On Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6, hundreds of SCAD Atlanta students participated in the 12th annual SCAD Generate creative challenge. Founded by the sequential art department in 2006, Generate is a 24-hour event where students from a variety of majors aim to create a work of art from start to finish within a given timeframe, depending on the major. The challenges are often sponsored by companies looking to hire SCAD students after they graduate.
The Connector interviewed several Generate participants about their experiences in this three-part series.
The animation challenge for this year’s Generate was sponsored by Primal Screen, a design studio with an emphasis on animation. The Connector had the opportunity to talk to fourth-year animation student Karen Chu, one of the members of the winning team.
The Connector: Can you tell us more about the animation challenge?
Chu: The challenge that Primal Screen gave us was to create a 20-30 second commercial about a totally random object that our team pulled out of their box of mystery items. The twist was that we had to sell the item for something it wasn’t — such as marketing a remote as though it was a loaf of bread. And this all had to be done in 24 hours.
The Connector: How did you come up with your idea?
Chu: We pulled a pair of white gloves out of the box. At first we thought of the gloves as a method for long-distance touch, like someone stroking their face with the glove to simulate their partner’s touch. But after feedback from professors and Primal Screen, we decided the idea was still too much like a glove. In the end, we decided that that we wanted to go for the “love” theme and went with a glove as a giant body pillow.
The Connector: How did you all divide the work? What was your process like?
Chu: We were all familiar with each others’ strengths, so we split them up according to that. A few people were assigned to character design, others on storyboards and others on backgrounds. Our talents often overlapped so all of us had more than one job in the pipeline. For example, I was a storyboarder, animator and background artist for the film.
The Connector: Did you work the entire 24 hours?
Chu: We worked until a few hours before the final presentation — about 21 hours total.
The Connector: Do you have any advice for people hoping to participate in Generate in the future?
Chu: Be economical. As much as you want to make every little detail perfect, completing the challenge is more important than making it a masterpiece. You won’t be able to finish something amazing in just 24 hours. For our team, making the sacrifice to limit ourselves to what was necessary was key to us winning. Don’t worry too much about teaming up with the dream team. Just be familiar with who you’re working with and be ready to jump in without any hard feelings. Most teams who won were decided last minute, like mine. Be determined to finish the challenge, but remember to have fun and make it a memorable experience. Don’t stress too much about the details. In the end, you want something to look back on — not just as a great piece of work, but also as something to remember fondly. Even if it’s not perfect.
Chu, along with fourth-year animation students’ Ryan Imm, Jay Mackey, Nghi Lu, Sofia Guerra and Jun Sui created the 30-second short film “Love Handles,” which won first place from Primal Screen. The prize was personal portfolio reviews from the studio and gift bags from Primal Screen. The winning short can be viewed here.
