Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Chief Scientist of Western Australia Graces 3D Art & Machinima Event

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                                         Professor Lyn Beazley, Chief Scientist of Western Australia                      Photo Credit: Adia Yu

Professor Lyn Beazley, Chief Scientist of Western Australia, was guest speaker of honour at a special viewing event at the University of Western Australia showing off the winners of the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge & MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom.

Speaking of how important 3D virtual technologies were becoming across all industries from the arts to the sciences, Professor Beazley praised the efforts of the University of Western Australia in creating a global hub for such activities.

Commenting on the winners, Professor Beazley said, "I was hugely impressed by the standard and thought-provoking nature of the award winning films. They opened my eyes to the beauty and impact this interaction between science and art is achieving. Long may such creativity flourish!" 

The audience were taken for a live viewing session within Second Life, and viewed the UWA Centenary Special prizes for both 3D Art & Machinima as well as the top prize winners.
 Lollito Larkham's  L'histoire de Petit-Gris            Photo Credit: Eliza Wierwight

The UWA Centenary 3D Art challenge saw an international field of 90 artworks by 91 artists from around the world. Parisian, Lollito Larkham's  L'histoire de Petit-Gris (The story of Petit-Gris), soared above all, with his thoughts reaching across the universe, to claim the L$100,000 1st Prize. The Cathedral of Thoughts, by PaleIllusion (Germany) took the UWA Centenary Special Prize as well as joint-3rd Prize overall, winning L$95,000 in all. The 2nd overall prize (L$75K) was won by the only joint entry with the Tyrehl Byk (USA) & Ultraviolet Alter (France) creation, 'To Be the Wind' taking the prize. Titans of Second Life art, Glyph Graves and Bryn Oh shared the 3rd Prize (L$35K) with 'Reflections in Diversity' and 'Cerulean'. A delighted Lollito commented, "It's an honnor for me,  I wish to thank the UWA team, all the generous donors and the jury. It was a great challenge, and I'm happy this 'micro story' can touch so much people. Thanks again ! I'm out of voice, I could not imagine to be the winner. In this piece I tried to concentrate on many things : Humor, philosophy, and societal questions about the place we give to 'aliens' or 'strangers'. Kinda like looking into a mirror." 
                                Tutsy Navarathna's 'The Last Syllable of Recorded Time'

With MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom, the double defending champion, Tutsy Navarathna, a Frenchman based in Pondicherry, India, made it a stunning 3-peat (L$140,000), with 'The Last Syllable of Recorded Time', pulling ahead of a very strong field of 51 machinima including the Costa Rica-Germany collaboration of Karima Hoisan and Natascha Randt, whose work 'Seek Wisdom' pipped a fast finishing quartet including Hypatia Pickens (Four Gods of Folly), pallina60 Loon (Colours), Tikaf Viper (>RUN Ram) and Arrow Inglewood (?). The UWA Special Prize, for the film that best captures the essence or spirit of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA was joint as well, with Pyewacket Bellman &Soda Lemondrop sharing L$100,000 with their works, both entitled 'Seek Wisdom'. Said Tutsy, "A thousand thanks to all of you who enjoy my films and have supported me. And, again, thank you to UWA, and to the Jury. I would also like to give a big thank you to Midimal, the soundtrack's composer, who has personally authorised me to use his work in my films. Thanks also to DOL for the beautiful installation "Daytime Dreams" where I filmed."

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Sunday, August 26, 2012

LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (AUG): Cajska Carlsson's 'Uaxuctum'



Cajska Carlsson, who in another lifetime was the very first winner of an art challenge at UWA in 2009  takes over at LEA 6 for the AUGUST round of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES (here for full year schedule)
  

SPECIAL EVENT: 
'UAXUCTUM' by Cajska Carlsson

DATE AND TIME: 11AM SLT TUE 28th AUG 2012.
LOCATION: HERE AT LEA 6 
INFO HERE: Avatar Orchestra Metaverse

Blogs on Uaxuctum:
Honour MacMillan
Vic Lennoire on UWA
EchtVirtuell
Apmel Blog
Briarmelle Quintessa Flickr
Simon Jones Blog
Machinima by Goosson



Cajska described the work as follows:

'Uaxuctum' is a visual re-imagining of a piece by the 20th Century Italian composer, Giacinto Scelsi.

Scelsi was a highly eccentric composer, living mostly in isolation, apart from an assistant who would write his music down. In 1966 he wrote 'Uaxuctum', a piece about "the legend of the Maya city, destroyed by themselves for religious reasons".

The re-imagining is an exploration of structure and form, light and dark... a mythical structure that will be torn down to make way for something new. With the death of each civilisation, a new one is born. The world progresses through these revolutionary upheavals, but rarely does a society chose its own destruction. 'Uaxuctum' is a moment of choice lost in time.

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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

UWA listed at #2 in Levity Mag Art Gallery Top 10


An article in the most recent issue of Levity Magazine (Vol 11 August 2012), lists UWA at #2 in an 'Art Gallery Top 10' of Second Life, with long time UWA collaborators / partners Pirats at #1!

Congrats to Merlina & Newbab.

See Page 65

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Monday, August 13, 2012

Victoria Lenoirre's Review of August LEA Full Sim by Cajska Carlsson Uaxuctum

Up at LEA6 this month is Uaxuctum. It opened on August 6th at 3pm SLT.


Her grand build was inspired by Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi. Uaxuctum, composed in 1966,  is about "the legend of the Maya city, destroyed by themselves for religious reasons." Uaxuctum actually "corresponds to an actual Maya city in Peten, Guatemala which flourished during the first millenium AD; in addition, the Mexican state of Oaxaca comes from the same anciet meso-American root, according to an article I found on classical.net. You should read more at that link to learn more.

You will hear parts of the musical piece while you are here at LEA6. It is said to be Scelsi's most dramatic and unusual composition.

Uaxuctum landing point




Aerial view



If you would like to hear the whole composition, you only need to head over to youtube. The piece is divided into 5 movements.


When you land here, your eyes are met with a splash of bright colors. There are bright pinks, purples, white, orange, green...and they glow. Make sure to view in Ultra graphics. The luminescence is fabulous.

As you can see from the pictures I've posted above, the build is made up of so many circles. If you visit, you will see that the circles are arranged like stairs and stepping stones. You will also find plants and something  that looks like a fiery furnace. Don't just take my word for it, see it with your own eyes!

My interview with her is below; my words are in bold lettering. Her creation and motivation for the sim is clever and thoughtful. Her answers were detailed and intriguing. I hope you enjoy reading it.


Where are you from?

Liverpool, UK

Why did you use so many bright colors? Most people who think of old cultures like the Mayans or Aztecs think of old, dull textures and colors. Also, Scelsi's composition sounds heavy and brooding.

My work is a subjective perspective of Uaxuctum. Rather than viewing the city as a set of grey ruins, I wanted to think of the Mayans as their contemporary, the city as a vibrant, living place. Scelsi's piece is heavy and brooding. It reflects the destruction of the city viewed in hindsight, after the fact. My aim was to show the other half to what Scelsi was expressing, rather than the destruction itself, that which would be destroyed. It is difficult to miss what you do not know.

Did you or someone in your family play music?

I am a musician, a performer and composer. I play violin and perform experimental music using found objects and effects. I come from a musical background. My father plays the violin and my mother used to sing in choirs.

How do you know of Scelsi?

I discovered Scelsi's music a few years ago and was particularly struck by Uaxuctum, which seemed to share a similar aesthetic to my own to some extent: the continuously evolving soundscapes and dynamic emotional journey; his interest in microtonality and textural music.

If you had been a Mayan so many millenia ago and you felt like the world was changing so fast, would you destroy your civilization as they did or would you keep it alive so that all can see it in its entirety?

That's an interesting question. Personally, I like change, though change comes in many forms and flavours, some less palatable than others. It's difficult to know what I would do in that situation, however one thing is clear, that if the Mayans had tried to preserve their living culture, it would not have been seen in its entirety afterward. The invading Europeans destroyed much of the indigenous culture of South America. The city on which Uaxuctum was based would never have survived anyway.

The Mayans calendar ends this December. Why do you think that is?

I think there is a lot of modern-day myth surrounding the Mayans' calendar. Many forms of New Age mysticism have a view of 'ancient knowledge' that we have been too corrupted or blinded to see. The Mayans believed they were living in the fourth age of creation, each age being measured in units of 13. However, there is nothing in any Mayan texts that suggests the end of the world with the end of the fourth age. There are dates mentioned in Mayan literature that go further into the future than the fourth age. Indeed, one stele found at Coba gives a date which is 41 octillion years in the future, 3 quintillion times the age of the universe.

