Hollywood Professional Association Unveils 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology Nominees

The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced the nominees for the 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology, marking an expanded evolution of the organization's prestigious Engineering Excellence Award. The awards celebrate exceptional contributions to entertainment technology.

For nearly two decades, the HPA Engineering Excellence Award has recognized groundbreaking engineering achievements. The HPA Awards Innovation & Technology program broadens that tradition, honoring advancements across multiple categories covering the entire production life cycle, from pre-production through distribution and audience experience. This expanded framework highlights technologies making a measurable impact on the professional media and entertainment ecosystem, spanning film, television, streaming, advertising, and branded content experiences.

The 2026 HPA Awards Innovation & Technology category nominees are:

Innovation in Pre-Production

Bria AI - GenAI Attribution Technology

RivetAI, Inc. - RivetAI

Yamdu - AI Script Breakdown and Management Add-On

Innovation in Production & Capture

American Society of Cinematographers - Media Hash List

Creamsource - Slyyd Lighting Control App

M duse Inc. - Safe Guns Phase-Synced Flash-Gun System

Innovation in VFX, Virtual Production & Animation

Foundry - Nuke Stage

Nerfstudio and Industrial Light & Magic - Nerfstudio

Volinga and XGRIDS - Virtual Production Pipeline

Innovation in Post-Production

Adobe - Generative Extend in Adobe Premiere

Flawless - TrueSync

Storj - Production Cloud

Innovation in Distribution & Audience Experience

Cineverse - CINESEARCH

SyncWords Inc. - LiveCore + Kobe Muxer

V-Nova Studios - V-Nova PresenZ

To learn more about each nomination, visit here.

Winners of the five nominated categories will be announced on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026, at the 2026 HPA Tech Retreat. The HPA Transformative Impact Award and the HPA Tech Retreat Best in Show Award will be presented on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at the close of the Retreat.

Judging criteria for the Innovation & Technology categories included innovation, current industry impact, technical merit, and adoption of readiness. Nominees represent tools and technologies that are impactful today and reflective of forward momentum. Judging panels were curated by experts with deep technical expertise and hands-on knowledge of the workflows these technologies support across the production pipeline.

The HPA Awards are made possible through the generous support of AMD, Dolby, and Sohonet.

For sponsorship or program advertising opportunities, please contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com For more information about HPA Awards Innovation & Technology or the Hollywood Professional Association, visit HPAonline.com.

LINK:	https://hpaonline.com/hollywood-professional-association-unveils-2026-...
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