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We are thrilled to announce the grand prize winners of our MATLAB Shorts Mini Hack contest! This year, we invited the MATLAB Graphics and Charting team, the authors of the MATLAB functions used in every entry, to be our judges. After careful consideration, they have selected the top three winners:
1st place - Tim
Judge comments: Realism & detailed comments; wowed us with Manta Ray
2nd place – Jenny Bosten
Judge comments: Topical hacks : Auroras & Wind turbine; beautiful landscapes & nightscapes
3rd place - Vasilis Bellos
Judge comments: Nice algorithms & extra comments; can’t go wrong with Pumpkins
There is also an Honorable Mention - William Dean
Judge comments: Impressive spring & cubes!
In addition, after validating the votes, we are pleased to announce the top 10 participants on the leaderboard:
Congratulations to all! Your creativity and skills have inspired many of us to explore and learn new skills, and make this contest a big success!
Chen Lin
Chen Lin
Last activity on 6 Nov 2024 at 21:16

Dear MATLAB contest enthusiasts,
Welcome to the third installment of our interview series with top contest participants! This time we had the pleasure of talking to our all-time rock star – @Jenny Bosten. Every one of her entries is a masterpiece, demonstrating a deep understanding of the relationship between mathematics and aesthetics. Even Cleve Moler, the original author of MATLAB, is impressed and wrote in his blog: "Her code for Time Lapse of Lake View to the West shows she is also a wizard of coordinate systems and color maps."
The interview has been published on the MATLAB Community Blog. We highly encourage
you to read it to learn more about Jenny’s journey, her creative process, and her favorite entries.
Question: Who would you like to see featured in our next interview? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!
Over the past 4 weeks, 250+ creative short movies have been crafted. We had a lot of fun and, more importantly, learned new skills from each other! Now it’s time to announce week 4 winners.
Nature:
3D:
Seamless loop:
Holiday:
Fractal:
Congratulations! Each of you won your choice of a T-shirt, a hat, or a coffee mug. We will contact you after the contest ends.
Weekly Special Prizes
Thank you for sharing your tips & tricks with the community. These great technical articles will benefit community users for many years. You won a limited-edition pair of MATLAB Shorts!
In week 5, let’s take a moment to sit back, explore all of the interesting entries, and cast your votes. Reflect what you have learned or which entries you like most. Share anything in our Discussions area! There is still time to win our limited-edition MATLAB Shorts.
We are thrilled to see the incredible short movies created during Week 3. The bar has been set exceptionally high! This week, we invited our Community Advisory Board (CAB) members to select winners. Here are their picks:
Mini Hack Winners - Week 3
Game:
Holidays:
Fractals:
Realism:
Great Remixes:
Seamless loop:
Fun:
Weekly Special Prizes
Special shoutout to @Vasilis Bellos. This article was featured on the MATLAB Blog.
Thank you for sharing your tips & tricks with the community. You won a limited-edition MATLAB Shorts.
We still have plenty of MATLAB Shorts available, so be sure to create your posts before the contest ends. Don't miss out on the opportunity to showcase your creativity!
Just in two weeks, we already have 150+ entries! We are so impressed by your creative styles, artistic talents, and ingenious programming techniques.
Now, it’s time to announce the weekly winners!
Mini Hack Winners - Week 2
Seamless loop:
Nature & Animals:
Game:
Synchrony:
Remix of previous Mini Hack entries
Movie:
Congratulations to all winners! Each of you won your choice of a T-shirt, a hat, or a coffee mug. We will contact you after the contest ends.
In week 3, we’d love to see and award entries in the ‘holiday’ category.
Weekly Special Prizes
Thank you for sharing your tips & tricks with the community. You won limited-edition MATLAB Shorts.
We highly encourage everyone to share various types of content, such as tips and tricks for creating animations, background stories of your entry, or learnings you've gained from the contest.
There are so many incredible entries created in week 1. Now, it’s time to announce the weekly winners in various categories!
Nature & Space:
Seamless Loop:
Abstract:
Remix of previous Mini Hack entries:
Early Discovery
Holiday:
Congratulations to all winners! Each of you won your choice of a T-shirt, a hat, or a coffee mug. We will contact you after the contest ends.
In week 2, we’d love to see and award more entries in the ‘Seamless Loop’ category. We can't wait to see your creativity shine!
Tips for Week 2:
1.Use AI for assistance
The code from the Mini Hack entries can be challenging, even for experienced MATLAB users. Utilize AI tools for MATLAB to help you understand the code and modify the code. Here is an example of a remix assisted by AI. @Hans Scharler used MATLAB GPT to get an explanation of the code and then prompted it to ‘change the background to a starry night with the moon.’
2. Share your thoughts
Share your tips & tricks, experience of using AI, or learnings with the community. Post your knowledge in the Discussions' general channel (be sure to add the tag 'contest2024') to earn opportunities to win the coveted MATLAB Shorts.
3. Ensure Thumbnails Are Displayed:
You might have noticed that some entries on the leaderboard lack a thumbnail image. To fix this, ensure you include ‘drawframe(1)’ in your code.
Over the past week, we have seen many creative and compelling short movies! Now, let the voting begin! Cast your votes for the short movies you love. Authors, share your creations with friends, classmates, and colleagues. Let's showcase the beauty of mathematics to the world!
We know that one of the key goals for joining the Mini Hack contest is to LEARN! To celebrate knowledge sharing, we have special prizes—limited-edition MATLAB Shorts—up for grabs!
These exclusive prizes can only be earned through the MATLAB Shorts Mini Hack contest. Interested? Share your knowledge in the Discussions' general channel (be sure to add the tag 'contest2024') to earn opportunities to win the coveted MATLAB Shorts. You can share various types of content, such as tips and tricks for creating animations, background stories of your entry, or learnings you've gained from the contest. We will select different types of winners each week.
We also have an exciting feature announcement: you can now experiment with code in MATLAB Online. Simply click the 'Open in MATLAB Online' button above the movie preview section. Even better! ‘Open in MATLAB Online’ is also available in previous Mini Hack contests!
We look forward to seeing more amazing short movies in Week 2!
We're excited to announce that the 2024 Community Contest—MATLAB Shorts Mini Hack starts today! The contest will run for 5 weeks, from Oct. 7th to Nov. 10th.
What creative short movies will you create? Let the party begin, and we look forward to seeing you all in the contest!
Dear contest participants,
The 2024 Community Contest—MATLAB Shorts Mini Hack—is just one week away! Last year, we challenged you to create a 48-frame, 2-second animation. This year, we're doubling the fun by increasing the frame count to 96 and adding audio support. Your mission? Create a short movie!
As always, whether you are a seasoned MATLAB user or just a beginner, you can participate in the contest and have opportunities to win amazing prizes.
Timeframe:
  • The contest will run for 5 weeks, from Oct. 7th to Nov. 10th, Eastern Time.
General Rules:
  • The first week is dedicated to entry creation, and the fifth week is reserved for voting only.
  • Create a 96-frame, 4-second animation and add audio. We will loop it 3 times to create a 12-second short movie for you.
  • The character limit remains at 2,000 characters.
Prizes
  • You will have opportunities to win compelling prizes, including Amazon gift cards, MathWorks T-shirts, and virtual badges. We will give out both weekly prizes and grand prizes.
Warm-up!
With one week left before the contest begins, we recommend you warm up by reading a fantastic article: Walkthrough: making Little Nemo's airship in MATLAB by @Tim. The article shares both technical insights and the challenges encountered along the way.
We look forward to seeing all of you in the 2024 MATLAB Shorts Mini Hack.
The MATLAB Central Community Team
Dear MATLAB contest enthusiasts,
In the 2023 MATLAB Mini Hack Contest, Tim Marston captivated everyone with his incredible animations, showcasing both creativity and skill, ultimately earning him the 1st prize.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Tim to delve into his inspiring story. You can read the full interview on MathWorks Blogs: Community Q&A – Tim Marston.
Last question: Are you ready for this year’s Mini Hack contest?
Chen Lin
Chen Lin
Last activity on 9 Jun 2024

