The other night I was at dinner with @CatFat and @DuDuL when the topic came up of the uncertainty of NATA happening this year. We decided that if NATA didn't happen, we should instead try a series of "summer jams."
I just got confirmation that NATA will indeed be taking a hiatus this year, so the jams are a go!
The idea is that each week (two weeks?) we announce a theme. Anyone interested can animate something based on that theme. At the end of the round, a new theme will be announced and there will be one week for voting before winners of the previous theme are announced.
Rather than tournament brackets, scoring will be more like Mario Kart - 10 points for 1st, down to 1 point for 10th. You never get kicked out but also don't have to participate every round; at the end of the summer, whoever has accumulated the most points will be crowned the champion.
QUESTIONS
1) If you plan on participating and are in school, what dates work best around your summer break? Let me know if you intend to participate, regardless!
2) We should allow teams, for a better chance at quality animations being produced. However, it would be less complicated if only one person claims the points for each round. In addition, we could rank support categories, such as Voice Acting, Music, Backgrounds and In-Betweens. The important thing here is to know whether you are the lead animator or a support role in a project. Thoughts in general are welcome on this topic.
3) Prizes. Big question. We haven't hit our Pico Day prize goal so I'm squeamish about how big of a commitment we can make. If anyone works for a company that may want to be a sponsor, reach out to me and we can discuss! Would be especially cool if we could get some interest from Cartoon Network.
4) Feel welcome to suggest potential themes.
5) One week per jam theme? Two weeks?