The 2021 Hollywood Professional Association Awards call for entries for creative categories has opened. The industry’s coveted honors for Color Grading, Editing, Sound, VFX accepts entries until July 20, 2021.

For over fifteen years, the HPA Awards have recognized the creative brilliance of the HPA community, honoring artistry in color grading, editing, sound, and visual effects in feature film, episodic, and commercials. A sought-after honor, the HPA Awards have recognized the most compelling and important work from around the world. Now, the Hollywood Professional Association announced the 2021 HPA Awards call for entries for creative categories has opened.

The 2021 HPA Awards will again be an in-person celebration, as the creative community has hoped. The 2020 HPA Awards ceremony was virtual due to the pandemic, but the 2021 edition marks a return to “normal”. Details for the event will be revealed in coming weeks but the evening promises to deliver an engaging take on the popular event.

Submissions for consideration in the creative categories will be accepted between June 11 and July 20, 2021. To be considered eligible, work must have debuted domestically and/or internationally during the eligibility period, September 10, 2020 through September 7, 2021. Entrants need not be members of the Hollywood Professional Association or working in the U.S.

The competitive categories

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)

The call for entries for the HPA Engineering Excellence Award, honoring products and processes representing outstanding technical and creative ingenuity in media, content production, finishing, distribution, and archive, opened last month and submissions will be accepted until June 24, 2021.  The Judges Award for Creativity and Innovation, a juried award, will be announced in advance of the gala. Both special awards will be bestowed during the HPA Awards.

A very special event

Seth Hallen, HPA President and a founding member of the HPA Awards Committee, said: “I am thrilled to open the call for creative categories; this year we have much to celebrate. For the past year and a half, we’ve seen artists face unforeseen difficulties and yet continue to create amazing work. It’s been nothing short of awe inspiring. Our community came together during an unbelievably challenging, and hopefully once-in-a-lifetime crisis. Like their clients, these talented artists continued to do what needed to be done, and to do it creatively.  I am looking forward to celebrating the talent and dedication of the artists and companies who persevered, who were flexible and inventive and brilliant.  What they have done during the past year is what we will honor this year – it’s truly special and we are going to make this a very special event!”

The HPA Awards are made possible through the generous sponsorship of Awards Title Diamond Sponsor Blackmagic Design and Event Sponsors DTS and Zeiss. Complete rules, guidelines and entry information for the creative categories and all of the HPA Awards, as well as a list of previous winners, are available at hpaonline.com.

Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) serves the professional community of businesses and individuals who provide expertise, support, tools and the infrastructure for the creation and finishing of motion pictures, television, commercials, digital media and other dynamic media content. HPA continues to extend its support of the community it represents. Information about theHollywood Professional Association  (HPA) is available at http://www.hpaonline.com.