Pro Moviemaker January/February 2025 - Web

AWARDS MPB FILMMAKER OF THE YEAR

CINEMATOGRAPHY THE VISION TO CREATE MAGIC

ACTION & SPORTS FOR THE FASTEST MOVERS Unpredictable, fast-moving subjects such as sportspeople, vehicles, boats animals and dancers make for an incredible challenge when shooting successful movies. But often, the best stories do much more than just show off the peak of the action. The stories behind the competitors, equipment, organisers, thrills – and often spills – show the true colours of many great action flicks. The tears, passion, glory, dedication and heartbreak all make for great content. So this category focuses on the use of attention-grabbing footage of action to tell incredible stories. Last year, the winner was a film about the British Fell and Hill Relays in Ambleside, shot by Brian Barnes. The film features hundreds of competitors, a stunning location and plenty of pain from aching muscles. Barnes’ kinetic footage captures the story of the event in a visually exciting way.

You can thank well- funded streaming services for the boom in high- quality cinematography that’s accessible by so many people nowadays, packed with creative angles, great lighting, complex camera moves and more. Thanks to the latest equipment and post work, even small production companies and indie filmmakers can create impressive work to rival Hollywood’s best. This award recognises cinematography in lower- budget productions that might look like they were created by large teams but are actually cost-effective, driven by creativity rather than cash.

that Greenley is rightly very proud to have won with in one of the most competitive categories. So show us your best work and impress the judges. This year, that winner could be you!

Last year’s winner was DK Greenley with Blur , a classy short that literally shines. It’s stylishly lit and professionally acted to a great script that’s produced well: a polished piece of work

COMMERCIAL & CORPORATE THE FLAGSHIP CLASS FOR PROFESSIONAL WORK

gallery. His work features interviews with the artists themselves often at work or at home, away from their studios. Lewis really draws out the personalities and stories of the artist and their pieces; you don’t have to be an art lover to see that he creates these films with a real love for storytelling in a stylish and engaging way. These are stunning examples of modern commercial filmmaking that entertains, inspires and ultimately engages with the audience – and of course falls in line with the gallery’s brand. So show us the work you have done that showcases your creativity and commercial acumen.

The commercial & corporate class is our flagship award. It’s for work commissioned by clients and includes branded content, promotional videos or pretty much anything else that’s made to promote a client’s services and products. If you shoot branded video, commercials, sales videos, adverts or even a package of different video-led media for a single client or campaign, then this is for you. Choose your best work and let’s see it! It could be for either a paying client or charity. Last year’s winner was Jonny Lewis, who also claimed the overall Filmmaker of the Year title with his series of documentary shorts for an art

LIVESTREAMED EVENT FOR CONTENT AS IT HAPPENS

In this increasing culture of on-demand content, livestreamed video is leading the way. From new product launches to local and international events, houses of worship, sporting events and more, the demand is there for video content to be broadcast as things happen. This exciting, immediate, booming market brings a different set of demands to any filmmaking crew, yet the best can pull it off with small crews and a great understanding of technology. Ideally, we’d like to see a link to your whole broadcast, or if you want to make a short highlights edit then that’s good too. As long as it’s a straight edit of what was broadcast without any extra production added – we want to see exactly what the viewers saw at the time.