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That is my review about Cajska Carllson's Uaxuctum here at LEA6. Please swing by and have a look at all the sights here. Let the music wash over you and cause your mind to wander.

As always, have fun and enjoy the art!

- Victoria Lenoirre





Monday, August 6, 2012

UWA Centenary 3D Art & MachinimUWA V Finale: Lollito & Tutsy Grand Champions


                       Tutsy Navarathna 3-Peats with 'The Last Syllable of Recorded Time'

Faced with an international field of 90 artworks by 91 artists from around the world, Lollito Larkham's  L'histoire de Petit-Gris (The story of Petit-Gris), soared above all, with his thoughts reaching across the universe, to claim the L$100,000 1st Prize  for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge. The Cathedral of Thoughts, by pale Illusion took the UWA Centenary Special Prize as well as joint-3rd Prize overall, winning L$95,000 in all. The 2nd overall prize (L$75K) was won by the only joint entry with the Tyrehl Byk (USA) & Ultraviolet Alter (France) creation, 'To Be the Wind' taking the prize. Titans of Second Life art, Glyph Graves and Bryn Oh shared the 3rd Prize (L$35K) with 'Reflections in Diversity' and 'Cerulean'. A delighted Lollito commented, "It's an honnor for me,  I wish to thank the UWA team, all the generous donors and the jury. It was a great challenge, and I'm happy this 'micro story' can touch so much people. Thanks again ! I'm out of voice, I could not imagine to be the winner. In this piece I tried to concentrate on many things : Humor, philosophy, and societal questions about the place we give to 'aliens' or 'strangers'. Kinda like looking into a mirror."

With MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom, the double defending champion, Tutsy Navarathna, a Frenchman based in Pondicherry, India, made it a stunning 3-peat (L$140,000), with 'The Last Syllable of Recorded Time', pulling ahead of a very strong field of 51 machinima including the Costa Rica-Germany collaboration of Karima Hoisan and Natascha Randt, whose work 'Seek Wisdom' (on 54 points, 2nd Prize L$120,000) pipped a fast finishing quartet on 50 points including Hypatia Pickens (Four Gods of Folly), pallina60 Loon (Colours), Tikaf Viper (>RUN Ram) and Arrow Inglewood (?) each of whom won L$63,750. The UWA Special Prize, for the film that best captures the essence or spirit of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA was joint as well, with Pyewacket Bellman & Soda Lemondrop sharing L$100,000 with their works, both entitled 'Seek Wisdom'. Said Tutsy, "A thousand thanks to all of you who enjoy my films and have supported me. And, again, thank you to UWA, and to the Jury. I would also like to give a big thank you to Midimal, the soundtrack's composer, who has personally authorised me to use his work in my films. Thanks also to DOL for the beautiful installation "Daytime Dreams" where I filmed."

3D Artworks can be seen HERE. With direct links to teleport to each of the artworks HERE.

Major sponsors Open This End provided 19 Awards of Excellence for MachinimUWA V (full list below). Much thanks to Aino Baar and the Open This End team for being such great supporters of the art.  Also much thanks to all sponsors across both art & machinima including The S&S Gallery of Fine Art (TheDove Rhode), The Tornado Gallery (Taralyn Gravois) the Phi Designs Group (Ginger Alsop), Project48 (Tom Papas), Freemason Magic and UWA. Thank you LaPiscean Liberty, a hero through all the UWA challenges and events and co-host of MachinimUWA V!

GRAND FINALE NEWS
Bryn Oh Blog
Digital Rabbit Hole
Quan's Travelogues
Echt Virtuell (Translation of Original German)
Temi Sirbu Blog (Japanese)
Pixie Rain Blog
Apmel Goosson Blog
Hazlo Real Blog (Translated from Spanish)
NicoleX Moonwall Machinima
NEW WORLD NOTES


FULL RESULTS FOLLOW AND THE TEXT OF THE WINNERS ANNOUNCEMENT IS REPRODUCED BELOW IN ITS ENTIRETY

UWA CENTENARY 3D ART CHALLENGE OVERALL WINNERS:

1st Prize (L$100,000) L'histoire de Petit-Gris (The story of Petit-Gris) by Lollito Larkham - 59 points

2nd Prize (L$75,000) To Be The Wind  by  Tyrehl Byk/Ultraviolet Alter - 44 points

"We are both very honored and thankful to have been selected from among so many rich and wonderful works.  The gift, that is the opportunity for spirits to join across vast distances in order to allow something wonderful to emerge is  something  for which the two of us are deeply grateful .  It is truly important that we all take a moment to acknowledge the generous and ongoing support for the arts that the UWA and its supporting volunteers tirelessly provide. We  both hope that our offering will encourage many more people to meet in this special space and to explore the expression of their own creativity." Tyrehl Byk & Ultraviolet Alter
3rd Prize (L$35,000) Reflections in Diversity by Glyph Graves - 40 points


"Id like to thank the judges and those who contibuted to leaving the traces of their language in RL and SL by visiting the work and by doing so also contributed to breaking the conceptual barrier between RL and SL art." Glyph Graves

3rd Prize (L$35,000) Cathedral of Thoughts by Pale Illusion - 40 points

"Once again.. you guys make me cry! It is a fantastic expereance to be part of a  Art community like this ..Thank you all so much ! I will keep on collecting thoughts... be sure of that! This is awesome ! Thanks Thanks Thanks!" pale illusion

3rd Prize (L$35,000) Cerulean by  Bryn Oh  - 40 points

"It was an honour to have been recognized alongside these very talented artists.  It is a true compliment knowing my work was considered among theirs" Bryn Oh

6th Prize (L$15,000)   Ariadne Spinning The Universe by Fuschia Nightfire - 30 points

 "I would like to thank Katz Jupiter, if it wasn't for her idea of having the goddess show at her sim, this piece would never have been made" Fuschia Nightfire

7th Prize (L$15,000)   Looking Inside Myself  by  Nexuno Thespian    24 points

"I m not great with words.  I wish  you can hear my heart now, really really happy :).  now that is ended i can say u make me cry in real for emotion" Nexuno Thespian

8th Prize  (L$11,250)  The Caravanserai of Fractured Fairytales  by  Eliza Weirwight  - 19 points

""My thanks to all at UWA, especially Mr Z and Free for all your hard work" Eliza Wierwight

8th Prize (L$11,250) Le Violoncelle de Béton / (Concrete Cello) by Artistide Despres -19 points

"Thank you to  UWA and the members of the jury. My thoughts are for Lollito Larkham, winner of the grand prize, I am so glad his work got recognition today!" Artee


8th Prize (L$11,250)  Heartwood by Fae Varriale - 19 points

"Thanks so much, it was unexpected and an honour to win a prize. It has been  fun taking part, and even more so watching all the amazing works as they arrived on the UWA sim. Congratulations everybody." Fae Varriale

8th Prize (L$11,250) Mother  by  Rebeca Bashly  - 19 points

UWA CENTENARY SPECIAL AWARDS
The UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge is run in tribute to the 2013 Centenary of the University of Western Australia. In recognition of this milestone a Special Centenary Prize is awarded to the artworks that best reflect the spirit of the UWA Centenary. as determined by the UWA members of the judging panel.

UWA Centenary Special Prize (L$60,000) - Decided by Western Australia based Panel Members
Cathedral of Thoughts by Pale Illusion

"Once again.. you guys make me cry! It is a fantastic expereance to be part of a  Art community like this ..Thank you all so much ! I will keep on collecting thoughts... be sure of that! This is awesome ! Thanks Thanks Thanks!" pale illusion

UWA Centenary Honourable Mention (L$20,000) - Decided by Western Australia based Panel Members
Keep off the Grass by Takni  Miklos

"I feel good about it. Glad y'all like it, and thanks!" Takni Miklos

CURATOR'S PRIZE (L$20,000)
Looking Inside Myself  by  Nexuno Thespian

"I'm not great with words.  I wish  you can hear my heart now, really really happy :).  now that is ended i can say u make me cry in real for emotion" Nexuno Thespian

UWA 3D CENTENARY 3D ART CHALLENGE (NON-SCRIPTED)
We have a tradition of recognizing work that does not use dynamic scripting effects. These pieces stand purely on their visual form.

