Animated – Short Clips Competition: What It Is, Where It’s Run and How It’s Judged

A short animated clip of up to two minutes, made by one entrant and rated by a panel on idea, animation quality and finish.

Animated – Short Clips is a multimedia category in which a single entrant submits a very short animated piece, capped at two minutes. The animation can be drawn by hand and scanned, built frame by frame in a stop-motion set-up, assembled from cut-out shapes, or produced entirely in animation software. What the category rewards is a complete small idea told through movement, not a long production.

Unlike a stage item, nothing is performed live. The entrant prepares the clip beforehand and hands in a finished file, and the panel watches it on a screen, usually with the sound on. Because the limit is only two minutes, a good clip has a single clear premise, a beginning, a turn and an ending, and every second earns its place. Looping gags, a character changing mood, a tiny chase or a visual joke all fit well inside the limit.

On eTalenter the item is carried by the international teen talent template, where it sits in the Multimedia category as an individual item for ages 13 to 19, open to both genders, in English. The template sets a two-minute maximum and a rating out of 10 with a maximum of 5. It is one of three animated length classes: this short-clips class, a 15-minute short film class and a 30-minute long film class, each with a matching live-action video class.

Organisers like the class because it opens the programme to entrants who prefer a screen to a stage, needs no venue space beyond a projector, and lets a panel compare several entries quickly because each one is so short.

Where Animated – Short Clips is run

On eTalenter this item is carried by one template, the international teen talent template, where the animated classes sit beside the video, photography, computer graphics and website classes in the Multimedia division. Short animation categories also appear in school media festivals, youth film events and community arts programmes, but this page records only the template that carries the item, so organisers should check their own notice for file format, delivery method and judging headings.

• United States
• Worldwide

Key facts

• Individual item: one entrant submits one finished animated clip
• Maximum length is two minutes, set in the template
• Rated out of 10 with a maximum score of 5 in the teen template
• Ages 13 to 19, open to both genders, English language
• Sits in the Multimedia category beside Animated – Short Film (15 minutes) and Animated – Long Film (30 minutes)
• Submitted as a finished file and watched by the panel, not performed live

On eTalenter, Animated – Short Clips is filed under Multimedia and typically scored with Rating out of 10. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.

Across the templates that use it, Animated – Short Clips is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 5, commonly time-limited to around 2 minutes where a limit is set.

What judges look at in Animated – Short Clips

What a Animated – Short Clips panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:

• Idea and storytelling: a clear, simple premise that lands within two minutes, with a beginning, a turn and an ending
• Quality of animation: smooth, consistent movement, believable timing and no jerky or missing frames
• Visual design: coherent drawing or modelling style, readable characters and a considered use of colour
• Sound and music: sound effects and music that support the action and are balanced so nothing is drowned out
• Technical finish: clean export, correct aspect ratio, no stray artefacts, titles and credits that fit inside the time limit
• Originality: a fresh take or personal style rather than a copy of an existing cartoon
• Time discipline: a clip that stays within the two-minute ceiling and does not rely on running long to make its point

Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Animated – Short Clips under Scoring Setup, or start from the judging and scoring software guide.

How to prepare for Animated – Short Clips

How entrants and their teachers usually get Animated – Short Clips right on the day:

• Write the idea in one sentence before opening any software; if it cannot be told in two minutes it is too big for this class
• Storyboard the clip as a row of rough frames so the timing is planned before any animation begins
• Choose a technique you can finish: simple shapes and a limited palette beat an ambitious style left half done
• Count seconds against frames, then export a rough version early to check the real running time
• Add sound last but plan it from the start, and test the volume on speakers as well as headphones
• Ask someone who has not seen the clip to watch it once and say what happened; if they miss the point, simplify
• Export in a common format at the resolution your notice asks for and keep a backup copy on a second device
• Leave time at the end to check titles, credits and the final frame, which panels often notice

Frequently asked questions

Is Animated – Short Clips judged individually or as a team?

Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.

How long can an Animated – Short Clips entry be?

The teen template sets a two-minute maximum. The longer animated classes are a separate 15-minute short film and a 30-minute long film.

What is the difference between a short clip and a short film?

Both are animated, but the templates list them as separate classes with different time ceilings: two minutes for the clip and 15 minutes for the film. Check your own notice for how results are kept separate.

Does the animation have to be made on a computer?

The template does not say how the clip must be produced. Hand-drawn, stop-motion and software animation are all common, so check your notice for any rule on method, tools or ownership of the artwork.

Is it a team item?

No. In the teen template it is an individual item, so each clip is entered and rated as one entrant’s work.

Want the full judging picture? Read the judging and scoring software guide, or browse every multimedia competition item.