European-wide success began with a five minute application…
Have a go, don’t be intimidated by the competition, don’t worry about the modest application fee – this is what Adam Montandon from the UK has to say to students and young producers under 30 who have a project they think is exciting. He was last year’s winner of the “Content Tools and Interface Design” category for his exceptional ‘Eye-borg’ device which allows colour-blind people to ‘hear’ colours.“We entered the ‘Eye-borg’ into the TTA in 2004 and said ‘to hell with it, we didn’t make it in 2003, but let’s enter something different now and see what happens.’ We’ve never entered an award expecting to win it. But if you don’t enter, you just don’t know what might happen,” Adam says. The TTA offers everything you need for a career kickstart in new media: promotion of your own project, contact to the scene and insight into what others work on, plus commercial exposure and networking possibilities with key business people. This is no time to hide your light under a bushel, give your product a chance! “Just go for it!” says Adam. “The rewards we got from it have been phenomenal. Everything has gone sky-high! And a year later we’re still not done with the ‘Eye-borg’. We get all sorts of interesting requests from visual-artists and people with disabilities.”After enormous media exposure from the TTA’s media partners and interviews or documentaries about his start-up company’s work (HMC Entertainment Systems) on the BBC, ITV and the National Geographic, Adam Montandon acknowledged that this European-wide success began with an application process for the Top Talent Award in 2004 which took five minutes to complete. Enter now! You have to be in it to win it! (Adam Montandon & Team, Category Winner Content Tools and Interface Design 2004)
A real chance... 2003
Being awarded with EUROPRIX Top Talent Award has been a real chance for us to attest our ability to work as professionals. Despite a bad economic situation, each of us has found a job after TTA. For those who had already had a job, the price has brought their career up. Helene is now working as a flash programmer for Megalo Studio, a well-known multimedia studio; Nicolas and I are working as artistic managers for bank and fashion companies and Aurelien works as a free-lance graphic designer. We still have contact with a lot of participants and companies that we met during the Festival. It’s a great chance for us to stay in touch with the other European multimedia Talents and perhaps to collaborate with them later.
This Top Talent Award also offered to the nonviolence21 association a huge and free promotion around Europe and around the world. The number of web surfers and participants has impressively increased. Consequently, funds have been raised.And last but not the least, this award provides our school with a great opportunity to make contact with other European multimedia companies and universities. L’école des Gobelins has now a good reputation among European multimedia schools and perhaps the next Top Talent Winners will also come from Paris. At least, we hope so… (Camille Sautel & team, Top Talent Award Overall winner 2003)
The start of great things to come...
After the TTA Festival my team and I came away incredibly inspired. The people and their projects were wonderful and helped us to gain another dimension to our interactive thinking. The award nomination increased my confidence and spurred me to pursue my passion for alternative educational resources that inspire creative thinking. I have since worked with Creative Partnerships (part of the Arts Council England) within a school to plan and develop a CD-ROM for 5-7 year olds that the pupils themselves contribute directly to, both with their artwork but also their ideas for navigation and making things happen! Due to the support and success of Not Waving But Drowning: Interactive Poetry, I am currently in negotiation with an e-learning provider to develop and sell the project as part of a series of interactive poems in the commercial sector for schools.
Hopefully this is the start of great things to come! (Nikki Shannen, Top Talent Nominee 2003: Not Waving But Drowning - Interactive Poetry)
Something you will remember for life...
Being involved with EUROPRIX was really exciting as you know there are loads of people entering from all around Europe. It felt really good flying to Vienna and staying in a hotel with all expenses paid. EUROPRIX makes you feel like you have won something prestigious and of importance, with all its workshops, events and the main gala award it’s something you will remember for life. After TTA I also got an oppertunity to present my project to a business group who may or may not take on and build the project. The outcome is not known yet so watch this space! (Kaan Oglaci, category winner Interactive TV, Top Talent Award 2003)
TTA has not only given us support on our own belief in the product, but...
Outer Rim participated in EUROPRIX Top Talent award with an interactive mobile TV game, Putti. Since TTA 2003, Putti has been taken on three more TV channels, one of which in central Europe. As a cross-media application the product has been further developed. In addition to SMS messages, Putti can now be played also with any touch-tone phone using on Interactive Voice Response (IVR) interface. We have also included a possibility to have a live-host video feed when the game is on. This brings Putti gaming closer to traditional broadasting. These features in Putti have been very well-received." says Mr. Kimmo Pennanen, CEO of Outer Rim.