1st Prize (L$35,000): Terra-Mater by Cherry Manga - 65    points

"Terra Mater is a metaphor of life, the fertility of our world that is increasingly ill, urban human being is less and less aware of the forces of nature which it feeds, it breaks away inexorably. Terra Mater is a cry of hope, a woman-nature to be heard.The fact that It is static, without script, fixes it in time, as a proof of the immortality of its realm, nature was before man and will be always. I am truly touched that work pays, it proves to me that the sensitivity to the dominant forces of nature are not totally extinct." Cherry Manga

2nd Prize (L$20,000): 100th Year of Raining Pages by Haveit Neox  - 62 points

"This is the 100th year celebration for the University of Western Australia… a celebration which extends into Second Life by virtue of the University’s foresight into the educational and artistic potential of virtual worlds. As I love architecture and history, I naturally gravitated to Winthrop Hall Clock Tower as the starting point of my entry.  In the spirit of the computer environment, I imagined students coming up from a 2D perspective to a 3D expanse in virtual space. Freeing themselves from the flatness, they reach up into the air to grasp the knowledge that rains down upon them. I am grateful to have been a part of this landmark anniversary, and for the generosity extended by UWA." Haveit Neox

3rd  Prize (L$15,000): Teracotta Army  by Pravda Core  - 60 points

"Thank you again for having me participate this year in UWA challenge, am happy to be part of this" pravda Core

4th Prize (L$6,000):  Primitive Memory Reversal Extractor  by  Scarp Godenot  - 47 points

5th Prize  (L$3,500): Svetovid  by  Mad Varnish -   36 points

5th Prize (L$3,500):  The Goatfruit Tree by Soror Nishi - 36 points

7th Prize (L$3,000):  Zoea Larva  by  Yooma Mayo - 35 points

"Thank you for giving me many chances. I'm so happy to have known of UWA" Yooma Mayo

8th Prize (L$3,000): Sailing to the Moon  by  London Junkers - 33 points

9th Prize (L$3,000):  The Golden Apple by Secret Rage - 31 points

"With such a huge pool of great works, I feel honored to have placed.Thank you so much." secret Rage

10th Prize (L$3,000): Bipolar  by  Chuckmatrix Clip - 29 points


"I want to thank everyone who voted for my piece, and thank UWA for putting this competition together. Honestly, I'm thrilled to have won anything at all. I didn't enter to win, I just like showing my work, so to have won anything especially in a competition as large as this is a real honor for me. I was also touched that so many of the machinimas submitted actually featured pieces I had made to recreate UWA's "treasures" for their Centenary. The whole event was just a wonderful show of the creative powers at work in SL. It was just stunning in scale and really shows off the power of SL and the talent hidden within." Chuckmatrix Clip

10th  Prize (L$3,000): Susa 2 not allowed at two fish by Rose Borchovski - 29 points

UWA 3D Open Art Challenge - Audience Participation Prize

1st Prize (L10,000): DUDI - 46 points
2nd Prize (L6,000): LILIA ARTIS - 38 points
3rd Prize (L4,000): SECRET RAGE - 31 points

    MACHINIMUWA V: SEEK WISDOM - Overall Winners

    MachinimUWA V: 1st Prize (L$140,000) - 71 Points
    THE LAST SYLLABLE OF RECORDED TIME by Tutsy Navarathna (Pondicherry, India)


    MachinimUWA V: 2nd Prize (L$120,000) - 54 Points
    SEEK WISDOM by Karima Hoisan (Costa Rica) & Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany)



    "So many people to thank, beginning with the organizers and the judges for this year's UWA V Machinima Challenge. For me personally, this feels like a fairy tale, but  looking back I see many people to thank. I would like to first gratefully acknowledge the fate that brought me to SL, and all the people along the way who have encouraged me, first as a performing poet, and then a composer, and then  finally a machinimatographer. My friends here, my partner, and many in RL too, who have encouraged me to try new things, and not be afraid to take chances. The final breeze blew in an incredible talent, who harmonized so well with me in the creative aspect. I am speaking of Natascha Randt, who made it possible to begin our Costa Rica-Germany connection and seek wisdom together. I thank you all, and am truly honored to receive this prize. I also want to include the judges of the Open This End Awards of Excellence, who voted  for our film as one of the winners of theOpen This End Awards of Excellence In Film 2012. My most sincere thanks for your consideration and your prize." Karima Hoisan

    MachinimUWA V: JOINT 3rd Prize (L$63,750) - 50 Points
    >RUN RAM by Tikaf Viper (Rome, Italy)



    "This film is dedicated to the nurses who wouldn't let me die when I was about to. Thanks to them, I can run again in RL. This film is also dedicated to Natascha Randt and Iono Allen, who wouldn't let me stop running in SL when I thought I would" Tikaf Viper

    MachinimUWA V: JOINT 3rd Prize (L$63,750) - 50 Points
    THE FOUR GODS OF FOLLY by Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA)



    "I am so grateful for my award. I can't thank you all enough. There were so many fine films that I was really knocked over. Thank you for giving us such a provocative theme to think about.  I had a great time making the Four Gods of Folly and working with the images at the UWA" Hypatia Pickens

    MachinimUWA V: JOINT 3rd Prize (L$63,750) - 50 Points
    ? by Arrow Inglewood (Toronto, Canada)



    MachinimUWA V: JOINT 3rd Prize (L$63,750) - 50 Points
    COLOURS by pallina60 Loon (Rome, Italy)



    "I do not believe it and I did not expect anything from this ceremony. I am a novice with regard to the creation of machinima and what I put in my videos, is mostly what I feel in the phase of creation. I love making machinima, it will be to me the possibility of expressing my feelings, to communicate with people watching them and gives me the opportunity to continue to explore new techniques in SL. In this video "Colors" I said, very briefly, the principal moments of my life that I have helped to create my baggage of wisdom (unless I really has found). I, since I was a little girl, I make a mental game. I like to associate certain events, situations, people with color. So I thought about this when I learned the theme for the competition. I gave a color to each event in my life and I asked myself what was the color of wisdom, if wisdom can have a color. So I thought that each of those events has left the color on me, on my skin or my soul and what I saw was the color scheme. Some were very beautiful and brilliant, while others were dark or washed out. All these colors together, they gave me a strong character and, after a bad period in my life (the angel / devil in the video), I found the strength and desire to return to color everything with beautiful colors and bright, just like the rainbow :-) Second Life has helped me a lot, about this. I should, perhaps, a little more belief in myself and I try to work on this, even via SL.I started to believe in this machinima, after receiving the personal congratulations of Bryn Oh. I was so surprised that I was not able to say more than "thank you". At that moment I was happy and confused and had already won my personal award. So, now they receive additional prizes, give me more confidence in myself and this encourages me to continue to tell who I am and what I feel. I thank everybody who has watched my video, the judges and the UWA that allows us to express creativity with its activities. Today I have one more to add color to the other on my skin and my soul. is the color of joy, lilac ............. my favorite." pallina60 Loon


    MachinimUWA V: 7th Prize (L$30,000) - 35 Points
    RUNNING WITH SCISSORS by Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA)

    MachinimUWA V: 8th Prize (L$30,000) - 32 Points
    PENGUINS DIALOGUE ON WISDOM by Soda Lemondrop (Monterey, California, USA)

    MachinimUWA V: JOINT 9th Prize (L$30,000) - 29 Points
    INVOCATION by Yesikita Coppola (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

    MachinimUWA V:  JOINT 9th Prize (L$30,000) - 29 Points
    SEEK WISDOM by Pyewacket Bellman (New York, USA)

    UWA CENTENARY SPECIAL PRIZE IN MACHINIMA
    UWA Special Prize: L$100,000 (awarded by UWA members of the committee - film that best captures the essence or spirit of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA )

    UWA Special Prize JOINT WINNER (L$50,000)
    SEEK WISDOM by Soda Lemondrop (Monterey, California, USA)

    UWA Special Prize JOINT WINNER (L$50,000)
    SEEK WISDOM by Pyewacket Bellman (New York, USA)



    OPEN THIS END AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

    OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN FILM 2012 (L$3,333)
    Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA) - STILL WATCHING

    Karima Hoisan (Costa Rica) & Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) - SEEK WISDOM

    pallina60 Loon (Rome, Italy) - COLOURS

    Spiral Silverstar (New Orleans, LA, USA) - SEEKING WISDOM IN THE STARS


    OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN FILM DIRECTION 2012 (L$3,333)
    Arrow Inglewood (Toronto, Canada) - ?

    Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA) - IN DREAMS
    "I am both thrilled and honored that two of my films received awards in this year's MachinimUWA V competition. A special thank you to the committee for their time and efforts and to the University of Western Australia for the opportunities it continues to offer to 3D and machinima artists."

    Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA) - THE FOUR GODS OF FOLLY

    Tutsy Navarathna (France, Pondicherry, India) - THE LAST SYLLABLE OF RECORDED TIME

    OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATION IN FILM 2012 (L$3,333)

    Benicia Beck (Ashland, Oregon) - HIGH VOLUME
    "I am so very surprised and appreciative to win a prize. With a history of film editing in my background, machinima is new to me. There is so much to see, capture and remember in our virtual land. It is a pleasure to be a part of the community of artists that chronicle our experiences. Receiving an award for innovation on my very first long film is very, very exciting! Thanks to all." Benicia Beck


    L1aura Loire/ Dr Lori Landay's (Berklee College of Music, USA) - PATHS TO WISDOM

    Laslopantomik Yao (Barcelona, Spain) & Ultraviolet Alter (France) - THOUGHT ON SELF RELIANCE
    Mimesis Monday (Oslo, Norway) - DIALOGGING


    OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE FOR FILM NARRATIVE  2012 (L$3,333)

    Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA) - RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

    Ed Vespucciano (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - THE MELANCHOLY OF RESISTANCE

    Kobuk Farshore (Alaska, USA) - ECHO QUIETUS SERENATA

    Pixie Rain (Cambridge & London, UK) - FWD: EVOLUTION

    Pyewacket Bellman (New York, USA) - SEEK WISDOM 


    OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP  SPECIAL DIRECTORS AWARDS 2012 (L$3,333)

    IONO ALLEN
     "In recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for digital cinema"

    SOPHIA YATES  
    "For her distinguished creative and sensitive achievements as digital cinema director and producer"

    MACHINIMUWA V: SEEK WISDOM POSTER COMPETITION

    FIRST PLACE: violette Naidoo (L$12,000)
    For Poster of the Film: The Last Syllable Of Recorded Time

    "Je suis tres honoré d'avoir reçu ce prix pour mon poster et remercie tous les juges de UWA." violette Naidoo

    SECOND PLACE: RAG Randt (L$10,000)
    For Poster of the Film: RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

    "I love posters and poster design. In RL I design using illustrations since that is my primary profession however, this competition was an opportunity to try a more graphic design, photographic approach. It was refreshing and fun. I am happy with the results and thank the judges for backing me up!" RAG Randt

    THIRD PLACE: Huntress Catteneo (L$8,000)
    For Poster of The Film: SEEK WISDOM by Karima Hoisan  & Natascha Randt

    MachinimUWA V - Audience Participation Prize

    1st Prize (L$10,000): SAMARA KASSHIKI - 71 points

    Joint 2nd Prize (L$5,000): CHIC AEON - 68 points

    Joint 2nd Prize (L$5,000): CHARLES HERA - 68 points
    "Thank you again. Was a wonderful event to be a part of." Charles Hera

    For anyone interested in seeing the full text of the announcement by Jayjay Zifanwe, delivered from 6am slt on SUNDAY, 5th August 2012, it is reproduced as follows:

     Greetings everyone, and welcome to the University of Western Australia, or UWA as she is known and also welcome to the winners announcements for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge as well for MachinimUWA V: SEEK WISDOM. As is tradition at UWA, I would like to acknowledge that the University is situated on Nyoongar land and that the Nyoongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land and continue to uphold their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge.

    Today brings to an end the 3rd year of the major art challenges at UWA, with 90 artworks by 90 different artists in the running for the UWA 3D Centenary Art Challenge and 51 machinima for MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom. Both of these challenges have special awards provided by the West Australian and UWA based members of the judging panel for the works and creations that best captures the essence or spirit of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA

     Its been an absolute pleasure for me to work with all of you over the course of these challenges, and especially to those who went above an beyond the call of duty to make all of this a success.  Thank you FreeWee Ling, curator of art @ UWA, who in 2012 was made Honorary Fellow at UWA in RL. Thank you LaPiscean Liberty co-host for MachinimUWA V, unsung hero of Second Life in the realm of machinima.  Also much thanks to those who have provided support and sponsorship which sees the overall prize pool standing at more than L$1,400,000 across both art and machinima. Soecial mention needs to be made of everyone who have been such strong supporters.

     Thank you OPEN THIS END (led by Cristina García-Lasuén: RL) / Aino Baar: SL), Project48 (Tom Papas), Freemason Magic, The Tornado Gallery (Taralyn Gravois), Jon Stubbs of Student Services at UWA, The S&S Gallery of Fine Art (TheDove Rhode) and the Phi Designs Group (Ginger Alsop).

     Also, Professor Ted Snell, Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts and the Director of UWA's Cultural Precinct and Professor Alan Robson, UWA's illustrious former Vice-Chancellor who retired  on the 31st of December last year, without whose support, none of us will be standing here today.

     We will start today with the winners announcements for MachinimUWA V, followed by the announcements for the UWA 3D Centenary Art Challenge. However, before I do or say anything else, we have some fireworks to kick off the Grand Finale, and I would like to introduce to you to the Greetings everyone, and welcome to the University of Western Australia, or UWA as she is known and also welcome to the winners announcements for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge as well for MachinimUWA V: SEEK WISDOM. As is tradition at UWA, I would like to acknowledge that the University is situated on Nyoongar land and that the Nyoongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land and continue to uphold their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge.

    Today brings to an end the 3rd year of the major art challenges at UWA, with 90 artworks by 90 different artists in the running for the UWA 3D Centenary Art Challenge and 51 machinima for MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom. Both of these challenges have special awards provided by the West Australian and UWA based members of the judging panel for the works and creations that best captures the essence or spirit of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA

     Its been an absolute pleasure for me to work with all of you over the course of these challenges, and especially to those who went above an beyond the call of duty to make all of this a success.  Thank you FreeWee Ling, curator of art @ UWA, who in 2012 was made Honorary Fellow at UWA in RL. Thank you LaPiscean Liberty co-host for MachinimUWA V, unsung hero of Second Life in the realm of machinima.  Also much thanks to those who have provided support and sponsorship which sees the overall prize pool standing at more than L$1,400,000 across both art and machinima. Soecial mention needs to be made of everyone who have been such strong supporters.

     Thank you OPEN THIS END (led by Cristina García-Lasuén: RL) / Aino Baar: SL), Project48 (Tom Papas), Freemason Magic, The Tornado Gallery (Taralyn Gravois), Jon Stubbs of Student Services at UWA, The S&S Gallery of Fine Art (TheDove Rhode) and the Phi Designs Group (Ginger Alsop).

     Also, Professor Ted Snell, Chair of the Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts and the Director of UWA's Cultural Precinct and Professor Alan Robson, UWA's illustrious former Vice-Chancellor who retired  on the 31st of December last year, without whose support, none of us will be standing here today.

     We will start today with the winners announcements for MachinimUWA V, followed by the announcements for the UWA 3D Centenary Art Challenge. However, before I do or say anything else, we have some fireworks to kick off the Grand Finale, and I would like to introduce to you to the ChangHigh Trinity Sisters (Melvin Starbrook, Yman Juran & Jennylynn Capalini) and their Fireshow. Over to you!

    (ChangHigh Trinity Sisters Perform)

    I want to thank all of you for being here today, bringing the world together. The UWA Art, Architectural & Machinima Challenges, the Teaching & Research have seen people from all corners of the globe involved with students, artists, builders and machinimatographers hailing from the Philippines, Greece, India,  Colombia, Poland, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, Taiwan, Hungary, Latvia, Russia, Venezuela,  Belgium, Mexico, Wales, Canada, the USA, the UK, Uruguay, Scotland, England, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, France, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Denmark,  Holland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Austria, Cuba, Serbia, Tunisia, Germany, Japan, New Zealand,  Australia and parts unknown. More than 40 nations with 6 of the 7 continents of the world represented.

