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Explanations & FAQ's about the National & State Awards for Cinematography
Membership Status
Please note that to enter these awards you must be a current financial member of the Australian Cinematographers Society and your entry must have been completed within two years of the awards date.
Non-members can enter the awards, but it is a condition of entry that you join the society and pay membership fees prior to the entry being accepted for Judging.
The Awards System
The ACS awards system is a National system with awards representing members from all states and territories held in the latter half of each year in four capital cities:
Sydney – representing members of NSW and the ACT branches
Melbourne – representing members of Victoria and Tasmania branches
Adelaide – representing members of SA and the WA branches
Brisbane – representing members of Queensland and the NT branch
The Awards
In these State Awards one or more Gold, Silver and Bronze awards may be presented in each category at the discretion of the judging panel in each state. The judging panel also has the right to give no awards in any category where the entries received are not considered to be of a high enough standard.
In the first half of the year following the State Awards the society will hold its National Awards. The Gold Award winners from each of the previous year’s State Awards will make up the entries for these National Awards. Direct entries are NOT accepted into the National Awards. One Golden Tripod winner will be selected from the entries in each category. The judges may also award one or more Awards of Distinction in each category. The Milli Award for ‘Cinematographer of the Year’ will be chosen from all the Golden Tripod winners.
Judging Panel
All the judging panels are made up of Accredited members of the society with at least one panel member being from a state other than the host state.
The National Awards judging panel is made up of Accredited representatives from each of the host states.
THE JUDGES RESERVE THE RIGHT TO RE-CATEGORISE ANY ENTRY THEY BELIEVE HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO THE WRONG CATEGORY AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE ENTRANT (WHERE POSSIBLE).
All judges’ decisions are final and binding and no discussions or correspondence will be entered into.
Award Categories
NEWS DIRECTORS AWARD: All State entries into Category 5 are automatically entered into their State News Directors Award (NDA) for the Best News story in their own state or territory, filmed within Australia. Members may enter directly into the News Directors Award at a cost of $22.00 inc gst. The winner from each state or territory will then automatically go into the National Awards for the National News Directors Award to be judged by a panel of News Directors or their representatives. A plaque will be awarded to both the winning Cinematographer(s) and their Network. Multiple cinematographers for the one entry are eligible in this category only.
Special Offer: Non members wishing to enter the NDA may join the ACS with no joining fee (available only to NDA entrants & applicable only to new memberships before 30/09/09)
(Note: Where the word ‘State/s’ is used throughout this form, it includes ‘Territory/ies’).
CAT 1: STUDENT CINEMATOGRAPHY.
Productions filmed by student members of the Society who were cinematography students at time of filming the entry. Gold Student winners from each State awards will be automatically entered into the National Awards to compete for the “Best National Student Cinematographer” Gold Plaque, but will not be eligible for a Golden Tripod or the Milli Award. A maximum of 2 entries per student are permitted in this category. Entrants must state which cinematography/film course they were attending at the time of production of the entry.
Entry Fee: $25.00
CAT 2: EXPERIMENTAL & SPECIALISED.
Entries must be experimental cinematography as distinct from experimental films. Specialised cinematography can include micro/macro, medical, engineering, etc. Specialised portions of productions may be entered. New Media, Art Installations, etc., fit into this category. Entrants must specify time codes relevant to your work. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 3: TV STATION BREAKS/PROMOS.
Includes promos, openers, closers, teasers and TV station ID’s for ‘free to air’ and ‘subscription’ TV networks. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 4: MUSIC CLIPS.
Short musical items shot for the purpose of entertainment or promotion. Entrants must specify whether they were totally responsible for all lighting. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 5: NEWS - LOCAL/REGIONAL.
News segments or stories broadcast on any daily news service, filmed within Australia. Stories filmed by more than one cinematographer must clearly show the time codes for the entrants work. Other cinematographers involved in the same story may enter the same item as a separate entry, again indicating their work by stating relevant time codes. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 6: NEIL DAVIS INTERNATIONAL NEWS.
News segments or stories broadcast on any daily news service, filmed internationally. Stories filmed by more than one cinematographer must clearly show the time codes for the entrants work. Other cinematographers involved in the same story may enter the same item as a separate entry, again indicating their work by stating relevant time codes. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 7: CURRENT AFFAIRS.
Segments or stories broadcast on daily or weekly television current affairs programs (E.G.: ‘7.30 Report’, ‘A Current Affair”, ‘Today Tonight’, ‘Sunday Night’, ‘Four Corners’, Australian Story’ & ‘Foreign Correspondent’). Stories filmed by more than one cinematographer must clearly show the time codes for the entrant’s work. Other cinematographers involved in the same story may enter the same item as a separate entry, again indicating their work by stating relevant time codes. NB: Entries which are more documentary in nature and which run for the entire duration of the program have the option of choosing one of either Cat. 7 Current Affairs or Cat.10 Documentaries, Cinema & TV. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 8: TV MAGAZINE, LIFESTYLE & REALITY.
Programs or segments which are ‘human interest’ covering; travel, leisure, gardening, property, cooking, entertainment, science, sports and the arts. Entries must be of a light nature & not hard news or current affairs. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 9: CORPORATE & EDUCATIONAL.
Productions for a corporate or educational market designed to teach or inform. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 10: DOCUMENTARIES, CINEMA & TV.
Traditional documentary productions, normally dealing with any aspect of man in relation to his environment. Includes any full-length television documentary and those current affairs subjects that constitute the entire program. (E.G. ‘Australian Story’ and ‘Four Corners’) Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 11: WILDLIFE/NATURE.
Any production primarily about animals, plants or the natural environment. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 12: COMMERCIALS - LOCAL/REGIONAL.
Low budget advertising productions aimed primarily at local, regional TV or Web Markets and not shown nationally. eg: Brisbane = Local whilst Townsville = Regional. Entry Fee: $44.00
CAT 13: COMMERCIALS - NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL.
Commercials produced for national or international television/cinema release. (National = release in 2 or more States.) Please nominate any CGI or computer manipulation. Entry Fee: $50.00
CAT 14: DRAMATISED DOCUMENTARIES.
Documentaries based on real life situations or re-enactments of actual events that involve professional actors who are controlled by a Director. Entry Fee: $50.00
CAT 15: FICTIONAL DRAMA SHORTS.
Short dramatised productions intended for film festivals, cinema, television or DVD release, which do not qualify as Features – Cinema, Telefeatures, TV Drama & Mini Series. Entry Fee: $50.00
CAT 16: TELEFEATURES, TV DRAMA & MINI SERIES.
Productions intended solely for television release. Each episode of a series must be a separate entry on separate media. Entry Fee: $77.00
CAT 17: FEATURES – CINEMA.
Feature productions intended for national or international cinema release. Entry Fee: $99.00
Terms and Conditions
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AND SIGN THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ENTRY ON THE FRONT PAGE OF THE ENTRY FORM. FAILURE TO COMPLY MAY INVALIDATE YOUR ENTRY
Terms and Conditions of Entry into All ACS Awards