Golf Caddy has received favourable publicity
I found EUROPRIX to be an enjoyable and valuable experience. It gave me the opportunity to present my project, the Golf Caddy to multimedia professionals. Who offered honest advice and discussed their experiences within the industry. Learning about the other projects and meeting the creators was particularly interesting.
Since winning the Mobile Content Developer category the Golf Caddy has received favourable publicity. This has opened up the market for the Golf Caddy and mobile device developers have been in contact for further information. I am now hoping to either develop the application further or sell it on to a mobile company.The whole event was organised extremely well particularly the workshops and project displays. I feel honoured to be part of such a great event! (Sally Smith, Category Winner Mobile Contents 2003)
“A great Chance for Creators” 2002
“The EUROPRIX Top Talent Award can be a good opportunity to make the 'missing link' between new creators and producers. It is a method that can allow new, independent and fresh ideas to reach the market and, if appropriate, transform themselves in good products for the people. A chance for creators, on one side, and against homologation of the products and the ideas, on the other.” (Massimo Catalfo - Top Talent 2002)
“Thinking on the future” 2001
We won the EUROPRIX Top Talent Award in 2001. Once, after winning the Award, we went to the beach in Lisbon, where we were sitting in the sun and thinking about the future.The following has happened since then: We are going to found a Design studio called “Weltformat” in Berlin. The inspiration for this name was given to us by Wilhelm Oswald, the Nobel Prize Winner. In 1920 Oswald was a very famous and respectable citizen, who dreamt of achieving worldwide communications and the spread of knowledge. This is our guiding principle, too.We are surrounded by design in every part of our life. Our environment is design. We are also trying to redesign the nature and finally ourselves. That is why we request more attitudes. Design is not decorative, it is argumentative! Design helps, convinces and it is management, too. Design is holistic and only the holistic concepts are really persuasive ones. And, finally, design has to be magic because we love to be suprprised!After the EUROPRIX Award we got some other international awards like the “Red Dot Design”, the “Feidad Award” and the “Poster Award”. That shows us that we are on the right way. At the moment we are working intensively on www.weltformat.de, to be able to demonstrate why we got all these awards. (Pepe Jürgens, EUROPRIX Top Talent Award Winner 2001)
“Advantage in hard times on the Job Market” 2000
“When I attended the EUROPRIX Festival September 2000, I had recently completed a university degree in New Media Production. Soon after the Festival I graduated and took time off to travel across America and Australia with two friends. I returned from these travels in March 2001 and began looking for my first job in the new media industry.This took longer than I expected due to the apparent slump in the industry, meaning positions for new media designers were hard to find. Having the EUROPRIX nomination was of great advantage when seeking employment as it was something all potential employers were interested in, giving me a platform to work from. I eventually accepted a position at a digital new media solutions company, based just outside of London, called The Creative Engine. I am enjoying this role, which involves the design and production of new media products from web-sites to CD-ROMs. Current clients include Microsoft, SONY (Europe) and British Telecom.” (Scott Harris, Top Talent 2000)
“Something that greatly distinguished my CV from other job applicants” 1999
“I found the EUROPRIX event to be a thoroughly enjoyable and beneficial experience. Perhaps the most profitable feature is being given the opportunity to discuss the industry with other finalists, people from different countries, all with unique views and experiences. The whole event is set up to benefit the participant, giving them every chance to talk not only to fellow competitors, but to representatives from many different companies, making contacts which may help them as they begin their career. Being selected to go to Vienna was a major achievement, something that greatly distinguished my CV from other job applicants. After the EUROPRIX event I found I was getting more interviews, eventually resulting in me being able to accept a job that I actually wanted. I am currently working in a design company based in Birmingham. They do a range of work, most of which is for print, brochures, flyers, advertisements, as well as a wide range of multimedia work like websites, CD-Rom's and screensavers. Being interested in designing for print this was my ideal first job because it is allowing me to work on projects for multimedia and print. In my first year I have already learnt an incredible amount that will stand me in good stead for the future, but without being a EUROPRIX finalist I would not have been offered this job.” (Dave Worth, Top Talent 2000)
From the EUROPRIX winner to the Creative Director in less than 2 years - An amazing success story 1998
Martin Casey won the EUROPRIX Top Talent Award in 1998 with his project “Born with a Broken Tongue”, which explores personal insights into the fears and shames of stuttering in a gentle and almost poetic manner. The project has been exhibited in the USA, South America, Australia and Europe and has been added to a number of university curricula including Cornell University, Michigan State, Queensland University and Aberdeen University. “Born with a Broken Tongue” is currently being exhibited online by the Irish Museum of Modern Art. In 1999, Martin Casey started his own company Zartis.com with five employees. By spring of 2000 the company had grown to 40 employees. It became one of Ireland’s leading and fastest growing companies. Zartis.com was highly successful in attracting clients due to its distinct strategic approach to e-business projects and deep technical and creative skills.