    Before announcing the winners, I do want mention a few other exciting things that have happened with the UWA presence in Second Life. Just last week we had a PhD student commence at UWA, whose PhD project is titled ‘Virtual Worlds: Collaboration & Communication in an Educational Setting’. There have been a number of refereed journal and refereed conference publications and book chapters referencing UWA and linkages to artists and machinimatographers. An image taken by Harter Fall has made it into an RL calendar which has been released for 2013 at UWA, and I was lucky enough to go to Barcelona in RL to present joint presentations with Professor Sarah Highley of the University of Rochester (USA) and Merle Hearns of the Manukau Institute of Technology (New Zealand). I will also be presenting SL to members of the public for the UWA Open Day on the 12th of August and travel to Bunbury the following week for the ‘Super Science Festival’ where I will speak again on SL. So the exciting times will continue… and after today ends, the monthly Artists  Challenge run by FreeWee Ling will continue!

    OK…. We move to the awards. Today brings to an end the amazing journey of MachinimUWA V: SEEK WISDOM. Will this be the final day of the rein of double defending champion, Tutsy Navarathna? We shall see. The prize pool for machinima overall is sitting at L$838,333 and includes the UWA Machinima Poster Contest which saw some sterling work by Ginette Pinnazo in pulling things together with LaPiscean Liberty’s guiding hand for AviewTV. I would like to acknowledge the judging panel for this, ByrneDarkly Cazalet, LaPiscean Liberty, Mary Wickentower, Ginette Pinazzo
    & Taralyn Gravois.

    So, I’ll start with the movie posters, with a few words by Ginette.

    This was a new aspect to MachinimUWA, as ...... Artists of all media....painters, illustrators, photographers.....
    were invited to participate in a special companion event .....The UWA Movie Poster Contest....

    Here artists could choose to create a movie poster based on any of the films in MachinimUWA V......
    In some cases, the film creators did posters for their own films.....
    In other cases, artists chose films they enjoyed and created posters for them

    There were more than 50 entries (you can see them linked here http://aviewtv.com/uwa/machv/posters/index.html) and choosing the top three was quite a challenge. They are also on display on AviewTv land in SL and will form the beginning of a new ‘Art of The Movie Poster’ area on the land as well.
    According to Ginette,
    the judges looked at aesthetics as a standalone work of art, effectiveness  or how well the poster created desire to actually see the film and relevance or how well the poster represented the film.

    This is a beautiful extension, as initially there was a merging of the 3D artists and machinimatographer communities through some of the challenges, and now this  bring in the illustrators, 2D artists and graphic designers too!

    OK…. The first award of the night…. 3rd Prize (L$8,000) for the UWA Machinima Poster Contest goes to:

    Huntress Catteneo
    For Poster of The Film: SEEK WISDOM by Karima Hoisan  & Natascha Randt


    now, 2nd Prize (L$10,000) for the UWA Machinima Poster Contest goes to:

    SECOND PLACE: RAG Randt
    For Poster of the Film: RUNNING WITH SCISSORS


    and the winner of the UWA Machinima Poster Contest (L$12,000) is:

    violette Naidoo
    For Poster of the Film: The Last Syllable Of Recorded Time


    Next I want to thank the main MachinimUWA V  judging panel for their sterling work in looking through the incredible array of 51 entries.

    As anyone who tried to do the audience events can attest, judging the machinima challenge is extremely difficult, and the panel members put in a great amount of work. This was an incredible 27 member panel made up of people from all around the world involved in a diverse array of related areas.

    Professor Ted Snell - Director, Cultural Precinct, The University of Western Australia
    Dr Sue Boyd - Member of Senate, UWA, Chair, UWA Centenary Planning Committee (Former Australian High-Commissioner & Consul General)
    Jon Stubbs - Director of Student Services, UWA
    Jonathon Zahra – Activities Officer, centenary Planning, Guild Services, UWA
    Professor Jenna Mead - Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) Coordinator and Art Historian, UWA
    Matthew McKenzie – Student Guild President, UWA
    Virginia Rowland (RL) - Senior Policy Officer, Centenary Planning, UWA
    Adia Yu (RL) - Quantum Enginered Systems Centre of Excellence Coordinator, UWA
    FreeWee Ling (SL) - Curator, UWA 3D Open Art Challenge
    LaPiscean Liberty (SL) - CEO AviewTV and UWA Virtual World Technical Media Advisor
    Pooky Amsterdam (SL) - CEO PookyMedia, Representative of OPEN THIS END, Film Maker, Writer, Machinima-Expo 2012 Producer
    Wagner James Au (RL) / Hamlet Au (SL) - Editor in Chief of New World Notes
    Cisko Vandeverre (SL) - Inaugural UWA Machinima Champion
    Apmel Goosson - Scandinavian Author/Publisher
    Nazz Lane (SL) - Journalist and Author
    Appolo Manga – Journalist (The Examiner)
    Bryn Oh (SL) - Professional Artist & Machinimatographer
    Dr. Phylis Johnson (RL) - Media Professor, Southern Illinois University, Author - Machinima: Aesthetics and Practice (a.k.a, Sonicity Fitzroy, SL Virtual Journalist)
    Mal Burns (SL), Metaverse News Aggregator and Broadcaster
    Thirza Ember (SL) - Art Blog Writer
    Persia Bravin (SL) - Journalist, media producer and TV host.
    Dousa Dragonash (SL) - COO Metaverse Television
    Freemason Magic (SL) - Grand Patron Gan Logia Cibernetica 3D Vitual Lodge for Cyberfreemason Avatars
    Tom Papas (RL) - Project48 Film Festival Director & Co-Producer
    Ginette Pinnazo (SL)-  Dir of Development, AviewTV / Dir of Projects, Zindra Expo Group / Manager, Womens Resource Ctr in SL
    K. DaVette See (Suzy Yue - SL) - Creative Director, Running Lady Studios and Theatrical/Film director.
    Quan Lavender (Dortmund Germany) - Journalist & Blogger
    Jay Jay Jegathesan (RL) / Jayjay Zifanwe (SL) - Manager School of Physics/ Lead of UWA Virtual Worlds

    Now for the Audience Participation Prize, which has a prize pool of L$20,000, in which anyone in the world who was not on the official judging panel was invited to provide what they thought the top 10 would be as decided by the actual panel. This was no mean task, as the viewer had to watch all 51 machinima and then rank them, and if you ask them they will be able to tell you the enormity of the task. Aside from the Lindens, the winners will receive in the mail a special RL pack that includes a copy of the 2013 UWA Friends of the Grounds calendar that includes Harter Fall’s photo of Winthrop Clock Tower taken in Second Life. The first prize winner will also be invited to be on the official judging panel for MachinimUWA VI.

    There was a maximum of 100 points that any viewer could get, and this is if they were spot on with every single selection and matched the exact order as well. For example, if you listed a machinima in 1st place, and it actually won first, you would receive 10 points (there is a difference of ZERO between your selection and the actual). If you listed a Machinima as 1st, and it got 10th, then you would get one point (difference of 9 between your selection and actual). Now the average score achieved by entrants for this was 37 out of 100, with 71 being the top score, and 5 being the lowest score. 2 of the entries incredibly had 9 of the eventual top 10 in their lists, and 2 entries only had 1 of the actual top 10.

    Anyway, we had a great response, and finishing in  the Audience Participation event for MachinimUWA V is a name we are very familiar with at UWA challenges:

    NOBODY

    Yes…. We have a 2 way tie for 2nd place. So, the 2nd Prize Winner for the Audience Participation Prize both had 68 points. 8 and 9 of their selections respectively were in the top 10, but their points turned out the same due to the greater accuracy of the entry that had 8. And so, the joint winner of the L$5,000 2nd Prize for the Audience Participation Event is:

    CHIC AEON

    And… the joint winner of the L$5,000 2nd Prize for the Audience Participation Event is:

    CHARLES HERA

    And now to the winner on 71 points, correctly picking 9 out of the actual top 10. And so the winner of the L$10,000 First prize for the Audience Participation Event is:

    SAMARA KASSHIKI

    Congrats Samara. Well, Samara will now be invited onto the official panel for MachinimUWA VI. This will be left to Samara, or she could like previous winners Lala Larix and Lilia Artis choose to either take part in the next events or to submit once more as an audience member. Incidently all the top 3 had a higher score than the winner of the audience event for MachinimUWA IV, which was 66 points…. So the accuracy is getting better.

    Next we have the winners of the OPEN THIS END Awards of Excellence. These winners were selected by a separate judging panel led by OTE founder Aino Baar (Christina Garcia-Lasuen).

    All winners of the Open This End Awards of Excellence win L$3,333 each, and we have a number of categories here. The name listing will be in alphabetical order within each category.

