Students were invited to create interstitials that express the concept of motion. There were no strict guidelines. Our goal was simply to provide an opportunity for students to be creative, and have their work seen.

First, second, and third place winners were selected – and Ex’pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville, CA took home the bragging rights – sweeping the competition!

“There were numerous outstanding entries in this year’s competition”, said Elaine Montoya, co-producer of motion09. “We had an extremely difficult time selecting the winners.”

“It was very difficult”, reiterated Becky Padilla, co-producer of motion09. “Almost every entry was good enough to be a winner. We saw some amazing creativity. I think this was partially due to our lenient guidelines. We wanted students to be creative – and they were. Ultimately, it came down to selecting the entries that best expressed the only guideline we did provide: to create an interstitial that expresses the concept of event – motion.”

Third place winner, Lisa Hetherington was selected for a piece she created using Cinema 4D and After Effects. “Lisa’s piece conveys the concept of establishing roots as a means for creative growth”, said Montoya. “We felt this expressed one of our primary goals for students attending motion – to establish roots in the industry through their participation in the event and on-site networking with professionals.”

Second place winner, Alyx Loos submitted an elegant type treatment, with a old-time ‘theatrical’ flair. “Alyx’s piece had several elements that caught our attention in relation to the event,” said Padilla. “First, the overall concept of ideas in motion was a good match. While most conferences focus on learning software, our mission with motion, is to produce a show where professionals in the industry can come together to inspire and be inspired, to share ideas, and to be revitalized. ‘Ideas in motion’ fits this goal. The theatrical flair through the film look was a bonus – in many ways, motion is more a creative ’show’ vs. a ‘traditional’ conference.”

Finally, Audrey Karleskind took 1st place in the competition and Best of Show for her interstitial. “When providing guidelines as broad as our were, it’s common to see submissions with outstanding creativity. We basically gave students carte blanche to create whatever they wanted to,” said Montoya.

“Most students use this as an opportunity to experiment – to come up with something they haven’t done before. In Audrey’s case, we felt like she took it a step further. She considered ‘the client’ – motion. It’s the exception rather than the rule that creative professionals are given carte blanche. In most cases, their objective is to create a piece that best meets their client’s marketing and/or communication objectives. Audrey did her research. In a simplistic, illustrative cut-paper animation style, Audrey captured the feel of  downtown ABQ – the event venue. From the historic buildings that line Central avenue, to the modern day high-rises interspersed, it was readily recognized as downtown ABQ.”

“We also like that she included the ‘tourist’ side of the event by including the NM Railrunner, the Sandia mountains, and hot-air balloons,” said Padilla. “We always encourage motion attendees to ‘make it a vacation’ if possible – and the unique attractions of the southwest are part of this.”

“And, she went as far as to use the motion09 logotype in her piece,” added Montoya. “Another sign to us that she was designing this with her ‘client’ in mind.”

Congratulations to the winners of this year’s competition – Lisa, Alyx and Audrey.

Kudos to Ex’pression for sweeping the competition – solidifying their reputation as one of the ‘elite’ post-secondary motion graphics programs in the country.

view all winners of this year’s competition

view all winners of this year’s competition

In Ex’pression’s Creative Direction class, students take all the skills and software they have learned throughout the program, and focus them to create a new brand identity for a real client. This includes a new logo, a design for a website, a 15-second TV spot, posters and other marketing collateral in addition to a style guide.

This year the assignment required the development of a promotional package commemorating the 75th Anniversary of Alcatraz and the Transit to Parks Program. The class worked as a team under the creative direction of their instructor, Paul Sparrow. Their challenge? To produce a variety of multimedia products for the campaign.

For this class, their efforts paid off. Once again, Ex’pression College Motion Graphic Design students took top honors, winning the design competition for the re-branding of Alcatraz State Park.

Yael Braha had this to say about the student-winners: “I am very pleased that our students were able to demonstrate their professional quality work on such a high profile project.”

George Su, Media Specialist and Park Web Administrator, has posted the students work on the National Park Service site and proudly announced that they will be using the designs to market Alcatraz to the general public.

Kudos to Ex’pression students Chuck Meridith, Glen Ohlson and Patrick Hanlon. Together, they came up with a campaign based on the gritty feel of old crime novels and films and used 3D and motion software to create a compelling piece.

From the motion team…congratulations on your achievements! We look forward to celebrating at motion09!