At Sixty40, we use the term ‘ninja’ to signify an animator or designer with superior skills, vision and passion. The search for a proto-ninja therefore is to find a ninja-in-the-making. Someone who is starting to show superior skills, vision and passion but who is just beginning to unleash their talents on the world. Through this competition we hope to find a young, hungry proto-ninja to welcome into our studio and help them towards full ninja-hood.

Aspiring Proto-Ninjas: you are invited to make a short film (between 60 and 40 seconds) using any medium you want, focused on the theme "Underdog". We're interested in finding strong storytellers that can use whatever techniques are at their disposal to strike an emotional chord with viewers: to make an impact, to choke people up, make them laugh, spook them... just so long as it's a good story well told. Techniques can include 2D, 3D, motion graphics, digital stills, stop frame and live action - all at once if you like but make it both interesting and effective. The film should be called "Underdog" but then you add your own subheading like "Underdog - Winning while you sleep" or "Underdog - explosions in our pants" - whatever your particular take is. 3 nice musicians have lent us some music to use as a backing track so you can just focus on visual storytelling and mad techniques.

So keep it short and focused, make sure there's a point to it and that it's basically awesome.

The winner will receive $999.99, a 2-month mentorship at sixty40 and your film will be screened at the UTS: Sydney International Animation Festival.

Get resources for your entry here Get your questions answered here Join our Facebook group here