Adrian Bosich inside the LIA Film Craft jury room

Adrian Bosich, director and co-founder, AIRBAG, represented Australia on the LIA Film Craft jury at the LIA Awards in Las Vegas. Here’s his report, exclusive to CB.

I’m not going to subject you to a Trip Diary. I am going to keep this short and simple. I’ve just completed judging Film Craft at LIA in Vegas, and I thought it may be useful to take a look inside the jury room, and its deliberations in the category.

Entering awards is always a tricky and costly process. Will it stand out in this particular market? Is it just good or truly world class? Which version do we enter – should it be the longer cut with all those extra moments, or the shorter one that cuts to the chase?

What’s important to keep in mind is that the jury room is not an ideal viewing room. You have a large TV on the other side of the room, and for 8 hours a day across multiple days, you are bombarded with ad after ad. Whilst always trying to find the best work, you are at times physically uncomfortable, trying to maintain concentration, and hoping to remain objective with each new piece as it comes up. In craft, that can often mean seeing the same piece again across different categories, and trying to watch it fresh through that particular lens.

The first two Rounds happen more individually, aimed at quickly knocking things out before too much discussion occurs. The first round is the In or Out stage – you vote whether this piece is worthy of consideration or not. The pieces that get through this round go through to a 1-10 vote. The work with the most votes go through to Statue Discussions, and it’s here that you really get into the nitty gritty discussion about the work.

These points relate to the Film Craft category. Whilst the Film category is usually all about the idea, in Film Craft, it’s about the execution. Whilst the idea can certainly colour your viewpoint, we tried to hone in on the particular craft itself.

Agencies and Production: Coordinate your entries

Agencies and Production Companies should chat, and talk through what’s going to be entered. We had cases where the same work was entered by Agencies and Production companies. A fatigue begins to set in when people see the same work over and over again. It begins to lose its wonder and surprise, and you start to pick up on the less stellar elements.

Size does matter

The longest version isn’t necessarily the best. We had to watch over a thousand pieces of work. This year’s entries had a lot of 2min+ entries. For craft, that means more shots in which the cinematography might not be A-grade, the editing not maintaining its pace, there being a gap in the production design. Stick to the shortest entry length that best conveys the craft. That could mean different lengths in different categories.

Be categorically accurate

Be mindful about what your entry is the ‘Best’ in. Is it the Cinematography that is outstanding or is it the Direction? Be strategic, and choose what you truly think is world class. Otherwise, seeing things entered scattergun multiple times could end up hurting its chances of being seen in the best, freshest light, for the category it truly should be considered for. Consider holding a mini festival for your best work, and assembling your best minds to vote which craft categories are standout – this way it’s not one person’s taste dictating the entries, rather majority rules – much like a Jury.

Animation vs VFX

These categories are often quite interweaved these days – to the point that many pieces entered both categories. For me, animation is the process of moving inanimate objects around to create the illusion of life or movement. This can be CGI or using more traditional animation techniques. VFX is the process of creating or manipulating a version of reality that did not exist or wasn’t able to be captured in camera – usually with the intent of convincing the viewer of this new reality. Also if a piece only has one or two vfx/animated components, even if they are strong, it’s hard to weigh them up against animation and visual effects that span across an entire ad.

Editing

The tricky thing about craft judging, is it’s ultimately all down to taste. But whereas with cinematography, you can pause the shot, and look at the lighting, or with Production design you can look at the props, wardrobe and design aesthetic, editing is much more abstract. Great editing is often invisible and seamless, but other times, it’s bombastic and in-your-face. Our jury looked more towards cuts for storytelling; a pace and flow that informed and revealed a story. A great edit will usually work with the sound turned off, and we did this for a number of pieces during statue discussions.

Direction

This is really a Best in Show for craft, where the Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, and Performances all come together for an amazing piece of storytelling. Again, there is a tendency for production companies to enter longer lengths here, and it sometimes costs metal. Enter the shortest version which you think best conveys the storytelling.