For the 14 year, The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) will honor the companies and individuals who draw upon technical and creative ingenuity to develop breakthrough technologies with the HPA Engineering Excellence Award. The call for entries for the Engineering Excellence Award opened today, and submissions will close on May 24, 2019.

Joachim Zell, VP of Technology for EFILM and chair of the HPA Engineering Excellence Award Committee, said, “True success in our field lies in making it possible for filmmakers to realize their artistic visions. It is that goal that drives the development of technical and engineering processes that bring that vision to life. The companies and individuals supporting creative storytellers face constant pressure to evolve to expand the creative palette. Their contribution to the entertainment industry cannot be overstated. The Engineering Excellence Award is a highly competitive honor, judged and awarded by tried and tested leaders in the field, and the past winners have changed the course of entertainment technology. We encourage the submission of your significant technological achievements.”

Entrants for this peer-judged award may include products or processes and must represent a significant step forward for its industry beneficiaries. Last year’s winners were Blackmagic Design, Canon, Cinnafilm, and IBM Aspera & Telestream. Rules and procedures can be found online.

Applicants present to a blue-ribbon industry panel on June 22 at the IMAX facility in Los Angeles. More information about the presentation dates and location will be announced soon. Winners will be announced in advance, and honors presented during the HPA Awards gala on the evening of November 21, 2019 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

At the gala, HPA Awards will again honor important creative categories including Outstanding Color Grading, Editing, Sound and Visual Effects for feature film, television and commercials. The call for entries in these categories will be announced in May.

The HPA Awards take place thanks to the generosity of sponsors, including Diamond Title Sponsor Blackmagic Design. For information about sponsorship opportunities for the 2019 HPA Awards show, contact Joyce Cataldo at jcataldo@hpaonline.com.

For more information about the HPA Awards, including complete rules, guidelines and entry information, please visit www.hpaawards.com.