The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA®) has opened its call for entries in creative categories for the HPA Awards. The Awards, now in their 14th year, are considered important recognition for groundbreaking work and artistic excellence, acknowledging creative artistry in color grading, editing, sound, and visual effects in feature film, episodic, and commercials. The 14th HPA Awards gala will be returning to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California on the evening of Thursday, November 21, 2019.

The HPA Awards were conceived to draw attention to the talent and innovation that fuels the professional media content industry. Celebrating the behind the scene collaborators who support the vision of filmmakers remains the focus of the HPA Awards.

Submissions are now being accepted in the following competitive categories:

  • Outstanding Color Grading - Theatrical Feature
  • Outstanding Color Grading - Episode or Non-theatrical Feature
  • Outstanding Color Grading - Commercial
  • Outstanding Editing - Theatrical Feature
  • Outstanding Editing - Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature (30 Minutes and Under)
  • Outstanding Editing - Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature (Over 30 minutes)
  • Outstanding Sound (Design, Editing, Mixing) - Theatrical Feature
  • Outstanding Sound (Design, Editing, Mixing) - Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature
  • Outstanding Sound (Design, Editing, Mixing) - Commercial
  • Outstanding Visual Effects - Theatrical Feature
  • Outstanding Visual Effects - Episode or Non-Theatrical Feature (13 Episodes and Fewer)
  • Outstanding Visual Effects - Episode (Over 13 Episodes)

Complete rules, guidelines and entry information for the creative categories and all of the HPA Awards are available at: www.hpaawards.net.

Submissions for consideration in the creative categories will be accepted between May 13 and July 12, 2019. Early Bird entries (at a reduced entry fee for the creative categories) will be accepted through June 10, 2019. To be considered eligible, work must have debuted domestically and/or internationally during the eligibility period, September 5, 2018 through September 3, 2019. Entrants do not need to be members of the Hollywood Professional Association or working in the U.S.

Seth Hallen, president of the HPA and a founding member of the HPA Awards Committee, commented, “The HPA Awards represent so much of what the HPA itself is about, which is giving well-deserved recognition to the artistry, ingenuity, and flat-out brilliance of the community of creative people who help realize filmmakers’ creative visions.  As our industry evolves, what remains constant is the HPA’s true passion for honoring and celebrating the talent behind the talent.” 

The HPA Awards recognize an entire spectrum of the creativity behind the scenes.  The call for entries for the HPA Engineering Excellence Award opened last month and submissions will be accepted until May 24, 2019.  The Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation, a juried award, will be announced in advance of the gala. The recipient of the HPA Lifetime Achievement Award will be announced in the coming weeks.

The HPA Awards are made possible through the generous sponsorship of Awards Title Diamond Sponsor Blackmagic Design, Platinum Sponsor IMAX, and Foundation Members Avid, Co3, Deluxe, Dolby, EFILM, and Encore. For sponsorship or program advertising opportunities, contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com. Announcement of ticket sales will be made in June.

For a list of the previous years' winners, click here.

About the HPA® Awards
The HPA Awards were created to foster awareness and recognize the achievements of the individuals and companies that have contributed to groundbreaking technologies and creative excellence within the professional media content industry, and build involvement in the Hollywood Professional Association. The HPA is a partner of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®). Information about the HPA Awards is available at http://www.hpaonline.com.

About the Hollywood Professional Association®
Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructurefor the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital mediaand other dynamic media content. Through their partnership with  the Society of MotionPicture and Television Engineers® ( SMPTE®), the leader in the advancement of theart, science and craft of the image, sound, and metadata ecosystem, the HPA continuesto extend its support of the community it represents. Information about the HPA isavailable at http://www.hpaonline.com .

About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers® (SMPTE®) 
For more than a century, the people of the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE, pronounced "simp-tee") have sorted out the details of many significant advances in media and entertainment technology, from the introduction of "talkies" and color television to HD and UHD (4K, 8K) TV. Since its founding in 1916, the Society has received an Oscar® and multiple Emmy® Awards for its work in advancing moving-imagery engineering across the industry. SMPTE has developed thousands of standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines, more than 800 of which are currently in force today. SMPTE Time Code™ and the ubiquitous SMPTE Color Bars™ are just two examples of the Society's notable work. As it enters its second century, the Society is shaping the next generation of standards and providing education for the industry to ensure interoperability as the industry evolves further into IT- and IP-based workflows.

SMPTE's global membership today includes more than 7,000 members: motion-imaging executives, creatives, technologists, researchers, and students who volunteer their time and expertise to the Society's standards development and educational initiatives. A partnership with the Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) connects SMPTE and its membership with the businesses and individuals who support the creation and finishing of media content. Information on joining SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org/join. 

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