very unique and simple, yet full of texture. In addition to the wide picture creation, the richness of the work would be enhanced if the latter half of the work included a little more interesting staging and expressions that make use of the buildings, which would lead to a stronger sense of presence and artistry.
https://youtu.be/PUk-eaHsNXM
Becoming" by Jakub Zuscin (Slovakia)
The youngest and only student finalist work in this year's competition. The work had a very unique world view and atmosphere, and the picture was very impressive. If a little more development or change could be given somewhere, I think it would enhance the original strong individuality of the work and improve its quality.
https://youtu.be/VURy8kzWg8k
Dasamuka - The Ten Faces" Lzy Visual - Esa Perkasa Novesada (Indonesia)
The work, using Japanese and Indonesian masks, was a fun piece with a wide range of direction and musicality, and the scenes in which the masks changed and moved with the visuals and movements of the buildings were very powerful. The final scene, in which a beautiful, neutral face clad in plants appears, also adds depth to the work while adding a sense of completion.
https://youtu.be/l_9nj948WuY
As I mentioned above, there were a few comments on the finalists' works, but in fact, there were many works that did not make it to the finals that had minor differences. The main points to be considered are: the extent to which the projection mapping technique is conscious of the building, the content of the composition as a one-minute work, comparisons with other similar works, and the selection of works to maintain variation in the competition as a whole.
Does it have a difference or uniqueness from other works?
Balance in terms of completeness and spectacle as a work of art
Mapping to buildings, not just images
We hope that these areas will be of interest to you in terms of participating in this competition in the future.
We are currently preparing for the next competition and hope to have an announcement by summer. In order to encourage as many creators as possible to participate positively in this next competition, the entire staff will strive for more fruitful content and quality in the selection of attractive venues, the quality of templates, the hospitality of visitors, and the opportunities for exchange.
We hope that all creators will continue to participate in this 1 minute projection mapping project and grow it together with us.
Michiyuki ISHITA
1 minute projection mapping / General Producer
Projection Mapping Association of Japan/Representative