    And so, the winners of the OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN FILM 2012 are:

    Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA) - STILL WATCHING

    Karima Hoisan (Costa Rica) & Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany) - SEEK WISDOM

    pallina60 Loon (Rome, Italy) - COLOURS


    Spiral Silverstar (New Orleans, LA, USA) - SEEKING WISDOM IN THE STARS


    The next category is for film direction, and so, the winners of the OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE IN FILM DIRECTION 2012 are:

    Arrow Inglewood (Toronto, Canada) - ?


    Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA) - IN DREAMS

    Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA) - THE FOUR GODS OF FOLLY

    Tutsy Navarathna (France, Pondicherry, India) - THE LAST SYLLABLE OF RECORDED TIME

    Now to the category for innovation in film, and so the OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR INNOVATION IN FILM 2012 are:

    Benicia Beck (Ashland, Oregon) - HIGH VOLUME

    L1aura Loire/ Dr Lori Landay's (Berklee College of Music, USA) - PATHS TO WISDOM

    Laslopantomik Yao (Barcelona, Spain) & Ultraviolet Alter (France) - THOUGHT ON SELF RELIANCE

    Mimesis Monday (Oslo, Norway) - DIALOGGING


    The last major category is for film narrative, and so, the OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP AWARD OF EXCELLENCE FOR FILM NARRATIVE  2012 are:

    Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA) - RUNNING WITH SCISSORS

    Ed Vespucciano (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) - THE MELANCHOLY OF RESISTANCE


    Kobuk Farshore (Alaska, USA) - ECHO QUIETUS SERENATA 

    Pixie Rain (Cambridge & London, UK) - FWD: EVOLUTION

    Pyewacket Bellman (New York, USA) - SEEK WISDOM 


    Now there are 2 special director awards as well, and these awards are L$3,333 each also, and so

    In recognition of his writing, directing and production of an extraordinary body of work for digital cinema

    the OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP  SPECIAL DIRECTORS AWARD 2012 goes to:

    IONO ALLEN

    AND

    For her distinguished, creative and sensitive achievements as digital cinema director and producer,

    the OPEN THIS END CINEMAPOP  SPECIAL DIRECTORS AWARD 2012 also goes to:

    SOPHIA YATES  

    Now on to the winners of the competition proper. When the winners are announced, it will be done in 1 minute intervals. We do invite everyone to comment and congratulate the winners and for the winners to respond before the next announcement (and if they could please use the SHOUT function). Hopefully we can get pictures of you attending the event. Anyone taking good pictures of today, please email them to me at jayjayaustralia@hotmail.com

    Now to explain  how the judging was done. Each judge listed their top 10 in order of preference. 8 points was allocated for a 1st place vote, 6 points for a 2nd place vote, 4 points for 3rd, 3 for 4th, 2 for 5th, and 1 point each for 6th – 10th. Straight aggregates were then used so that no single judge had more influence than any other.

    The judging was extremely diverse with 44 of the 51 works receiving at least 1 top 10 vote. Even the winning machinima featured in the top 10 of but 20 of the 27 judges lists, with the 2nd place machinima featuring in 16 of the 27. This really drives home the point that the choices are truly diverse, and its important to have a large, diverse panel.  The maximum score possible is 216 (8 points for 1st place x 27), the winner for MachinimUWA V, finished with 71.

     The countdown starts with 10th Prize for MachinimUWA V: SEEK WISDOM.

    Once again here we find, our good friend taking this home:

    NOBODY

    Yes we have a tie for 9th place.

    And so, the winner of the JOINT 9th Prize (L$30,000) on 29 Points is:

    INVOCATION by Yesikita Coppola (Rotterdam, Netherlands)


    a mesmerizing interpretation inspired by Goethe’s Faust!

    Next the winner of the JOINT 9th Prize (L$30,000) also on 29 Points is:

    SEEK WISDOM by Pyewacket Bellman (New York, USA)


    a captivating journey that shows us what to do when the path isn’t clear!

    Now the winner of the 8th PRIZE, also winning L$30,000, on 32 points is:

    PENGUINS DIALOGUE ON WISDOM by Soda Lemondrop (Monterey, California, USA)


    by far the funniest of the 51 submissions, giving us wisdom with a slice of blueberry pie. It had THREE 2nd place votes and TWO 3rd place votes

    Next, the winner of the 7thPrize (L$30,000) on 35 points is:

    RUNNING WITH SCISSORS by Chic Aeon (Corvallis, Oregon, USA)


    very popular. Appearing on 13 of the top 10 lists and pulling in TWO 1st place votes

    OK… now on to 6th…

    NOBODY..

    5th…

    NOBODY

    4th…

    NOBODY…

    This has never happened before. How do the remaining 6 films fit into the top three?

    OK… lets see how things played out. It just goes to show how important every last placing has been by each one of the 27 on the judging panel. If even one of the 5th and 6th places in the top 10’s of any judges were shifted, the following results would have changed.

    In 3rd place, on 50 points, winning L$63,750 is a machinima that was on 12 of the top 10 lists, but had the most 1st place votes of any film, with 4 in total, and so 3rd prize goes to:

    >RUN RAM by Tikaf Viper (Rome, Italy)


    a true celebration of the human spirit, and how it can conquer the most difficult of situations.

    The next machinima, was on 16 of the 27 top 10 lists, and had 2 1st place votes, 2 2nd place votes and 2 3rd place votes. This machinima finished also on 50 points, and so winning L$63,750, the joint 3rd prize winner is:

    THE FOUR GODS OF FOLLY by Hypatia Pickens (Rochester, New York, USA)


    This machinima shows how a mother helps her child navigate her way through 4 great dangers, and beautifully shows off Hans Arkeveld’s, ‘Celestian’

     The next winner featured on 15 of the 27 top 10 lists, had THREE 1st place votes, ONE 2nd, ONE 3rd, ONE 4th and FOUR 5th place votes, with a total of 50 points again taking home L$63,750, the joint 3rd prize winner is:

    ? by Arrow Inglewood (Toronto, Canada)


    a whimsical wonder with the perfect soundtrack!

    A THREE way tie for 3rd place .. is this a record I wonder.

    The next winner featured on 15 of the 27 lists, had TWO 1st place votes, ONE 2nd, THREE 3rd and THREE 4th place votes, and also finishing on 50 points (L$63,750), a hardly believable, quadruple 3rd prize winner

    COLOURS by pallina60 Loon (Rome, Italy)


    OK… before we go to the 1st and 2nd prizes, the time has come to announce the winner of the L$100,000 UWA Special Prize. This prize was awarded by UWA members of the committee and represents the film that best captures the essence or spirit of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA. As the years 2011 – 2013 are centenary years for UWA. 2012 being 100 years since the first staff were hired.

    And so, the winner of the UWA Special Prize is:

    SEEK WISDOM by Soda Lemondrop (Monterey, California, USA)


    A film that showed how seeking wisdom led to a Nobel Prize for Professor Barry Marshall!

    Soda will have to share however, as committee UWA, couldn’t separate this from one more… and so each will take home L$50,000

    And so, the winner of the UWA Special Prize also is:

    SEEK WISDOM by Pyewacket Bellman (New York, USA)


    winning 3 awards now overall, and showing off the Treasures of UWA so beautifully.

    Now to 2nd Prize. This machinima featured in 16 of the 27 top 10 lists. This machinima had TWO 1st place votes, THREE 2nd place votes, ONE 3rd, TWO 4th and TWO 5th place votes, finishing with 54 points. And so, winning the L$120,000 2nd Prize is:

    SEEK WISDOM by Karima Hoisan (Costa Rica) & Natascha Randt (Gelsenkirchen, Germany)


    Bridging the Americas and Europe, this machinima took one on a black and white journey to find wisdom.. asking ‘why’ at every turn. In the words of the Celestial Elf, this film had superb production, music, poem, narration, filming and editing!

    And then there was ONE. Quite a remarkable statistic. The films that finished 2nd – 7th, each had at least TWO 1st place votes… HOWEVER the overall winner, had only ONE 1st place vote. It did however have SEVEN 2nd place votes along with TWO 3rd place votes and featured on 20 of the 27 top 10 lists, taking it to a blowout 71 points. Ladies & gentlemen, taking home L$140,000 is

    THE LAST SYLLABLE OF RECORDED TIME by Tutsy Navarathna (Pondicherry, India)


    And Tutsy Navarathna, the double defending champion goes back to back to back. A THREE-PEAT, the Micheal Phelps of Machinima! Who will step up and dethrone him in MachinimUWA VI?

