ITHACA, N.Y., Feb. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Ithaca College, the home of the original student cell-phone film competition has opened entries to high school and college students in the U.S. for the second annual CellFlix Festival. The contest challenges the growing number of wanna-be filmmakers with camera phones to create a 30-second film shot on a cell phone. Students will fire up their imaginations, and flirt with fantasy to create a story for mobile delivery.

The 2006 competition, the first of its kind in the world, drew attention from 300 media sources around the globe. Since that time, the idea of smaller has become bigger -- much bigger, with cell phone film festivals and competitions springing up around the world, most recently in China's Shanxi Province and even as part of the Toronto Film Festival.

The 2007 CellFlix competition offers two $5,000 prizes. Judges consisting of Ithaca College alumni in media professions will blind judge the entries and determine the winner of one $5,000 Judges Prize; the second $5,000 prize sponsored by Texas Instruments Incorporated will go to the "Fan Favorite" CellFlix. Fans can view all the entries on the CellFlix web page http://www.cellflixfestival.org/ and vote on-line. Given the anticipated number of entries, fans can expect a whole lot of shooting going on, which means a whole lot of watching before voting.

Analysts at the Gartner Group note that sales of camera phones have almost tripled since 2004 reaching 460 million in 2006, an increase of 43% over 2005.

"Last year we were delighted that 178 students figured out how to shoot a cell-phone film; this time around, we expect thousands of fledgling directors from around the U.S. to pick up their camera phones and get creative," said creator of the CellFlix Festival Dianne Lynch, dean of the Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College.

Only the imagination can limit the students' stories -- they can be humor, drama, musical, adventure, or as last years' winner discovered, love stories are always fair game. To view last years' top ten go to http://www.cellflixfestival.org/screeningroom.html .

"CellFlix was the first student film festival in the world for movies shot on cell phones. A year ago, that was revolutionary. Today, it's just how things work," said Lynch.

This year Texas Instruments has joined Ithaca College, sponsoring the "Fan Favorite" prize. "Texas Instruments leads the market in developing technology for mobile phone innovation. The CellFlix competition will encourage new and innovative use of that technology," said Avner Goren, worldwide director, Cellular Systems Solutions Marketing for Texas Instruments.

Entry deadline is April 1, 2007. Winners of the 2007 CellFlix will be announced May 1, 2007. For entry rules go to http://www.cellflixfestival.org/ .

Background

The Roy H. Park School of Communications prepares its 1300 students for careers in communications. Its alumni have earned the most prestigious awards in entertainment, news, and sports, from digital to print. The college's centers in London and Los Angeles offer students exceptional opportunities for professional growth, while complementing Ithaca's outstanding facilities and technology. Under the leadership of Dean Dianne Lynch, the school has become known for its innovation and foresight in digital communication.

Ithaca College is a coeducational and nonsectarian, nationally recognized independent college of some 6,100 undergraduates and 300 graduate students. Located in Ithaca, New York, it combines the individual attention of a small institution with the resources and offerings of a large university. The college was founded in 1892 as a music conservatory and today continues that emphasis on performance and active learning -- both inside and outside of the classroom -- with over 100 degree programs offered through the Schools of Business, Communications, Health Sciences and Human Performance, Humanities and Sciences, and Music as well as the Division of Graduate Studies and Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies.

Texas Instruments -- Making Wireless

TI is the leading manufacturer of wireless semiconductors, delivering the heart of today's wireless technology and building solutions for tomorrow. TI provides a breadth of silicon and software and over 15 years of wireless systems expertise that spans handsets and base stations for all communications standards, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, A-GPS, mobile TV and Ultra Wideband. TI offers custom to turn-key solutions, including complete chipsets and reference designs, OMAP(TM) application processors, as well as core digital signal processor and analog technologies built on advanced semiconductor processes. Please visit http://www.ti.com/wirelesspressroom for additional information.

About Texas Instruments:

Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company includes the Education Technology business. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.

Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com/ .

CONTACT: Laura Wells of Texas Instruments Incorporated, +1-214-567-7406,
or lwells@ti.com ; or Anne Macdonald of Ithaca College, +1-607-274-1945, or
cell, +1-607-342-2697

Web site: http://www.ti.com/
http://www.ti.com/wirelesspressroom
http://www.cellflixfestival.org/
http://www.cellflixfestival.org/screeningroom.html