Society of Camera Operators award submissions now open

These awards are given to Feature Film and Television full-time Camera Operators who have operated on distinguished projects of considerable quality during the previous year. Anyone in the Film/TV community may nominate a Camera Operator for this award, including but not limited to SOC members, directors, producers, production crew members, studios, and production companies. Camera Operators may also nominate themselves.

Nominations for Camera Operator of the Year will open on November 3, 2023.

Submissions will be vetted for their qualifications by the Awards Committee and a distinguished Jury of Committee members and past honorees will select five (5) nominees in each category by vote.

The list of the final five nominees in each category will be sent to all voting members of the SOC in good standing for a vote by web-based ballots.

For this award, there will be no consideration of any Director of Photography who also operated the camera on the same project.

The recipients will be announced at the Awards Celebration and will be kept private until that time.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Film Nominee Submissions

To be eligible:

• The nominee must be credited as “A Camera Operator” or “Camera Operator” (for productions with only one credited Camera Operator), have been the lead Camera Operator on the production, and have worked on the production for the majority of the schedule. In the event of shared or non-standard screen credits, the credited Camera Operators must agree on who meets this criterion or agree to share the nomination.
• A nominated Camera Operator may include other Camera Operator(s) as part of the nomination (e.g., B Camera or Steadicam).
• All Camera Operators on the specified production must have verifiable Camera Operator screen credits and have contributed significantly to the quality of the finished project.

Projects must meet the following qualifications for consideration in the Camera Operator of the Year – Film category:

• Be of Feature length (60 minutes or longer),
• Be self-contained and not part of a larger episodic or limited-series project,
• Be released during the calendar year 2023 and complete a screening run of at least seven consecutive days in theaters in at least one of the six qualifying U.S. cities. Qualifying cities: Los Angeles County; City of New York (Five Boroughs); the Bay Area (counties of San Francisco, Marin, Alameda, San Mateo, and Contra Costa); Chicago (Cook County, Illinois); Miami (Miami-Dade County, Florida); and Atlanta (Fulton County, Georgia) OR Be made available in the previous calendar year 2023 through commercial streaming, paid video-on-demand service, or other broadcast or cable distribution.

Television Nominee Submissions

To be eligible:

• The nominee must be credited as “A Camera Operator” or “Camera Operator” (for productions with only one screen-credited Camera Operator), have been the lead Camera Operator on the episode, and have worked on the production for a minimum of three (3) episodes released during the calendar year 2023. In the event of shared or non-standard screen credits, the credited Camera Operators must agree on who meets this criterion or agree to share the nomination.
• A nominated Camera Operator may include other Camera Operator(s) as part of the nomination (e.g., B Camera or Steadicam).
• All Camera Operators on the specified production must have verifiable Camera Operator screen credits, have contributed significantly to the quality of the finished project, and have worked on the production for a minimum of three (3) episodes released during the calendar year 2023.
• A minimum of three (3) episodes of the submitted project (including the submitted episode) must have been broadcast on television, cable, or streaming service during the calendar year 2023.
• A nominated Camera Operator may be submitted for only one (1) episode of any single television production in a calendar year. (NOTE: A Camera Operator may be submitted for more than one television production in a calendar year. A production may be submitted more than once should different episodes meet the above criteria.)

SUBMISSION AND FEES

The form below allows you to nominate an operator for their work on a project. There is a $75 USD submission fee per nomination. Payment must be made to complete your nominee submission, and is available at the end of the form.

Any questions or special requests, please contact Kristin Petrovich at kristin@createasphere.com.

TIMELINE

• November 3, 2023 – Submissions for Nominations open for Camera Operator of the Year – Film & Television
• December 31, 2023 – Submissions for Nominations close for Camera Operator of the Year – Film & Television (11:59pm PT)
• January 18, 2024 – Nominees for Camera Operator of the Year – Film & Television announced & SOC Membership voting opens.
• February 18, 2024 – SOC Membership voting closes for Camera Operator of the Year – Film & Television (11:59pm PT)
• February 24, 2024 – Society of Camera Operators Awards (Camera Operator of the Year – Film & Television honorees announced live)