Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Contest

Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Contest

Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Contest is back

The second edition of the Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Fest calls on fans to raise the bar

MONTREAL, Aug. 28, 2012 - MEGA Brands Inc. - After a successful and exciting first year, Mega Bloks will soon launch their second edition of the Halo Toymation Fest, a community-driven competition in which Halo fans can create and submit their own Mega Bloks Halo toymations (stop motion animations featuring toys) for a chance to win incredible prizes.

The official 2012 Mega Bloks Halo Toymation website (http://halo.megabloks.com/en/toymation), launched on August 3rd, will once again be the home page to many hopeful contestants. At this time, fans can visit the site to learn more about the different genres of videos they will be allowed to submit, discover the panel of judges and the amazing prizes to be won, receive details about the voting criteria and tips on stop motion animation.

"We are eager to launch our second Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Fest," said Andrew Sparkes, Vice President of Kids and Collectors at MEGA Brands. "Last year, fans really proved their dedication to the Halo brand and allowed us to see the love for our Mega Bloks products shine through the creativity of their amazing productions. We can't wait to see what they will come up with next."

"I had the honour of being one of the judges in last year's Halo toymation contest, and the videos the Mega Bloks community made with just blocks, a video camera, and the magic of editing was absolutely mind-blowing," said Jessica Shea, a.k.a. BS Angel, Community Manager at 343 Industries and avid HALO gamer. "So to say I'm excited about seeing this year's entries would definitely be an understatement!"

The submission and voting periods will roll-out as such:

  • Phase 1 (August 3 - September 17) -- Official website launch. Early submissions open September 1, at which point contestants will be invited to enter videos into the following categories: action, comedy, drama, classical and sports.
  • Phase 2 (September 18 - November 5) -- Submissions and voting begin! Fans vote for their favorite toymations. Submissions close October 25.
  • Phase 3 (November 6- November 26) -- Face-Off: The 2012 Mega Bloks Halo Toymation Fest will introduce its "Face Off" stage. At this time, the top 2 videos in each category will go head-to-head as voters pick the finalists.
  • Phase 4 (December 5) -- Unveiling of contest winners: this year, top videos will be ranked per category by MEGA's panel of expert judges.

The lucky winner and runners-up will get the chance to win prizes that include video production hardware and software, a variety of Mega Bloks Collectors building sets and one-of-a kind Mega Bloks Halo collector items!

This edition's exciting panel of expert judges include: Jessica Shea a.k.a BS Angel; Jason Forthofer, co-owner and co-host of The Brick Show; Larry Hryb, better known by his Xbox LIVE Gamertag of 'Major Nelson', the Director of Programming for Xbox Live; Jeremy Azevedo, Head of Original Programming for Machinima, the most popular gaming and entertainment network on YouTube; Tyler Gregory, Winner of the 2011 Halo Toymation Fest, and finally Mr. Andrew Sparkes.

For more information on the contest, rules, regulations and tips on how to produce stop motion videos, please visit http://halo.megabloks.com/en/toymation

About MEGA Brands
MEGA Brands is a trusted family of leading global brands in construction toys, games & puzzles, arts & crafts and stationery. They offer engaging creative experiences for children, families and collectors through innovative, well-designed, affordable and high-quality products.

Visit http://www.megabrands.com for more information. The MEGA logo, Mega Bloks, Rose Art, MEGA Puzzles, MEGA Games and Board Dudes are trademarks of MEGA Brands Inc. or its affiliates.

About "Halo"
The "Halo" franchise is an award-winning collection of properties that has grown into a global entertainment phenomenon. Beginning with the original "Halo: Combat Evolved" (2001), the critically acclaimed and record-shattering series of games has since inspired multiple New York Times bestselling novels, comic books, action figures, apparel and more.

Published by Microsoft Studios, the "Halo" franchise of games is exclusive to the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the Xbox LIVE online entertainment network. To date, more than 43 million copies of "Halo" games have been sold worldwide, driving more than 3.3 billion hours of gameplay by people connected to Xbox LIVE.