G-Technology continues its celebration of aspiring and professional content creators by announcing the winners and runners-up of its Driven Creativity Competition
London, UK, November 2nd, 2010
As developers of innovative storage solutions for those looking to push creativity beyond the limits, G-Technology by Hitachi is delighted to officially announce the winners and runners-up of its Driven Creativity Competition 2010! The competition not only recognises and rewards the aesthetic qualities of creative work, but the invention and drive that went into creating it.
Exclusively targeting the content creation market, Hitachi’s G-Technology drives are known for offering premium external storage solutions that are trusted by creative professionals around the world. They are the go-to tool for storage, editing and backup when quality, reliability and performance cannot be compromised.
The drives are engineered specifically to meet the needs of the Apple® Mac® community, including heavy users of multimedia content, Final Cut Pro® digital audio/video (A/V) specialists, and other pre/post production professionals. From rugged portable drives to ultra-fast rack-mount arrays, G-Technology’s USB, FireWire, eSATA, SAS and Fibre Channel storage solutions support virtually all levels of A/V production and can be found in post-production facilities worldwide.
The competition
With entry open from June 14th, 2010 to October 8th, 2010, the first ever G-Technology Driven Creativity Competition saw amateur and professional filmmakers, photographers and musicians enter their most unique, creative work for the chance to win cutting-edge G-Technology drives and an overall grand prize of €5,000.
The competition recognises established and up-and-coming talent, with all entrants having an equal chance of winning, regardless of size and budget within each category. It received a high standard of submissions, with the official shortlist of entries confirmed using a Bayesian Rating system based on peer online votes.
A jury panel of G-Technology’s expert ambassadors and media partners, Digital Arts and Mac World, then judged the shortlist to decide the winners and runners-up in each category, as well as the overall winner; basing their decisions on the uniqueness, quality, creativity and the resourcefulness that went into achieving the end result of each shortlisted entry.
The G-Technology ambassador judges included Grammy® award-winning music producer, Kipper; Ivor Novello winner and Killzone composer, Joris de Man; renowned photographers, Tim Flach and Candace Feit; Academy-award winning filmmaker of Twin Towers, Scott Hillier; award-winning Film Director, Charles Haine and Director of Photography and underwater cameraman, Andy McLeod
And the winners are…
Professional film category
The winning professional film entry is Et Miaow Alors by Adrian Westbrook, which is a humorous look at some of the basic difficulties inherent in independent filmmaking. The runner-up professional film entry is Commuting by Christopher Quinn; driven by the concept of what lengths people go to in order to squeeze beauty into their lives.
Commenting on Et Miaow Alors, jury member and Film Director, Charles Haine said: “Despite the artificial layer that is added to the surface of the film, the filmmaker went far out of his way to devise interesting technical solutions to creative problems. The film takes place over 24 hours, and the shifting of the light that takes place over that amount of time is captured authentically and naturally, despite the fact that this could have easily been manipulated digitally later. Additionally, the story is engaging, connecting with a filmmaker struggling with the limitations that society has placed on him in terms of the creation of his art in a world obsessed with privacy.”
Amateur film category
The amateur film winner is Hayfever by Ke Nguyen, using stop-motion photography and animation techniques to explore London's Greenwich and Regent Parks. The joint amateur film runners-up are Polished Off by Dan Edgley, about a life support patient enduring the ridiculous dance routines of a hospital janitor; and Cut it Out by Lee Stitt, creatively capturing his frustration at experiencing mental blocks whilst script writing.
Charles Haine said: “Hayfever does a great job of taking a tool intended for one effect and using it in an unintended fashion to create a fantastic new sensation. The textures and motion of the footage of natural scenes simultaneously calls our attention to its inherent beauty, but also alienates it from us through a layer of technology. I found myself viewing the natural world around me with a fresh perspective after enjoying this film.”
Professional photography category
The professional photography category winner is The Henley Swim by Iain Weir; showing the misty, early morning gathering of swimmers set to embark on a journey down the Henley-on-Thames river. The runner-up of the professional photography category is Fight in a blizzard by Richard Costin, capturing a glimpse of Golden and White Tailed eagles during a stunning, intense snowstorm.
