April 2002 (Znews.com / Newstream) -- The Canon Digital Creators Contest 2002, a competition that encourages artists to explore new directions in digital visual expression in the Internet era, is providing U.S. professional and amateur artists of all ages with the opportunity to showcase their talent and compete for awards that include first place prizes of $20,000 in each of four digital imaging categories.

Canon created this worldwide contest to discover and support new talent among photographers, videographers, illustrators, graphic designers, web creators and contemporary artists. Submissions will be accepted until September 3, 2002. Winners will be announced Friday, December 6, 2002 in Tokyo.

"With the digital age expanding rapidly through the use of Canon's imaging technologies and products, creativity and communication now are expressed so quickly and easily through still images, moving images and Internet communication," said Kinya Uchida, president and CEO, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a subsidiary of Canon Inc. "The Canon Digital Creators Contest grows in popularity every year as digital technology plays a greater role in our lives."

Canon's extensive and growing line of products - digital cameras, digital camcorders, projectors, color printers, scanners and Internet/Intranet tools - maximize presentation quality, creativity and efficiency in business and at home.

Digital cameras capture news events around the world for quick dissemination of images on the Internet. Digital camcorders help computer users create videos to achieve business success and movie-making family fun. Scanners easily transfer documents and images to the PC for immediate use at home and office, and printers produce quality images for personal photo albums or to create large format professional prints.

Canon launched the contest two years ago. Last year's contest accepted over six thousand submissions from 57 countries. The number of people using digital technology grows daily, and Canon expects the amount of submissions to increase considerably this year and in the years ahead.

This year's contest will comprise four division categories. Over 60 prizes totaling more than $115,000 in money and products will be awarded.

Digital Photo (Print) Division: Photograph(s) captured with a digital camera, direct-print (unmodified) printouts of digitalized photo(s), or digital modified printouts of digital camera image(s). No theme restrictions, but photo(s) that focus on nature/wildlife or people also will be eligible for a separate award.

Digital Graphics/Illustration (Print) Division: Printouts of computer-generated graphics, including illustrations and other designs.

Digital Movie Division: Modified and/or edited live-action digital movies created with a digital video camcorder, or computer graphics animated movies.

Web Division: Web-based graphics or other images (interactive or non-interactive) viewable over the Internet using Internet Explorer 5.0 or later versions, or Netscape Navigator 4.7 or later versions.

Leading photography, videography, web design and art authorities will participate in the judging process. They will seek works that redefine the realm of digital visual expression, challenge the boundaries of originality and provide expression along with message communication. Judges include:

• Joshua Davis, artist and technologist who currently teachers at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. His site (http://www.praystation.com) has won the highest honor in international net art and design.
• Scott Ross, co-founder of Digital Domain, Inc., the award-winning full service visual effects/digital production studio in the feature film and commercial advertising industry. Recent films include Apollo 13, Titanic, A Beautiful Mind and The Time Machine.
• Jeff Schewe, an award winning advertising photographer widely known in the digital imaging community as a pioneer. He is an Alpha Tester and feature consultant for Adobe Photoshop. As a Canon "Explorer of Light" photographer, he is among a chosen few who have defined image-making.
• tomato, which works in a broad range of fields that includes graphic design, title sequence for feature films and multi-media, is a popular company among young creators worldwide.
• Hiroyuki Nakano (music director nominated in six categories of the MTV Awards) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (musician who won awards for his soundtrack for The Last Emperor).

Information and entry guidelines are available directly on the Canon Inc. website (http://www.canon.com/cdcc/), or as a link from the Canon U.S.A. site (http://www.usa.canon.com). All submissions in North and South America must be sent to Canon Digital Creators Contest, New York Secretariat, c/o DCA Advertising, 666 Fifth Avenue, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10103.