    We will play the winners machinima at the end of the announcement of winners for the 3D Artworks.

    OK… now for the art. Before I continue, I must remind everyone to check the notices for the UWA Artists Choice Challenge helmed by FreeWee Ling.Save this link for info on it

    The closing date has been extended. In her words, “Because of the attention given to the Centenary and Machinima challenges and today's awards, the ongoing series of Artists' Choice theme shows has not been getting the attention it deserves. Be assured that we're starting up again this month and we are already getting entries. But because of the Centenary events we've decided to extend the deadline until next Sunday at Noon SLT. The theme for this show is "AIR", so take a deep breath and get to work!  As an added incentive, an exhibition catalogue of each of the shows is being published in the online UWA Studies in Virtual Arts (SiVA) journal.  Complete details can be gotten from the web at: http://tinyurl.com/uwa-choice or you can IM FreeWee Ling.”

    Also in May of this year, thanks again to FreeWee, the inside of Winthrop Hall, probably the greatest of the UWA Treasures came to life. In RL, I graduated in Winthrop Hall, as did many thousands throughout UWA's 100 year history. What she did brought to  full circle the efforts to recreate Winthrop Hall in Second life. The facade, Atrium with Mosaic Marble Floor, Rose Window & Reflecting Pond were created by Dr Chris Thorne, David Gaze, Wong Tzu Yen & quadrapop Lane  in 2009, and in May 2012, thanks to FreeWee Ling, the full creation was realized!

    http://www.uwainsl.blogspot.com.au/2012/05/uwas-treasure-chest-winthrop-hall-comes.html

    Also some events happening right after this. Cajska Carlsson, will be launching the August round of the LEA FULL SIM ART SERIES from 3pm SLT, Monday 6th August, with UAXUCTUM. Please do attend if you can.

    Cajska has a special place in the heart of UWA, for in another second lifetime…, Cajska was the very first winner of an art challenge at UWA.

    http://www.uwainsl.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/lea-full-sim-art-series-aug-cajska.html

    At this point, I want to acknowledge the 23 strong judging panel for the UWA 3D Centenary Art Challenge:

    Dr Sally Quin - Curator, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, UWA Museums, UWA
    Lyn DiCiero -  Editor, WA Artist's Chronicle
    Dr Sue Boyd - Member of Senate, UWA, Chair, UWA Centenary Planning Committee (Former Australian High-Commissioner & Consul General)
    Adia Yu - Quantum Enginered Systems Centre of Excellence Coordinator, UWA
    FreeWee Ling (SL) - Curator, UWA 3D Open Art Challenge
    Lumiere Noir (SL) - Creator of the Ivory Tower Library of Primitives
    Quan Lavender (Dortmund Germany) - Journalist & Blogger
    Apmel Goosson (Sweden) - Journalist, Blogger, Author & Publisher
    Nazz Lane (SL) - Journalist and Author
    Apollo Manga (SL) - examiner.com Writer & Novelist
    Dr. Phylis Johnson - Media Professor, Southern Illinois University, Author - Machinima: Aesthetics and Practice (a.k.a, Sonicity Fitzroy, SL Virtual Journalist)
    Chestnut Rau (SL) - Journalist
    Dousa Dragonash (SL) - COO Metaverse Television
    Rowan Derryth (SL) - Art & Design Historian; Writer for Prim Perfect Publications
    Catalina McCaw (SL) - Representative of Open This End (Major Sponsor)
    Len Zuks - Award Winning West Australian Sculpturist 
    Merle Hearns / Briarmelle Quintessa (SL) - Senior Lecturer, Foundation Studies Department, Manukau Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
    Persia Bravin (SL) -   Journalist and Media Producer (SL newspapers, magazines, radio and television)
    Dr Carmen Fies (Texas, USA) - Second Life Lead: University of Texas San Antonio & UTSA Artspace
    Carolyn Steele -  Lecturer, Culture & Expression, York University 
    Frolic Mills (Caracas, Venezuela) - Founder & CEO of BOSL & CO (Best of Second Life)
    Thinkerer Melville – Journalist & Blogger (Virtual Outworlding)
    Jay  Jay Jegathesan / Jayjay Zifanwe (SL) - Manager School of Physics/ Lead of UWA Virtual Worlds

    First we start with the Audience Participation Event for the 3D Art, which has a Prize pool of L$20,000, awarded to the 3 whose top 10 lists most closely matched with the actual juried result. As with the Machinima Audience event, there was a maximum of 100 points that any voter could get, and this is if they were spot on with every single selection and matched the exact order as well. For example, if you listed an artwork in 1st place, and it actually won first, you would receive 10 points (there is a difference of ZERO between your selection and the actual). If you listed an artwork as 1st, and it got 10th, then you would get one point (difference of 9 between your selection and actual). It was a lot harder than the Machinima to get 'high' marks on this one, and unlike the Machinima where the TOP 3 scored in the 60's and 70's, here the top score was 46, two scores in the 30’s and everything else lower than that (average score 21). What this actually means ... and this is a great thing... is that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, and a great range of artwork were loved by many.

    Anyway, finishing in 3rd on 31 points with 5 on their list being in the actual top 10, and winning  L$4,000 + an RL UWA pack is:

    SECRET RAGE

    Next in 2nd, with 38 points also having 5 on their list being in the top 10 and winning L$6,000 + an RL pack is:

    LILIA ARTIS

    Now Lilia was the overall winner of the Audience Participation prize for the previous art Grand challenge, and had the right to decide whether to submit as a member of the jury or once again as an audience member and chose the latter. Just goes to show…. Some people are really good at this!

    Now to the winner of the of the Audience participation prize, L$10,000 + an RL pack. The winner finished on 46 points, correctly picking 6 of the actual top 10. And the winner is:

    DUDI

    Congrats girl! You can choose to be on the next official judging panel!

    And now we come to the crunch. The overall juried Grand Prizes for the UWA 3D Centenary 3D Art Challenge. The results are extremely interesting, and again each judge listed their top 10 in order with 8 points for 1st, 6 points for 2nd, 4 points for 3rd, 3 points for 4th, 2 points for 5th and 1 point for 6th - 10th place votes. The winners are taken as a straight aggregate compiling the individual rankings of each member of the judging panel. No one individual had any greater influence than any other.

    68 of the 90 artworks featured in at least ONE of the top 10 lists of the 23 strong judging panel. So the spread in terms of what was thought to be good was very large. Even the winner of the non-scripted and overall, featured only in 16 and 15 of the top 10 lists respectively. So there was great individual variability across the judges, however, when put together, I am staggered by how clearly the results come across.

    First the Non-Scripted. The pieces finishing 6th - 10th each receive L$3,000. Only one of the following works did not receive at least ONE first place vote.

    In Joint 10th place (@ L$3,000) for the Non-Scripted category on 29 points:

    BIPOLAR  by  Chuckmatrix Clip and
    SUSA 2 NOT ALLOWED AT TWO FISH by Rose Borchovski

    In 9th place(L$3,000)  for the Non-Scripted on 31 points:

    THE GOLDEN APPLE by Secret Rage

    In 8th place (L$3,000)  for the Non-Scripted on 33 points:

    SAILING TO THE MOON by  London Junkers

     In 7th place (L$3,000)  for the Non-Scripted on 35 points:

    ZOEA LARVA by  Yooma Mayo

    So very close between 7th – 10th with 6 points separating them…. and a further one point separating 7th and the next prize, which is Joint-5th on 36 points, meaning no 6th place, and Joint-5th will share in L$3,500 and this goes to, with THREE 1st place votes and being on 9 of the top 10 lists :

    SVETOID by  Mad Varnish

    Together with probably the most decorated artist across the years of the UWA challenges, receiving TWO 1st place votes, one 2nd and being on 11 of the top 10 lists

    THE GOATFRUIT TREE by Soror Nishi

    We do have a significant gap to 4th place, leaping up to 47 points. Being on 13 of the 23 top 10 lists, and having THEEE 1st place votes and TWO 3rd place votes, winning L$6,000, the master of the abstract:

    PRIMITIVE MEMORY REVERSAL EXTRACTOR by  Scarp Godenot

    And we do have another significant gap to the top-3 being the only ones to finish with more than 60 points!

    So, in 3rd place for the Non-Scripted Category, with 60 points, receiving TWO 1st place votes, FOUR 2nd place votes, TWO 3rd and TWO 4th place votes, and being on 14 of the 23 top-10 lists, and winning L$15,000:

    TERACOTTA ARMY by Pravda Core 

    Was a mighty battle for the top 3 coming down to the final judge scorecard.

