Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, and Aniboom, the world’s first virtual animation studio, today announced the Grand Prize judging panel in conjunction with the March 1st launch of the Aniboom Awards 4 Sesame Street competition.
Sesame Workshop has tapped top-name celebrities, experts and opinion-makers to take part in judging the contest finalists to determine the Grand Prize winner. Actor and How I Met Your Mother star, Neil Patrick Harris; Grey’s Anatomy’s Sandra Oh; Good Morning America’s news anchor Juju Chang; Co-Executive Producer and Sesame Street’s Elmo, Kevin Clash; Co-Director of the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College, Columbia University, Dr. Sharon Lynn Kagan; and original Sesame Street “Pinball Number Count” animator, Jeffrey Hale, are all lending their individual expertise, wisdom and talents to the contest. Animators of all levels, amateur through professional, can register with the Aniboom Virtual Animation Studio (www.aniboom.com) to submit their entries over an eight week period from March 1st until April 26th.
This year’s awards will showcase the work of artists creating animations appropriate for pre-school age children in five separate categories: School Readiness Skills, Pro-Social, re-make of the Sesame Street classic animation “Pinball Number Count,” Anything Goes “The Sky is the Limit,” and Community Favorite. Sesame Workshop will first chose a finalist in each category – except Community Favorite which will be determined by a voting tool via Aniboom’s website. The top five category winners will be announced on May 10th, 2010. The panel of celebrity judges will then determine the Grand Prize winner from the five finalists who will be announced on May 17th. A total of $50,000 in cash and development money is to be awarded to the winners. Additionally, the Grand Prize winning animation will be included in Sesame Street’s 41st season which begins airing later this year.
Sesame Street has a 40 year history of utilizing animation to reinforce educational content and has always sought after innovative artists in the field. The Aniboom Awards 4 Sesame Street recognizes outstanding creativity among independent animators around the world and provides an opportunity for unknown and well-known artists to present themselves and their work to Sesame Workshop – a unique prospect for both animators and the Workshop. This marks the first time the show has participated in a world-wide competition for content in its 40 year history.
“We’re thrilled that so many artists and experts in their fields have chosen to be a part of such an exciting competition for Sesame Street and we look forward to being introduced to talented animators all over the world who care about educating children,” says Miranda Barry, Executive Vice President of Creative for Sesame Workshop. “We’re eager to share with Sesame Street fans around the world the incredible animations from this amazing contest.”
“Creating animation for children – and especially for Sesame Street – is particularly exciting for the 8,000 animators in 72 countries who participate in Aniboom’s Virtual Studio,” says Uri Shinar, founder and CEO of Aniboom. “Aniboom is eager to share the new characters and themes that this community will present.”
Celebrating its impressive 40th anniversary this season, Sesame Street is the longest-running program in children’s television. The series has received more Emmy awards than any other show in television history (122), as well as a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award honoring the 40th year.
For the full list of rules and Sesame Street animation guidelines for the competition, please visit www.aniboom.com