We want to see innovative workflows, techniques, and processes that showcase the best our industry has to offer. It could be a new way to simplify a time intensive task, or it could be a large and complex production with many moving parts.
The application centres around detailing a problem and the solution employed on a production. The judges will evaluate the entry on three categories: Innovation, Difficulty, and Efficiency. To help articulate your case there is room to submit additional materials. What these are is up to you; they could be a workflow diagram, screenshots, before and after images etc.
The Technical Excellence Award is considered to be of equal standing to our other Editing awards. The nominees will be announced alongside our other categories and the winning application will receive the same trophy.
Any information contained in the application will be kept confidential and shared only with the awards team and judges of this category. When the nominees are announced, only the short summary will be shared with the public.
It is hoped that by celebrating and highlighting the work of our talented and dedicated practitioners, we can foster greater collaboration and appreciation of tremendous skill that goes into bringing our productions to life.
Eligible Productions
- The submission must revolve around a production that includes a “Picture Editing” phase at some point in it’s workflow.
- All entries must have had their first festival screening, theatrical release, television, VOD, online (or similar) or DVD release between 1st August 2025 and 31st July 2026.
- There is no limitation on the type of production. For example it could be a feature film, reality program, or commercial.
An application submitted by a team
We know productions often take teams and we want to acknowledge everyone involved. To keep things clear we have separated the roles into two categories.
Applicant
- The Applicant(s) designed the solution to the given problem.
- The Applicant must be a Full Financial member of the ASE.
- The Applicant will be awarded the Ellie Trophy should the application win.
- There can be more than one Applicant. They must all be Full Financial Members. The ASE will only supply one trophy, there will be an option to purchase additional trophies in the application.
Supporting Crew
- Supporting Crew do not need to be members of the ASE.
- Supporting Crew were involved in actioning the workflow.
- Supporting Crew will be presented with a certificate should the application win.
You can enter either as an individual or as a small/large team. Each application only needs one Applicant as a minimum.
You can only be attached to one entry per year as the Applicant. You can be Supporting Crew across multiple entries.
If you are a production company or post house who wants to nominate your technical team for a project, you are more than welcome to do so.
The ASE expects a fair allocation when determining the roles of team members. If a complaint is raised, the application may either be changed or disqualified at the ASE’s discretion. To avoid complications the ASE highly recommends running your application past all relevant parties.
Unless the Editor of the project has contributed to the creation and/or implementation of the process described in the application, they are not eligible to be part of the Technical Excellence Award. The act of Editing for the purpose of this application is not considered part of the technical process.
Applicants will need to supply
- A list of team members identifying the Applicant(s) and Supporting Crew.
- Applicant(s) are required to include their ASE membership number.
- A one to two line summary of the workflow or technique (50 words max). This will be shared publicly if the application receives a nomination. The summary is to explain to the public what has been nominated.
- A written statement that explains the issues, problems, or technical hurdles encountered on this production (200 words max).
- A written statement that explains the workflow and techniques used to create the solution (400 words max).
- The release / on air date of the production.
- A letter from the Producer or Supervisor stating that the above team were responsible for creating and implementing this workflow.
- (OPTIONAL) Provide any screenshots, clips or supplementary material to aid the judges in understanding the problem/solution. (1 A4 Page)
- (OPTIONAL) Clip or trailer of production – NOTE: this is not judged, it’s to provide a little more context for the judges. For video clips the ASE recommends Vimeo but YouTube is also an acceptable platform.
- The application fee of $80. This fee is GST inclusive and payable to the ASE at the time of submission.
The Technical Excellence Judging Panel may request a follow up interview to answer questions they have or ask Applicants to submit further material. It is in an Applicant’s best interests to comply with these requests in a timely manner.
The judging process
The Technical Excellence Award judging panel will comprise of three individuals from backgrounds relevant to this award. This may include Assistant Editors, Online Editors, Post Supervisors, VFX Editors, or Colourists.
The Judges will use the following criteria to assess each application. You should keep these questions in mind when composing your written submissions.
The submission does not need to be exemplary in all three categories. It is acceptable for it to favour one criteria over the others. However the judging panel will want at least some consideration given to each of these three points.
Innovation
- Is the submission innovative in its approach to solving the problem?
- How does the workflow evolve or eschew standard conventions?
- Are there meaningful gains to this approach compared to a more traditional practice?
Difficulty
- How difficult was the problem to overcome?
- How impressive was the skill level required to complete the project?
- Does the application present a robust and comprehensive solution to the issues?
Efficiency
- Does the workflow precisely and efficiently solve the issues the production faced?
- Does the solution simplify complex tasks and make them easier to execute?
- Could a simpler or more efficient solution been used instead?
How to apply for the Technical Excellence Award
The deadline for applications is Sunday 9th August 2026. Submissions will not be accepted after this date.
If providing video clips or trailers then it is the responsibility of the Applicant to provide web links and ensure that they play back without interruption. The link must remain active until judging is complete, on Sunday 13th of October 2026.
If you have any questions regarding the Technical Excellence Award or how to apply, you can contact us at awards@screeneditors.com.au
[ENTRIES ARE NOT OPEN FOR THE ELLIES AWARDS YET]