Disappointment: Autodesk awards 2007

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Jane

stats
history
alumni college decisions/choices, etc.
might be helpful...

That one could take a while.

[JaneYoung]

I PM'd some questions to you KoKoEd -

[JaneYoung]

I'm getting some response via PMs and I think I will attempt to convey a few of my thoughts that have developed as a result.

- animation has been gaining interest over the past few years and team members are graduating from high school and going on to major in this area in college because of their exposure to this part of the FIRST competition.
- this award is a technical award that deserves attention, recognition, and respect on its own merit
- as much hard work and effort goes into many of these animations as into the robots that the FIRST teams build and deserves that recognition and support
- on the regional level, we could work to find an even, more balanced approach to the judging of the award and as part of recognizing the impact and importance of this, find better methods of display/presentation for the judging. A small screen in a small room may not be the best method.
- teams could find better ways to acknowledge Autodesk in press releases, interviews, promotion, marketing - our relationship with our sponsors is a partnership.

I think that's it for now. Any comments are great.
KoKoEd and I are working to put something together, we'll let you know as we go. As Ed has stated, this has to happen quickly, so if anyone wants to jump in here and lend a hand, cool beans, just PM me.
Jane

[JaneYoung]

Below is what we have come up with to submit to FIRST and to Autodesk. Please read it and make comments/suggestions either here in the thread or via PM. We will let you know how we are going to do the petition or letter. (I checked with one of my attorney friends and a petition can be signed by minors. If anyone knows any differently, please let me know that as well.) Thank you and stayed tuned.
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- the animators put in as much, and sometimes more, effort into the creation of the animations as the other students put into the creation of the robots

- this is the only incentive program that acknowledges and recognizes their efforts

- this is one of the few parts of the FIRST program that demonstrates that FIRST is interested in inspiring students about more than just robots; that technical animation is also a valid technical field that deserves recognition and respect

- the regional animation awards program is very important to the animation teams, and a major motivation for their efforts

- reducing the animation awards to just a national award will significantly reduce the level of interest in the animation competition - nearly 80% of the teams will not be attending the Championships in Atlanta and will not be in attendance for the presentation of the award, and will not pursue it for that reason

- without the regional animation awards program, we predict a significant reduction in the number of teams participating in the animation competition, impacting the entire season/program

- even if Autodesk will not sponsor the award, it should still be given out (either sponsored by someone else, or without specific sponsorship) at the regional level; the winner can be selected by popular vote, judging like the website awards, or animators selection

- in the entire history of the FIRST program, a competitive technical award has never been removed from the program; does Autodesk want their name to be associated with the first time this happens?

[RoboJedi75]

That sounds great, Jane. I think you covered just about everything.

In the past, the regional animation awards were voted on by animators from each team.

[Dan Zollman]

(I sent this to Jane in a PM earlier.)

Hi Jane,

Thanks for doing this to try to get the regional animation awards back.

I want to add that the elimination of regional awards will discourage teams (especially those with less experience in animation) from creating an entry when they know that there will only be one winner out of all the FIRST teams. Regional awards also provide feedback and identification of teams who are the best in the animation area. Identification of more of these teams is helpful to newer teams seeking animation advice and provides more models. Identification at the regional level means that teams in every region are able to meet successful animators from local teams.

Second, I think that a petition signed by FIRST students and mentors would appear kind of "out of the blue" to Autodesk, especially if the community has yet to bring our concerns to their attention for the first time. Perhaps it would be more effective to frame this as a letter or sign-on letter. It also might help to contact FIRST Headquarters about this (if nobody has done this yet). There could be reasons for this big change that we haven't considered, or reasons to change what we're asking.

Thanks,
Dan