HP Invites Digital Animators to Bring their Imagination to Life with Unique "HP Toyrama Contest"

Embarking on magical adventures is not just for Shrek-like ogres and furry animals from Over the Hedge anymore as HP kicks off a unique contest that invites digital animators across Asia Pacific to create, design and direct short, animated skits using high-performance workstations and graphics tools.

Christened the HP Toyrama Contest, this online competition developed by Arc Worldwide Singapore challenges the best digital content creators in the region to create innovative and rich multimedia stop-motion animation starring five toy characters named Sancho, Farm Girl, Ranger, Jogger and Green from Monsterism Island, designed by cult toy designer, Pete Fowler. The contest has two categories – the Open segment, for enthusiasts, amateurs or students with a passion for animation; as well as the Professional segment, for the more proficient animators.

Interested digital animators can log on to www.hptoyrama.com and create animated movies using the scenarios and backgrounds provided on the website. Developers can create movies, starring some or all of the toys, with up to 10 distinct scenes and under multiple categories. Completed animated movies can be uploaded for submission on the website.
The contest is open to digital content creators in selected Asia Pacific countries. It is now open for a period of three months till 9 October 2007. All entries in the two different categories will be judged by the famous freelance illustrator and cult toy designer—Pete Fowler. Four of the most talented and entertaining digital animators will win Autodesk Maya software and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour the DreamWorks facility at Los Angeles, USA to catch a glimpse of how imagination comes to life. These animators will also have the opportunity to showcase their work on an online Gallery.

"HP, in partnership with Dreamworks, is setting the pace in the adoption of high-end workstation computing solutions to create and render rich, multi-media digital animation content," said Dennis Mark, Vice President, Marketing, HP Personal Systems Group, Asia Pacific & Japan. "HP workstation technology is inspiring animators globally to fantastic creations and enabling the creation of high-quality animated entertainment. The HP Toyrama Contest is a first-of-its-kind initiative in our industry – providing creative professionals the opportunity to direct 'toys in drama'—that brings this inspiration home to Asia Pacific."

The recent box office successes of HP's partnership with Dreamworks SKGTM in animation blockbusters such as the "Shrek" series and "Over The Hedge" was made possible, in large parts, by HP's suite of high performance workstations. They provide digital content creators greater computing capacity and increased capabilities to design and develop digital content in a supportive, reliable, multi-threaded, multi-tasking environment.

The leading-edge HP xw9400 Business Workstation, specifically, is taking workstation performance to a level the animation and digital content industry has never known before. Featuring the AMD Opteron processor, the xw9400 offers dual-core, dual-processor horsepower for enhanced graphics capabilities and increased customer productivity. The workstation also features an easy-to-maintain tool-less access design and a highly expandable dual-socket chassis.

"The xw9400 offers the ultimate in workstation performance," said Joergen Jakobsen, Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Systems Unit, HP Personal Systems Group, Asia Pacific and Japan. "Its full-featured, high-end dual graphics capabilities and high levels of bandwidth are designed to handle the most demanding applications."

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