Drumlin Farm has welcomed MATLAMB, named in honor of MathWorks, among ten adorable new lambs this season!
Bringing the beauty of MathWorks Natick's tulips to life through code!
Remix challenge: create and share with us your new breeds of MATLAB tulips!
Chen Lin
Chen Lin
Last activity on 3 Jul 2024

Northern lights captured from this weekend at MathWorks campus ✨
Did you get a chance to see lights and take some photos?
Dear MATLAB contest enthusiasts,
I believe many of you have been captivated by the innovative entries from Zhaoxu Liu / slanderer, in the 2023 MATLAB Flipbook Mini Hack contest.
Ever wondered about the person behind these creative entries? What drives a MATLAB user to such levels of skill? And what inspired his participation in the contest? We were just as curious as you are!
We were delighted to catch up with him and learn more about his use of MATLAB. The interview has recently been published in MathWorks Blogs. For an in-depth look into his insights and experiences, be sure to read our latest blog post: Community Q&A – Zhaoxu Liu.
But the conversation doesn't end here! Who would you like to see featured in our next interview? Drop their name in the comments section below and let us know who we should reach out to next!
Chen Lin
Chen Lin
Last activity on 12 Apr 2024

What's the weather like in your place?
Chen Lin
Chen Lin
Last activity on 14 Feb 2024

See code here in our community contest area. (author: @Zhaoxu Liu / slandarer)
And what do you do for Valentine's Day?
Greetings to all MATLAB users,
Although the MATLAB Flipbook contest has concluded, the pursuit of ‘learning while having fun’ continues. I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some recent insightful technical articles from a standout contest participant – Zhaoxu Liu / slandarer.
Zhaoxu has contributed eight informative articles to both the Tips & Tricks and Fun channels in our new Discussions area. His articles offer practical advice on topics such as customizing legends, constructing chord charts, and adding color to axes. Additionally, he has shared engaging content, like using MATLAB to create an interactive dragon that follows your mouse cursor, a nod to the upcoming Year of the Dragon in 2024!
I invite you to explore these articles for both enjoyment and education, and I hope you'll find new techniques to incorporate into your work.
Our community is full of individuals skilled in MATLAB, and we're always eager to learn from one another. Who would you like to see featured next? Or perhaps you have some tips & tricks of your own to contribute. Remember, sharing knowledge is a collaborative effort, as Confucius wisely stated, 'When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers.'
Let's maintain our commitment to a continuous learning journey. This could be the perfect warm-up for the upcoming 2024 contest.
Starting with MATLAB can be daunting, but the right resources make all the difference. In my experience, the combination of MATLAB Onramp and Cody offers an engaging start.
MATLAB Onramp introduces you to MATLAB's basic features and workflows. Then practice your coding skill on Cody. Challenge yourself to solve 1 basic problem every day for a month! This consistent practice can significantly enhance your proficiency.
What other resources have helped you on your MATLAB journey? Share your recommendations and let's create a comprehensive learning path for beginners!