Commenting on The Henley Swim, jury member and professional photojournalist, Candace Feit, said: “This was the clear winner for me. It is very powerful, and just seeing the thumbnail made me want to view it first. The photographer framed a really interesting moment. Being able to see that and capture it well so that it makes a strong image is truly creative.”
Amateur photography category
The winner of the amateur photography category is Eternal by Patty Palmtree - portraying the wonderful contrast between the force of nature and the power of mankind. The joint amateur photography runner-ups are Brazilian Police by Rebecca Hull, showing the interesting juxtaposition of the Brazilian police, against a colourful, cheerfully vandalised background; and Gift Horse by Helena Maratheftis, which captures the incredible beauty of a horse eating.
Professional music category
The joint winners of the professional music category are You Can’t Hide by Benny Tetteh-Lartey, created with an 18 string instrument - The Combuitar - which the musician designed and built on his own; and How’s that by the Hoo Brothers, who use inspiration from everyday life to create music.
The joint professional music runners-up are The Strings That Bind by Jeremy Harnell, portraying a dream through song; and The Pentagram by Entropik, based on a poem by the same title by the occultist and mystic, Aleister Crowley.
Jury member, Killzone composer, Joris de Man, said: “The creative use of a self built instrument in You Can’t Hide is very impressive. I like how the folk nature of the song has Indian overtones and a soulful vocal delivery that combine well to make this a catchy and really likeable track. Rhythmically, How’s that is very interesting, featuring a groove that keeps you guessing. The creative sounds are interspersed, making the song varied and exciting. The singer has a great voice and an assured delivery, contributing to a fun and really well produced song. I'm looking forward to hearing more.”
Amateur music category
The winner of the amateur music category is Jon & Lori by Greenmetal800, about a man’s heartache following the death of his wife; and the amateur music runner-up is Ihp-heaven by Dave Webb, created for the musician to focus and practice Tai Chi to.
Commenting on Jon & Lori, Joris de Man said: “I like the variety of instruments and sounds used and how they have been interwoven to create a melancholic and yearning atmosphere. A nice thematic development and the ideas put forward in the description are well executed in the final piece. I enjoyed this!”
All of the professional and amateur winners of each category will each receive a G-RAID – the high-speed, dual-drive storage system; and the runners-up a stylish G-Drive Mobile USB – the perfect portable assistant for their next creative production.
The gallery
As well as rewarding the winning entrants with prizes, G-Technology will further celebrate and promote the successful work by showcasing it at an exciting week-long gallery exhibition at The Brick Lane Gallery in London’s East End, from November 17-22, 2010. The public can visit the exhibition for free and be inspired by the creative photography, films and music on display.
The overall winner of G-Technology’s Driven Creativity Competition will also be revealed at the gallery’s exclusive guest list-only evening reception, held on November 16th, 2010. This will bring together shortlisted and selected entrants, jury panel members, the audio, music, film and technology press, G-Technology representatives and its customers, to network and to admire all of the showcased creativity.
Ongoing support for creatives
Steve Pereira, vice president of EMEA at Hitachi GST said, “Our G-Technology brand is dedicated to supporting the creative community so we’re delighted that with our Driven Creativity Competition we’ve been able to further celebrate and reward some of Europe’s most talented filmmakers, photographers and musicians. We would like to thank all of the entrants for sharing their creativity and congratulations to all of the shortlisted entrants, winners and runners-up for their highly unique level of work. We would also like to thank our jury members for their expert input throughout the judging process. The jury panel used their years of industry knowledge and experience to go beyond identifying visually appealing creative work, by looking for entries that also demonstrates something unique, daring or inspiring. We look forward to seeing the successful entries showcased at the gallery exhibition in November, including revealing the overall winner of the competition! We hope everyone gets the chance to visit the gallery and be as inspired as we have been here at Hitachi when admiring all of the outstanding submissions.”
Full terms and conditions for the competition can be found on the G-Technology website. Keep updated with further news about the gallery exhibition and to find out who the overall winner is, by connecting to G-Technology’s social network channels: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube® and Flickr.
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About Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world’s most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, Hitachi GST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Personal Storage. Hitachi GST was established in 2003 and maintains its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit the company’s website at http://www.hitachigst.com.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2009 (ended March 31, 2010) consolidated revenues totaled 8,968 billion yen ($96.4 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
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