Not a School Competition? University Sweeps All Awards at National 'Visual Effects' Contest

Dongseo University Department of Visual Animation Sweeps Grand Prize, Excellence, Merit, and Encouragement Awards at the 2020 Visual Art-Tech Awards... Winning Top Honors for 2 Consecutive Years

Students from the Department of Video Animation at Dongseo University swept the top awards, including the Grand Prize and the Excellence Award, at the largest visual effects competition in Korea.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Is this really a national competition? An astonishing event occurred where works submitted by students from one university swept the major awards at the largest visual effects contest in Korea.

At the ‘2020 Visual Art-Tech Awards,’ recognized as the most prestigious competition in the field of video visual effects in Korea, students from Dongseo University swept the top awards including the grand prize.

Dongseo University (President Jang Je-guk) announced on the 27th that the graduation projects from the Department of Video Animation and Video VFX won the grand prize, excellence award, merit award, and encouragement award at the competition. They secured the highest awards for two consecutive years.

Hosted by Daejeon City and the Daejeon Information & Culture Industry Promotion Agency, the 2020 Daejeon Visual Art-Tech Awards is an event that rewards outstanding artists who contribute to the development of the visual effects field by showcasing their works to the public.

The Visual Art-Tech Awards is Korea’s largest contest involving not only amateurs but also active ‘VFX’ professionals. The winners are determined by combining 30% online voting and 70% expert judging for the finalists.

‘The Train of Life,’ co-produced by senior students Choi Young-jin (team leader), Kwak Ye-rin, and Kim Da-som from the university’s Department of Video Animation, won the grand prize with a prize of 3 million KRW.

‘First Step,’ created by Lee Dong-yeop (team leader), Kim Young-seok, Oh Mina, Choi Jun-young, and Lee Min-gyu, won the excellence award (2 million KRW). ‘Ak (惡),’ co-produced by Kim Ga-hyun (team leader), Ahn Soo-yeon, and Jung Yi-seul, received the merit award (1 million KRW). ‘Absence,’ by Min Cheong-sik (team leader), Lee Jae-sung, Kim Dong-hyun, and Song Geon-hee, was awarded the encouragement award (500,000 KRW).

All award-winning works are the results of classes conducted in the Department of Video Animation utilizing the LINC+ Project Group Modular Capstone Design Support Program.

The grand prize-winning ‘The Train of Life’ visualizes the dream of a toy train that wants to run, beautifully capturing Hermann Hesse’s story that “if a person earnestly desires something, it will come true” in stunning visuals.

‘First Step,’ which won the excellence award, depicts the Apollo 13 moon landing process with visual details comparable to experts within VFX video. It was evaluated as the most technically outstanding work.

‘Ak (惡),’ which won the merit award, is a horror piece set in a village ruled by evil spirits. It stood out not only for its visual details in each scene but also for its directing skills.

‘Absence,’ the encouragement award winner, is a video work expressing emptiness and absence felt in various locations through excellent spatial visual mise-en-sc?ne.

Professor Kim Si-hyun, who supervised the students, said, “The students proudly competed with experts in the visual effects field and achieved great success by sweeping the major awards,” adding, “This is a highly accomplished educational outcome focused on practical work.”