Breakaway Solutions, an American e-business company acquired Zartis.com in July 2000 for $18 million. Martin Casey was able to cash in on his talent and ability as shown by winning the Top Talent Award. Today, Martin Casey is managing director and creative head of Arekibo Communications in Ireland. AOL or other famous companies like AIB, Ireland's leading banking and financial services organisation can be found among his clients.
Have a go, don’t be intimidated by the competition, don’t worry about the modest application fee – this is what Adam Montandon from the UK has to say to students and young producers under 30 who have a project they think is exciting. He was last year’s winner of the “Content Tools and Interface Design” category for his exceptional ‘Eye-borg’ device which allows colour-blind people to ‘hear’ colours.“We entered the ‘Eye-borg’ into the TTA in 2004 and said ‘to hell with it, we didn’t make it in 2003, but let’s enter something different now and see what happens.’ We’ve never entered an award expecting to win it. But if you don’t enter, you just don’t know what might happen,” Adam says. The TTA offers everything you need for a career kickstart in new media: promotion of your own project, contact to the scene and insight into what others work on, plus commercial exposure and networking possibilities with key business people. This is no time to hide your light under a bushel, give your product a chance! “Just go for it!” says Adam. “The rewards we got from it have been phenomenal. Everything has gone sky-high! And a year later we’re still not done with the ‘Eye-borg’. We get all sorts of interesting requests from visual-artists and people with disabilities.”After enormous media exposure from the TTA’s media partners and interviews or documentaries about his start-up company’s work (HMC Entertainment Systems) on the BBC, ITV and the National Geographic, Adam Montandon acknowledged that this European-wide success began with an application process for the Top Talent Award in 2004 which took five minutes to complete. Enter now! You have to be in it to win it! (Adam Montandon & Team, Category Winner Content Tools and Interface Design 2004)
A real chance... 2003
This Top Talent Award also offered to the nonviolence21 association a huge and free promotion around Europe and around the world. The number of web surfers and participants has impressively increased. Consequently, funds have been raised.And last but not the least, this award provides our school with a great opportunity to make contact with other European multimedia companies and universities. L’école des Gobelins has now a good reputation among European multimedia schools and perhaps the next Top Talent Winners will also come from Paris. At least, we hope so… (Camille Sautel & team, Top Talent Award Overall winner 2003)
The start of great things to come...
Hopefully this is the start of great things to come! (Nikki Shannen, Top Talent Nominee 2003: Not Waving But Drowning - Interactive Poetry)
Something you will remember for life...
TTA has not only given us support on our own belief in the product, but...
Golf Caddy has received favourable publicity
Since winning the Mobile Content Developer category the Golf Caddy has received favourable publicity. This has opened up the market for the Golf Caddy and mobile device developers have been in contact for further information. I am now hoping to either develop the application further or sell it on to a mobile company.The whole event was organised extremely well particularly the workshops and project displays. I feel honoured to be part of such a great event! (Sally Smith, Category Winner Mobile Contents 2003)
“A great Chance for Creators” 2002
“Thinking on the future” 2001
“Advantage in hard times on the Job Market” 2000
“Something that greatly distinguished my CV from other job applicants” 1999
From the EUROPRIX winner to the Creative Director in less than 2 years - An amazing success story 1998
Breakaway Solutions, an American e-business company acquired Zartis.com in July 2000 for $18 million. Martin Casey was able to cash in on his talent and ability as shown by winning the Top Talent Award. Today, Martin Casey is managing director and creative head of Arekibo Communications in Ireland. AOL or other famous companies like AIB, Ireland's leading banking and financial services organisation can be found among his clients.