    In 2nd place for the Non-Scripted Category, on 62 points, receiving TWO 1st place votes, FOUR 2nd and FOUR 3rd place votes, being on 17 of the 23 top-10 lists, winning L$20,000:

    100th YEAR OF RAINING PAGES by Haveit Neox

    Now for the winner of the Non-Scripted category for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge 2012, on 65 points, receiving TWO 1st place votes, FOUR 2nd place votes, THREE 3rd place votes, TWO 4th place votes and being on 18 of the 23 top-10 lists, taking home the top prize of L$35,000 is the person who gives soror Nishi a good fight for being the most decorated artist at UWA:

    TERRA-MATER by Cherry Manga

    Now we come to the final stretch. The OVERALL winners of the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge 2012. 68 of the 90 artworks receiving votes, even the artwork finishing in 23rd place overall, receiving one of the 1st place votes. Really huge spread. Some amazing artworks are missing from the top 10, and this was solely due to the quality of the field. Aside from the winner that was listed on 16 of the 23 judges top 10 lists, even 2nd and 3rd featured on 10 of the 23 judges top 10 lists respectively. Again pointing how diverse art is, and how diverse individual preference is as well!

    In 2011, for the UWA 3D Open Art Challenge, we had a 5-way tie for 10th place. This a record I am happy to say we are not going to break in 2012. However, we do not have a 9th or 10th place, as we DO have a 4-Way tie for 8th. As so, on 19 points apiece, taking home the overall joint 8th prize of L$11,250 for the UWA 3D Centenary Art Challenge are:

    HEARTWOOD by Fae Varriale
    MOTHER by  Rebeca Bashly
    LE VIOLONCELLE DE BETON (CONCRETE CELLO) by Artee’ Artistide Despres
    THE CARAVANSERAI OF FRACTURED FAIRYTALES by Eliza Wierwight

    All these works receive the special RL UWA pack as well.

    Seperated by 5 points on 24 points overall is the work in 7th place, winning L$15,000

    LOOKING INSIDE MYSELF by Nexuno Thespian

     A further 6 points up, we have on 30 points, the work in 6th, also taking home L$15,000

    ARIADNE SPINNING THE UNIVERSE by Fuschia Nightfire

    There is some contention as to what happened to the works in 4th & 5th, so instead lets move to the UWA CURATOR’S CHOICE AWARD which will take home L$20,000.

    In FreeWee’s words, again:

     “I have said it often and I will repeat it again: There is a difference between seeing art and living with it. It has been my privilege to live with these 90 pieces by 91 artists for the last few months. I am fortunate to be able to spend quality time with this work and to grow in my appreciation for each and every one. I encourage you all to take the time to really look at art. The rewards of understanding this work deeply are priceless.

    One of the advantages to being a curator in a show that is open to anyone is that I don't really have to make judgments about whether a piece is "worthy". But anyone who knows me knows that I have strong opinions about really good work. (My opinions about things I think are not so good are not so strong, which I think is a healthy attitude.)

    When I first saw the work of this artist last year, I wasn't sure what to think. The first couple of submissions were not that interesting to me, but I definitely saw something different in them. And different carries a lot of weight with me, so I've been following this artist’s development as an artist in this milieu. I see in the work a true artist's hand and a curious mind that has led the artist to make some astonishing things in both small and large scale. The final entry for the Centenary Challenge was not the artist’s first choice. We had some script issues with the original entry. After some back and forth struggles to make it work, the artist finally abandoned that idea and gave me this piece instead, which I think is much more compelling in many ways and is one of my favorites in this show.

    It's my pleasure to award the Curator's Choice Prize to:

    LOOKING INSIDE MYSELF by Nexuno Thespian

     We are close to the end… but the next prizes to be awarded are the UWA Centenary Special Prizes. The theme was completely open of course for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge for the overall prizes. However 2 special prizes were reserved for works  which best reflected the spirit of the UWA Centenary, as selected by the West Australian based members of the judging panel. A Centenary Honourable mention, and the Centenary Special Prize.

    The panel members awarded the UWA Centenary Honourable Mention Prize (L$20,000) to a work which seemed to show what a university is in essence. It is nothing but an empty space without people… and as people, students and teachers come together it creates a ripe atmosphere for thing to happen.. for growth, for beauty, for complexity, for development, as such, the winner of the UWA Centenary Honourable Mention Prize is:

    KEEP OFF THE GRASS by Takni  Miklos

    The panel members awarded the UWA Centenary Special Prize (L$60,000) to a work capable of capturing the thoughts and opinions of the universe. A work that could grow, one that could change, and one that was different when experienced along a different pathway, a work that managed to capture the essence of 100 years of seeking wisdom at UWA, that captured the spirit of the centenary. The winner of the UWA Centenary Special Prize is:

    CATHEDRAL OF THOUGHTS by Pale Illusion

    Before we took the detour through the Centenary Prize and the Curators prize, I said there was some contention as to 4th and 5th places. It is contentions, because the way things panned out…. 4th and 5th places, do not exist.

    Recapping so far, 8th place finished with 19 points, 7th with 24, 6th with 30 points. There was quite a gap to our next prize, which is 3rd Place.

    The 3rd place winner finished on 40 points. It featured on 10 of the 23 judges top 10 lists, had THREE 1st place votes, ONE 2nd, ONE 3rd and ONE 5th place vote. The winner of the 3rd Prize (L$35,000) in the overall category for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge is:

    REFLECTIONS IN DIVERSITY by Glyph Graves

    A work or remarkable complexity, spanning both SL & RL and the languages of the world.

    The next winner, also finished on 40 points, and so we see, 3rd place is shared. This work featured on 11 of the 23 judges top 10 lists. It had TWO 1st place votes, TWO 2nd place votes, ONE 3rd place vote and TWO 5th place votes. And so, the winner of the 3rd Prize (L$35,000) in the overall category for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge ALSO is:

    CERULEAN by Bryn Oh

     Bryn Oh & Glyph Graves… true titans of SL art cannot be separated it seems!

    The next winner, on 40 points, the last of the joint awards for the night featured on the top 10 in 7 of the 23 judges lists, but had THREE 1st place votes, TWO 2nd’s and ONE 3rd place vote. And so, the final joint winner of the 3rd Prize (L$35,000) in the overall category for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge is:

    CATHEDRAL OF THOUGHTS by Pale Illusion

     Also winning the UWA Centenary Special Prize makes that L$95,000 overall.

    The penultimate award on this night, is the 2nd Prize of L$75,000. The work that won this prize finished on 44 points. A truly remarkable piece showing off the best of 2nd life. It featured on 10 of the 23 judges top 10 lists, had ONE 1st place vote, THREE 2nd’s, TWO 3rd’s and  THREE 4th place votes. This piece is unique in more than one way! And so, the winner of the 2nd Prize (L$75,000) in the overall category for the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge is:

    TO BE THE WIND by Tyrehl Byk & Ultraviolet Alter

    The only joint entry of the  art challenge bringing together Chicago (USA) and Toulouse (France)! Each will receive L$37,500.

    AND THEN THERE WAS ONE!

    The next announcement will see the end of the reign of Misprint Thursday as Overall Grand Champion of the UWA 3D Art Challenges, who took on the mantle from Nish Mip, the inaugural champion.

    The final award for the night, is the Grand Champion of the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge, who will take home L$100,000. This is  a piece that makes one think about the nature if the universe! There was a clear gap between this and 2nd place with 15 points separating the two. Finishing with 59 points and featuring on the top 10 lists of 16 of the 23 judges, it garnered FOUR 1st place votes, ONE 2nd, TWO 3rd’s, TWO 4th’s votes. Ladies and gentlemen, the Grand Champion of the UWA Centenary 3D Art Challenge is:

    L’HISTORIE DE PETIT-GRIS (The story of Petit-Gris) by Lollito Larkham

    The artwork that shows that life-forms from all reaches of the universe, gaze longingly at the stars and ponder the question…. ‘is there life out there?’

    Thank you artists of Second Life!

    Thank you FreeWee Ling (do check out the 3,000++ images on the gallery she has set up of all the artworks sent in across the year https://picasaweb.google.com/freeweel)

    Thank you LaPiscean Liberty. I hand the floor to you to end the Grand Finale by playing on screen now, the winner of MachinimUWA V: Seek Wisdom!

    Thank you one and all.