(Hollywood, CA) The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA®) has announced that the call for entries will open today for two coveted HPA Awards: the Engineering Excellence Award and the Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation. Submissions will be accepted from April 6, 2016 to May 20, 2016. These special awards will be bestowed at the 2016 HPA Awards gala on the evening of November 17, 2016 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, CA.
The HPA Engineering Excellence Award is recognized as one of the most important technology honors in the industry, spotlighting companies and individuals who draw upon technical and creative ingenuity to develop breakthrough technologies. Submissions for this peer-judged award may include products or processes, and must represent a step forward for its industry beneficiaries. The date for presentations to peer judging panels will be announced soon, and is scheduled to take place on a Saturday in June in Los Angeles. Past winners have included Dolby, Canon, NVIDIA, MACOM, The Foundry, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Panasonic and Quantel.
The sought-after HPA Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation was conceived to recognize companies and individuals who have demonstrated excellence in the development of workflow and process to support creative storytelling and/or technical innovation. Submissions for this special award can include content such as a unique feature film, TV program or commercial, a workflow, proprietary technical development, hardware or software toolset, or a creative approach that is not eligible for consideration in other HPA Award categories. A blue ribbon panel determines the award's winners following the presentations in June. Past winners have included ESPN Digital Center 2, DigitalFiIm Tree, the American Society of Cinematographers: Color Decision List (ASC CDL), Testronic and EFILM.
Seth Hallen, President of the HPA, noted, "The Engineering Excellence Award shows us, year after year, the brilliance of the individuals and companies who consistently help creative vision come to life. Our entrants master and share their ideas and technical acumen, which helps foster and drive creativity. To see the presentations for both Engineering Excellence and Creativity and Innovation, and to witness the competitive playing field where the presenters operate, is inspirational. As we enter our second decade of the HPA Awards, the industry has grown to place great value in being recognized for these awards. As the call for entries in these categories kicks off our 11th season, we look forward to the submissions which represent the latest in our industry's excellence and innovation."
Joachim Zell, Chair of the Engineering Excellence Award noted, "The most important part of the HPA Awards is the opportunity to show how our efforts enable creativity for storytellers. The Engineering Excellence Award has always been a highly competitive honor that gives the engineering community a chance to be recognized for the invaluable and important work in which they are engaged. The Creativity and Innovation Award is equally prestigious, recognizing the brilliant ideas that don't necessarily fit neatly into other categories. We strongly encourage you to enter your ideas."
Entries for both the Engineering Excellence Award and the Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation will be accepted until May 20, 2016.
In addition, the HPA Awards will again honor important craft categories including Outstanding Color Grading, Editing, Sound and Visual Effects for feature film, television and commercials. The call for entries in these creative categories will be announced shortly.
Complete rules, guidelines and entry information are available at www.hpaawards.com, and here. For more information about the HPA Awards, visit www.hpaawards.com.
Contact Mary Vinton at mvinton@smpte.org for information about sponsorship opportunities for the 2016 HPA Awards show.
