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Placing experts in the frame

MORE than 1,000 animation works from 20 countries and regions have been received by the jury of The Golden Monkey King Awards, a competition that is part of the 8th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival in Hangzhou.

Among the entries one third are from foreign countries such as Japan, France and the United Kingdom - double the figure of last year.

The competition, that considers both animation and cartoon works, features 17 prizes in categories including animated feature, cartoon series, cartoon short, Chinese animated short, comic and animation script.

Evaluation took place over the past few weeks and the result will be announced on Saturday at the opening ceremony of the 8th CICAF.

Shanghai Daily met some judges during the evaluation and asked them how the animation and cartoon industry has developed in the city and nationally.

Jing Delong

Deputy chief editor of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television

The entries received for the Golden Monkey Award have made us feel that Chinese animation has made great strides recently, with regards to plot, dialogue, scene and music. However, it's also true that there is still a great gap between Chinese cartoons and those of developed countries.

Chinese animators must make their stories more interesting, their artwork more exquisite and delicate and their characters more vivid. In short, there's still a long way to go.

The animation and cartoon industry of Hangzhou has been developing well, compared to those in other cities of China. Not only is the industry well-established, but a large, popular event such as CICAF boosts the economy.

Dai Tielang

Director of the Chinese classic full-length animation film "The Black Cat Sergeant"

Chinese animation industry is developing as quantity booms. However, there are problems with quality, which means - despite the high annual yield - high-quality works are few.

I think the main problem is a lack of awareness of the subjects which should match this era - which should give animators and cartoonists direction.

If the direction is correct, they will succeed. Therefore, even though some young animators and cartoonists sometimes feel despondent and that others don't understand them, they should hang in there because they are expressing what society needs, via art.

The development of the animation and the cartoon sector in Hangzhou has been developing well, owing to the promotion by local government. Now that there is a good trend in place, cartoonists in Hangzhou should work harder.

Zhang Zhiyi

Deputy director of the Science and Art Research Center of Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Cartoons and animation are being used in different ways than in the past. I was also a member of the jury last year and I've noticed some changes among the work submitted. For one thing, cartoons and animation - especially cartoons - have become a way for young people to express their personal views and communicate with each other, instead of a medium for professionals. I believe I've seen the birth of a new art. These works involve a large number of applications of modern technology and some innovative ways of thinking based on these applications.

Mark A. Kolars

Chief technology organizer of Zhejiang Kuake Film and Television Cultural Company

People in the cartoon and animation industry should focus more on creative ideas or originality, rather than just making movie copies. Also, they should not focus too much on technology while ignoring what audiences expect from animation.

Animation is not a fast money business, and only people who understand how difficult the industry is but are still willing to do this can succeed. So, I hope that myself and other people in the industry can combine forces to bring good people together in Hangzhou.


 

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