AOS Productions, announced today the official launch of the Short Project, an experimental film production in which each of eight separate stages of the project will be created entirely via online competitions.

“I created the Short Project after seeing all the excellent art being created in the various online communities for one off contests,” said Greg Sullivan, Executive Producer for the project. “All this amazing work was being created with the only real reward being the creation of footage for ones reel.” As a result, Sullivan came up with the idea to use a series of contests with the ultimate goal of creating an entire animated short film.


Once the production is completed, the finished animated short will be entered into festivals where the participants and their work will be featured.

Participants in the Short Project whose entries are chosen for the final piece will receive prominent end credits and will also be featured at www.artofsullivan.com where they will be asked to discuss their contribution and display other work they’ve created. Those entrants whose work is used will also win a portion of a prize pool that has grown to well over $ 5,000.

AOS Productions has contributed $ 2,000 in cash and nearly $ 1,000 in training DVDs to the project. Other sponsors include Desktop Images, which has promised each participant whose work is chosen any DVD from their extensive library, and Stillwater Pictures, which has agreed to provide all participants with a custom version of their Maestro 2 software.

The eight stages of the production that will be opened to competition include character and set design, story boarding, modeling, texturing, layout, lighting and animation.

When asked why these stages were chosen Mr. Sullivan had this to say. “What I’ve seen a too much of is fantastic animations on generic stick figures; I’ve seen simple geometric shapes lit beautifully while stunning set pieces aren’t lit at all; I’ve seen the most amazing character designs never go any further than sketches while brilliant modeling skills are wasted creating variations on the same generic themes over and over. I wanted to develop the Short Project to bring talented people together in such a way that allows artists to focus on what they do best, while at the same time helping to create a finished piece of work. That’s why the eight stages are set up the way they are. Each stage feeds the next until we arrive at a finished piece that everyone can be proud of.”

To ensure the participants can focus on their strengths all aspects of the project not created in one of the competitions will be provided. This includes scoring, rendering, editing, mastering and all other needs.

The first two stages of the Short Project, character design and set design, officially begin October 16. To participate in the Short Project artists and sponsors can visit www.shortproject.com where they will find the shooting script, complete information on each stage, a break down of the prizes and more.

About Art Of Sullivan (AOS) Productions:
AOS Productions is an animation and web development boutique out of Los Angeles California whose clients have included BloodWorks LLC, the PGA and VH1. AOS was founded by Greg Sullivan who previously ran the animation studio of KidzVid Entertainment where he over saw the production of three feature length DVDs starring radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger and served as associate producer on the September 11th memorial CD ‘Kids Bless America’. Mr. Sullivan also served as lead screenwriter for Panshel’s World (52x11, animated) due for international release Q1, 2007. – www.artofsullivan.com