AWARDS FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR
LIGHTING MASTERING MOOD FOR CREATIVE EFFECT
This award is for best use of lighting – be it natural, ambient, artificial or a mixture of both. Creative lighting makes such a massive difference to the look of any project, and this award recognises where expert deployment has really paid dividends. That is certainly the case in Ryan J Smith’s first ever feature-length film, Lottery – which is now available for streaming globally. The 24-year-old spent £7000 to shoot and produce the whole film, where his careful use of lighting makes it stand out.
The sign of films with high production values often lies in the critical area of lighting – a magic ingredient that transforms a project. For pro-level lighting that is surprisingly affordable, Aputure leads the way with its range of LED fixtures. At the very high end is the hugely powerful LS 1200d Pro – good enough for Hollywood. But the brand also offers a range of smaller, more affordable COB lights, plus large and small light panels, tube lights, bulb lights and modifiers.
DOCUMENTARY THE ART OF STORYTELLING
“One highlight was travelling to Afghanistan one year after the Taliban took over, and actually being among the first media into their heartland province, Zabul. My wife was pregnant at the time and, as you can imagine, it was quite a choice whether to go or not – but I felt I couldn’t pass up a chance to shoot such unique content. I travelled with The Sunday Times correspondent Christina Lamb, but we were more or less on our own working with local charities. “Another highlight was spending a day with the legendary war photographer Sir Don McCullin CBE.” The film was eventually screened at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and Bafta. “The screening was exactly two weeks after the birth of my son, so it was an unfinished film. I was literally editing it from the maternity ward while mum and baby slept.”
Documentaries can uncover dramatic political situations on a global or national scale – they can even be a celebration of something local that needs recognition. This award is for stories told well, where the visual medium is a major factor to the success of the film. That’s certainly the case in the feature- length documentary The Sunday Times: 200 Years in the Making , directed by Ian Allardyce of Really Nice Content. An entry in our documentary category, it tells the story of one of the world’s most famous newspapers, through the eyes of past and present reporters. “The budget was pretty modest and I worked mostly alone as a freelancer. I spent many weeks sneaking around inside the paper’s offices, self-shooting on my beloved Sony FX6 and recording audio with the awesome Sony UWP-D27 dual receiver,” says Allardyce.
YOUTUBER FAST-GROWING PLATFORM FOR FILMMAKERS
It’s a massive and growing market as YouTube takes over the planet for delivering video content. Although, if your series is on Vimeo or any other long-form sharing platform, that counts too. This category is for creative YouTubers who produce engaging, well-shot and produced content for their own or a client’s channels. It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is; we’re looking for creativity and professionalism.
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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