November May Seem Like a Long Time Away, But It's Not

By Christine Purse, Chair, HPA Awards

The HPA Awards will return to the Skirball Cultural Center on November 21, 2019, but the HPA Awards schedule kicks off in April! Take a moment now to mark your calendar for this year's deadlines.

Fourteen years ago, the HPA Awards sprang from the inspiration of founding chairs Carolyn Giardina and Mark Chiolis. While they were remembering the former ITS Monitors Awards that honored post professionals, Chiolis noted that there were no honors that called attention to the work that our community of individuals and companies contributes to what we now call content, but was then called film and television. The board enthusiastically agreed with the concept, and in 2005, the Awards were launched at a press conference at the Hollywood Pacific Theatre, hosted by USC's Entertainment Technology Center. That press conference hosting was courtesy of the late and honored Charles S. Swartz, then director of ETC and the man for whom the Charles S. Swartz Award was created. Carolyn and Mark put together a committee, many of whom are still active in the Awards, and an engaged roster of volunteers raised their hands.

The Engineering Excellence Award, under the witty and wise hand of Sub Committee Chair Joachim Zell (JZ!), honors outstanding technical and creative achievement in media, content production, finishing, distribution and archive. Engineering Excellence will open soon, right after NAB, and once again, we seek the brilliant developments you that you're working on that keep moving the industry forward. Submit between April 12 and May 24, for consideration to be included in the judging day, which will be set for late June.

The Creative Categories, sometimes referred to by HPA president Seth Hallen as the warm and gooey center of the HPA Awards, open on May 13 and close on July 12. These awards are specifically designed to honor the talented, diligent and hardworking creative men and women behind the screen, the ones who truly make the vision a reality. Every year we see amazing entries in Sound, Color, Visual Effects and Editing. The Awards Committee keeps an eye on the changing world of creation, delivery, and consumption and has made modifications to categories over the years.

The HPA Judges Award for Creativity & Innovation: C&I subcommittee co-chairs Carolyn Giardina and JZ took the reins of the C&I award two years ago as it transitioned from submission to jury. The recipient is selected by a jury of industry veterans and was conceived to recognize companies and individuals who have demonstrated excellence, whether in the development of workflow and process or project to support creative storytelling or in technical innovation.

The entire process is fueled by the efforts, love and care of a great committee, and by the indefatigable Alicia Rock at HPA. Without the work of tireless volunteers and staffers including Alicia, Max, Mimi, Sally-Ann and the leadership of the Board and Barbara Lange, these awards would be considerably less than they are.

There will be announcements of other special awards and details about tickets, entries, rules and procedures; all those things that go into making an award show meaningful and fun. As a veteran of every show and a lot of the BTS: the HPA Awards are a phenomenal evening preceded by an absolutely amazing, exhausting, and collaborative lead up. Join us in supporting the awards with your social posts, share information, volunteer, and enter!

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