By Kate Augusto

For aspiring animators, the annual animation festival, Siggraph, is a place to showcase their art. On Monday, students were given a first-hand look into how the exhibits were chosen. The festival showcases various multimedia from a multitude of sources around the world. Terrence Mason, a Boston native and 20 year animation professional, chaired the 2006 festival that was held in Boston last August. When he spoke in West Village F, he shared his experiences chairing the event and showed the main film of animations from the event to an audience of about 45 students. He also presented the main video shown at the festival, a combination of short animation pieces. Kevin Hall, a junior animation major, said many animators dream of having their work showcased at Siggraph. “It is pretty much the Academy Awards of animation,” he said in an e-mail to the News. “It is the highest of honors, in my opinion, that an artist or studio can get