Underscoring growth in the animation field, the organizers of The Telly Awards and additional industry entities are launching The Collision Awards, a global program to honor excellence in animation and motion design in areas including film, TV, games and XR.
It will be run by the Telly Awards, and partners includes Animation Magazine, Animation World Network, Animation Nights New York, Motion Plus Design, SIGGRAPH ACM London, Skwigly, Stash, VIEW Conference and WeTransfer.
Randeep Katari has been named general manager of the Collision Awards. He most recently served as a creative manager at Netflix, overseeing animated film and series. Earlier, he worked for companies including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Nickelodeon and NBC/Universal.
Founding jurors include Ramsey Naito, president of Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation; Andrew Millstein, co-head of Annapurna Animation; Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab; Sarah Cox, executive creative director, Aardman; Marge Dean, head of Skybound and president of Women in Animation; Julie Lockhart, co-founder of Locksmith Animation; Melinda Dilger, global head of animation production, film/TV at Riot Games; Ronnie del Carmen, co-director/writer of Pixar’s Inside Out; Jinko Gotoh, producer, Finding Nemo; and Jorge Gutierrez, writer/director Maya and the Three.
Categories are grouped across six areas: marketing and communications, commercials, TV, film, experiential and games and XR. Within each, there will be categories for crafts — such as 2D, character animation and storyboarding — and varied audiences such as preschool.
A call for entries begins Monday (early bird deadline is March 8) and the winners of the first awards are set to be announced in July.
Said Katari in a statement: “Helping lead an organization that’s dedicated to celebrating animation, motion design and the community of creatives within it allows us to spotlight undiscovered stories and under-recognized talents all around the world. The Collision Awards is collaborating with leaders in the industry to set a standard of excellence and share how animation can inspire, connect and entertain on a truly global scale.