Any work that went online or on air in 2016 is eligible for entry to The Motion Awards. 

Motion design is definitely the focus. But motion design is a fairly hazy term.

As the offspring of animation, graphic design and filmmaking, motion design is an expansive, inclusive field. The Motion Awards hope to reflect that.

(For more on this topic, see the Deep Thoughts section below.)

Any surplus revenue generated by The Motion Awards will be directed back into Motionographer and the motion design community.

For 10 years, Motionographer has worked on a not-for-profit model, creating free content and resources to benefit the greater good. The Motion Awards will further Motionographer’s mission to educate, inspire and connect anyone interested in motion design, animation and innovative storytelling.

Please see our Contact page.

Winning a Motion Award makes you an indelible part of motion design history.

Other benefits of winning include:

• A beautiful, premium custom-crafted trophy
• Permanent placement in The Motion Awards public gallery
• Multiple mentions on Motionographer.com and its associated social media channels, reaching over 100k professionals in the motion design community
• Special access to future Motionographer events and projects, including the forthcoming Motionographer Pro community

Not this year. Next year, yes.

Any company or individual may enter The Motion Awards, provided they were the primary creators of the project being submitted.

For Student categories, you must have been a student at the time you created the project you are entering. All Student entries must have been created as part of coursework.

Yep.

Clients and agencies can enter work that was primarily produced internally.

No, two different companies (or individuals) cannot enter the same work in the same category.

In the case of duplicate entries, we will accept the entry that paid first.

• Solo Projects are directed, designed and animated primarily by a single person.
• All Solo Project entries must include a full credits listing of all persons involved in the project.
• Sound design, music and voiceover of an entry may be created by any number of people and will not count against an entry’s “Solo Project” status.
• Assistance with project management and other production-related duties is acceptable.
• If the project credits are found to be false or incomplete, the entry will be withdrawn without a refund.

Preferred video specifications:*

• Resolution: 1920×1080 or 1280×720
• Frame rate: 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30 or 60
• File format: MOV or MP4
• Codec: H.264
• Bit rate: 6,000 to 20,000 kbit/s

Preferred audio specifications:

• Codec: AAC (Advanced Audio Codec)
• Data rate: 192 to 320 kbit/s

* We can support other file formats, but note that we may need to transcode your file to ensure that all judges can view it across all devices.

For campaigns and series, please edit all videos into a single video file. 

Yes. You can enter the same project into as many categories as you wish. You will be charged the relevant entry fee for each additional category.

Please visit our Categories page for descriptions, examples and fees.

Yes. Send us a link to your project via awards@motionographer.com, and we will suggest appropriate categories for entry.

The Best New Talent or Best New Studio categories are nomination-based categories and cannot be entered directly. Only judges may nominate candidates for these two special categories.

Please see the Categories page for fees. Each category has its own set of fees.

You may pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express) during online checkout at the end of the submission process.

We do not accept checks or payment by invoice.

If you’re entering a Solo Project category and can’t afford the entry fee, please write to us at awards@motionographer.com explaining your circumstances.

All fees are listed in US dollars, but our payment system accepts worldwide transactions from major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express). Currency exchange rates are set by the credit card issuers and associated banks.

There are two rounds of judging: Shortlist and Finalist.

During the Shortlist round, judges give each entry a 1-10 rating. To advance to the Finalist round, entries must have an average score of 7.0 or higher and be among the top 10 scored entries in its category.

During the Finalist round, judges give each entry a 1-10 rating. The entry with the highest total score will win the category.

There will be no second-place winners and no runner-ups.

For the Best New Talent and Best New Studios categories, things work a little differently. Only judges may nominate candidates for these two categories. After the nomination period has closed, The Motion Awards staff will review entries to ensure eligibility.

To determine winners, the public will vote. The top 10 Best New Talent entries and top 3 Best New Studio entries will be crowned winners. (These categories do not include a trophy.)

Work must be:

1. Inspiring
2. Impeccably crafted
3. Relevant to the category in which it was entered and the context for which it was created

No. Judges must recuse themselves from voting on their own work.

Any judge who does not recuse themselves will be banned from The Motion Awards, and their votes will be withdrawn.

Winners will be announced online on April 26th, 2017.

We see motion design as the offspring of animation, graphic design and filmmaking.

Since Motionographer’s inception in 2006, we’ve exercised an expansive definition of motion design, feeling that it’s better to err on the side of inclusivity.

Having said that, each judge of The Motion Awards brings their own unique definition and perspective to the competition. That’s why they were chosen — to have a distinct viewpoint. Not all of the judges will agree on what constitutes a winning entry. That’s a good thing. It ensures diversity of opinion and allows for a more level playing field.

The terms “motion design” (or “motion graphics”) and “animation” are not mutually exclusive. A project can be described as both animation and motion design without damaging the integrity of either term.

Just as a hand-painted work of graphic design might also be a work of illustration or a VFX-laden film starring photoreal CG creatures might be construed as animation, motion design and animation can overlap to such a degree that distinctions between them become difficult.

This is good. We celebrate it, and we hope that The Motion Awards showcase a wide array of possibilities that have hitherto not had a dedicated spotlight.